This paper presents an analysis of the relationship between noise and bandwidth in visible light communication (VLC) systems. In the past few years, pre-emphasis and post-equalization techniques were proposed to extend the bandwidth of VLC systems. However, these bandwidth extension techniques also influence noise and sensitivity of the VLC systems. In this paper, first, we build a system model of VLC transceivers and circuit models of pre-emphasis and post-equalization. Next, we theoretically compare the bandwidth and noise of three different transceiver structures comprising a single pre-emphasis circuit, a single post-equalization circuit and a combination of pre-emphasis and post-equalization circuits. Finally, we validate the presented theoretical analysis using experimental results. The result shows that for the same resonant frequency, and for high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N), VLC systems employing post-equalization or pre-emphasis have the same bandwidth extension ability. Therefore, a transceiver employing both the pre-emphasis and post-equalization techniques has a bandwidth √2 times the bandwidth of the systems employing only the pre-emphasis or post-equalization. Based on the theoretical analysis of noise, the VLC system with only active pre-emphasis shows the lowest noise, which is a good choice for low-noise systems. The result of this paper may provide a new perspective of noise and sensitivity of the bandwidth extension techniques in VLC systems.

A new class of visible light communication (VLC) systems, namely image sensor (IS) based VLC systems, has emerged. An IS consists of a two-dimensional (2D) array of photodetectors (PDs), and then VLC systems with an IS receiver are capable of exploiting the spatial dimensions invoked for transmitting information. This paper aims for providing a brief survey of topics related to the IS-based VLC, and then provides a matrix representation of how to map a series of one dimensional (1D) symbols onto a set of 2D symbols for efficiently exploit the associate grade of freedom offered by 2D VLC systems. As an example, the matrix representation is applied to the symbol mapping of layered space-time coding (L-STC), which is presented to enlarge the coverage of IS-based VLC that is limited by pixel resolution of ISs.

Image sensor communication (ISC), a type of visible light communication, is an emerging wireless communication technology that uses LEDs to transmit a signal and uses an image sensor in a camera to receive the signal. This paper discusses the present status of and future trends in ISC by describing the essential characteristics and features of ISC. Moreover, we overview the products and expected future applications of ISC.

We propose an optical fiber connection navigation system that uses visible light communication for an integrated distribution module in a central office. The system realizes an accurate database, requires less skilled work to operate and eliminates human error. This system can achieve a working time reduction of up to 88.0% compared with the conventional work without human error for the connection/removal of optical fiber cords, and is economical as regards installation and operation.

The authors focus on the improvement of Visible Light Communication Identification (VLID) system that provides positioning information via LED light bulb, which is a part of Visible Light Communication (VLC) system. The conventional VLID system provides very low positioning estimation accuracy at room level. In our approach