Code design for run-length control in visible light communication

Visible light communication (VLC) uses run-length limited (RLL) code to avoid flickering and support different dimming ranges. In this paper, we design an error control coding scheme for VLC using polar code as a forward error correction (FEC) code in serial concatenation with an RLL code. We propose to use soft iterative decoding between RLL code and polar code. Extrinsic information transfer (EXIT) chart is also used to illustrate the proposed serial concatenated scheme's iterative decoding behavior. We will show improvement in bit error rate (BER) performance as compared to the hard decoding based polar code proposed in the literature for VLC.

Visible light communications integrated with Internet-of-Things has numerous applications in indoor wireless communications and it requires high data rates and flicker mitigation. Flicker mitigation is an important consideration since light emitting diodes are simultaneously used for illumination and communications. Several run-length limited (RLL) codes have been proposed in the literature for flicker mitigation with trade-offs between code rate, bit error performance, encoding and decoding complexities. However, there are no generalized algorithms for high rate codes generation with low complexity encoding and decoding. Hence, in this paper, we propose generalized algorithm for generating high rate RLL codes with low complexity encoding and decoding. The proposed codes can be used for flicker mitigation conditioned on maximum flickering time period (MFTP). The performance of the proposed codes is compared with existing codes in terms of various metrics like code rate, minimum Hamming distance, peak to average power ratio, run-length, and bit error rate. We show that the proposed codes mitigate flicker conditioned on MFTP and provide high data rates with low complexity encoding and decoding compared to the codes in the literature.

In visible light communication (VLC), on–off keying (OOK) is able to achieve the best BER performance as compared with variable pulse position modulation. However, OOK has a significant defect that the dimming levels (i.e. brightness) of illumination are greatly affected by the input ratio of 0 and 1 bits. To overcome this drawback, OOK with run length limited (RLL) line codes such as Manchester code or 8B10B block code has been studied in IEEE 802.15.7 VLC standard. However, those mechanisms cannot support the dimming levels more than 50%. Also, spectral efficiency of those mechanisms is reduced and then it is causative of BER performance degradation. An effective RLL line coding scheme is proposed in order to enhance the brightness and BER performance as compared with conventional RLL coding schemes. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed coding scheme is superior to Manchester code and 8B10B block code in terms of the brightness and BER performance.

The exponential rise in wireless communication demands and allied applications have revitalized academia-industries to develop an efficient and potential solution. Furthermore, the high-pace increasing scarcity of radio spectrum has also alarmed researchers to achieve better Quality of Service (QoS) centric solution. To meet such demands Visible Light Communication (VLC) systems have gained global attention; however, up surging high rate, range and reliability (3R) needs demand better performance. Towards these goals, Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) based VLC systems is an efficient approach; though its efficacy under Multiple Users (MU) conditions remains least explored. Enabling MIMO-MU based VLC can achieve 3R objectives effectively; however, factors like multipath attenuation, interferences and varied impairment-affects makes classical approached confined. The MIMO-MU VLC systems require robust error, noise or interference resilient transmission even under adverse conditions such as non-linear LED, multipath attenuation and interference. Towards these objectives, in this paper a highly robust MIMO-MU VLC system is developed that incorporates an augmented MIMO channel design and combined pre-coding and post equalization schemes. To alleviate major interference probability in MIMO-MU environment, proposed model incorporates time (delay)-multiplexing based data transmission followed by signal adaptive precoding and Volterra Kernel based Hybrid-equalizer. This approach enables interference and noise removal as well as LED non-linearity handling under MIMO-MU VLC communication. The use of a Volterra Kernel based Decision Feedback Equalization with both linear as well as non-linear equalization enables proposed VLC system to exhibit low Bit Error Rate with low modulation index and taps, that optimizes trade-off between performance as well as complexity.

• Core Innovation & Objective • Developed a novel, integrated system architecture combining a modified USRP X310 software-defined radio platform with a custom-designed high-power LED optical transceiver. • Achieved high-speed, low-latency, and highly reliable audio-video transmission over Visible Light Communication (VLC) for intelligent transportation and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) applications, particularly in electromagnetically sensitive environments. • Key Technical Breakthroughs • LED Bandwidth Extension: Designed an innovative active pre-equalization circuit (based on a 4th-order high-pass RC bypass and op-amps) that dramatically increased the 3dB modulation bandwidth of a commercial 15W LED from 3 MHz to 120 MHz. • High-Speed Modulation: Successfully implemented 64QAM-OFDM modulation/demodulation using GNU Radio on the USRP, enabling spectrally efficient data transmission. • Advanced Optical Design: Custom-designed optical lenses (transmitter and receiver) and a high-power Bias-T circuit for efficient AC/DC coupling, ensuring the LED operates in its linear region and maximizing optical power transfer. • Stable Link Performance: Incorporated an Automatic Gain Control (AGC) circuit at the receiver, stabilizing the output voltage between 1.2V - 2.0V and maintaining a modulation signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) > 23 dB over varying distances. • Outstanding System Performance • The experimentally demonstrated performance metrics are exceptional for a VLC system: • Peak Data Rate: 500 Mbps • Communication Distance: 0 - 110 meters • Bit Error Rate (BER): As low as 1.74 × 10⁻⁵ (far below the 1 × 10⁻⁴ target) • End-to-End Latency: < 0.1 s • Beam Angle: 11.5° (Transmitter) • Field of View (FOV): ≤ 18° (Receiver) • System Integration and Design • Hardware-Software Co-Design: Seamless integration of the USRP X310 (handling digital baseband processing) with the custom analog optical front-end. • Compact and Practical: The system is designed for external mounting on vehicles, offering a practical solution for real-world deployment. • Simulation-Guided Design: Used LightTools for optical design and Optisystem for communication link simulation to validate the design before implementation. • Significance and Application Value • Solves Critical Challenges: Provides a high-speed, secure, and EMI-free communication alternative to traditional RF in environments like military operations, petroleum facilities, and intelligent transportation systems. • 6G Potential: Serves as a practical reference for the development of VLC as a complementary technology in 6G networks. • Demonstrates Feasibility: Successfully proves the viability of using commercial LEDs and USRP platforms for building high-performance, medium-to-long-range optical communication systems. • This work represents a significant step forward in practical high-speed VLC system design, combining theoretical innovation with robust engineering to achieve state-of-the-art performance. Existing vehicular VLC systems suffer from limited bandwidth, short transmission distances, low data rates, and support only a narrow range of communication services. To address these issues, this paper proposes a vehicle-mounted high-speed LED visible light communication (VLC) system based on Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP). Leveraging 64QAM-OFDM digital modulation, an improved USRP X310 hardware platform, and a PC, we establish a novel architecture comprising digital baseband and optical transceiver modules. The baseband module eliminates traditional spectrum-shifting circuits and antennas, retaining only FPGA and ADC/DAC units. Audio/video files undergo 64QAM-OFDM modulation directly on the PC, with modulated signals output via DAC to a custom-designed wide-bandwidth LED transceiver. A broadband hardware equalization network based on a fourth-order RC bypass circuit was designed expands the 3dB bandwidth of high-power LEDs from 3 MHz to 120 MHz. Combined with automatic gain control (AGC), this achieves an optical transceiver with 12–15 W output power, >23 dB optical modulation signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and stable receiver output voltage (1.2–2.0 V). The resulting compact system delivers low latency, high data rates, and high reliability. Under aligned optical path conditions, the system achieves >1 Mbit/s at 110 m (BER 0.49 × 10⁻⁵, delay 0.009-0.05s) and a peak rate of 500 Mbit/s at 10 m (BER 7.4 × 10⁻⁵), with an 11.5° transmit angle and a receiver field of view (FOV) of less than 18°. This work demonstrates the feasibility of high-power LED-based 64QAM-OFDM communication using USRP X310 for medium- to long-range vehicular links, providing a reference for intelligent transportation systems.

We propose a serially concatenated coding scheme to communicate over binary energy harvesting communication channels with additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), and design explicit and implementable codes for both long and short block lengths. Run length limited (RLL) codes are used to induce the required nonuniform input distributions for both cases. We employ low density parity check (LDPC) codes for long block lengths, while for short block lengths, we utilize convolutional codes as outer error correction codes. We consider different decoding approaches for the two cases, i.e., an iterative decoder is used for the former while Bahl-Cocke-Jelinek-Raviv (BCJR) algorithm over the product trellis of the convolutional and run length limited codes is used for the latter. We also extend our work to joint energy and information transfer for both cases since similar coding solutions can be employed. Numerical examples demonstrate that the newly optimized codes with an inner RLL code are superior to the optimal codes over standard AWGN channels for long block lengths. Our results also show that, for the short block length case, concatenated convolutional and RLL codes with higher minimum distances offer excellent performance.

Runlength-limited (RLL) and digital-sum-limited (DSL) codes are considered. For these codes the finite and asymptotic lower bounds on achievable rates for the given minimum Hamming distance are derived. Using generating functions and trellis diagram techniques, the authors prove the existence of RLL- and DSL-codes of rate R and minimum distance d= delta n, such that R>or=2.log lambda /sub 1/(0)-min(log lambda /sub 1/(z)- delta .log z), 0<or=z<or=1, for large enough code length n. The value lambda /sub 1/(z) is the maximum modulus eigenvalue of a certain matrix that is dependent on the limitations and some parameter z. The bounds for the limited codes improve the lower bound of H. C. Ferreira (1984).<<ETX>>

Run-length limited (RLL) codes are widely used in visible light communications to avoid long runs of 1s and 0s that potentially cause the flicker. This letter explores the serial concatenation of convolutional codes and Miller codes to simultaneously achieve forward error correction and RLL control. Miller codes with high bandwidth efficiency are much ignored in practice due to their disappointing power efficiency. The novelty of this letter is that we identity the merit of this previously unfavorable RLL code (i.e., trellis structure and soft decidability), exploit some important coding principles (i.e., interleaved serial concatenation and soft-iterative decoding), and assemble it to a powerful turbo structure that makes it outperform the existing favorable choices. A modified Bahl-Cocke-Jelinek-Raviv decoding algorithm is developed for the proposed concatenation. Analysis and simulations confirm that the new system is capable of solid RLL control and a superb performance better than the existing schemes.

Visible light communication(VLC), which combines communication and illumination, is regarded as a potential wireless communication. For illumination requirements of VLC systems, dimming control is a significant function. Many schemes have been proposed for multi-input multi-output (MIMO) VLC systems or dimmable VLC systems, but few schemes combine the two. The dimming control scheme that has been proposed for MIMO-VLC systems in the reference still has a probability for improvement in spectral efficiency and error performance. This paper proposes a dimming control scheme that utilizes the constant weight space-time codes (CWSTC) to improve spectral efficiency and error performance for MIMO-VLC systems. Simultaneously, we also present the codeword structure and a low implementation complexity detection algorithm for the scheme. Finally, performance analysis and simulation results provide comparisons between the proposed scheme and other existing dimming control schemes.

Recently, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) has been proposed in visible light communications (VLC) systems to boost the data rate by utilizing spatial multiplexing. Unlike RF systems in VLC, lighting requirements, such as dimming control, should be taken into consideration for the design of a VLC transceiver. Moreover, VLC systems are inherently nonlinear and dynamic-range-limited. To drive an LED transmitter, the signal is bounded by a turn-on value and a saturation value. In this letter, we show how the dynamic-range constraint and dimming control impact the design of MIMO transceiver. Three different MIMO schemes are proposed and studied by theoretical analysis and simulation.

Power control technology is necessary in Visible Light Communication (VLC) systems because of the multipath distortion and shadowing. When a power control algorithm is applied to the system, feedback error is inevitable. In this paper, we analyze the closed-loop power control algorithm and the influence of the power control error (PCE) in VLC systems. To analyze the effect of the PCE in VLC systems, the proposed system is studied with different modulation schemes and coding rates in terms of BER.

While the traditional Visible Light Communication (VLC) system has attracted a lot of research attentions on boosting throughput, using Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) devices, e.g. existing cameras on the smartphones, is a recent trend to implement readily deployable VLC systems. In particular, since LED-Camera VLC systems have shown a promising potential in large indoor communication due to the growing deployment of LED lighting infrastructure, a comprehensive VLC system with cooperative transmission and roaming support has become an impending need. To this end, we propose a novel VLC and visible light sensing (VLS) system to address that by leveraging LED sensing and effective encoding/decoding schemes. It is achieved first by utilizing LED sensing via converting parts of LED luminaire into light sensors to detect diffuse reflection change caused by presence of the user. After the users are detected and located, the system employs rateless codes and newly designed code assignment scheme to collaboratively transmit to detected users in their communication cells. We believe the proposed system has the potential to a roaming support VLC system in the whole building or indoor areas.

This paper analyzes the performance of a dual-hop hybrid radio frequency - visible light communications (VLCs) system. VLC exploits high frequencies for signal propagation for short-range and is highly susceptible to blockages. Hence, in this work, the sensitivity of the VLC toward the blockages is explored. This study examines outdoor-indoor communication for an urban scenario featuring an office environment. The VLC system is designed by considering multiple VLC access points serving the end users in the presence of human blockages. Selection combining is employed to select the access point which offers the maximum instantaneous signal-to-noise ratio at the user. To capture the outdoor scenario, path loss modeling is conducted to account for signal attenuation from outdoor to indoor spaces. The outdoor scenario is modeled using Nakagami-m fading channels while VLC is employed for the indoor scenario. System performance is assessed in closed-form expression for outage probability and the symbol error rate for binary phase shift keying and quadrature amplitude modulation. A deep learning-based approach detects the symbols by tracking dynamic changes in the channel. Simulation results corroborate the correctness of derived analytical expressions and reveal that blockages significantly impact both single and multiple LED based communication channels.

To enhance commercial implementation, visible light communication (VLC) should facilitate dimming control and reliable data transmission simultaneously, where users can adjust the brightness levels arbitrarily. Constant weight code (CWC) based dimming method can achieve higher spectral efficiency, but the codewords need further selection to exponentially map the massage. In this paper, based on CWC, we proposed a method to achieve dimming control as well as improve error performance via optimizing the average Hamming distance of the codeword set. Simulation results show that the optimal codeword set can achieve better error performance.

SummaryWith the development of new generation lighting sources, visible light communication (VLC) system has become a complementary solution to traditional radio frequency wireless system. However, the error performance of VLC system is degraded because of multipath effects and interference from other lighting sources that, in turn, reduce the communication range. This work targets the issue of performance degradation of VLC systems in terms of communication range and demonstrates a VLC system design that utilizes forward error correction (FEC) codes as the main tool to fix this issue. Furthermore, the work also covers practical implementation of the proposed VLC system using UART modules programmed in MATLAB. The hardware results demonstrate that the communication range of the proposed VLC system is enhanced up to 0.5 m. Over and above, it is also shown through simulations that the coding gain of the proposed design is more when compared with existing VLC system(s).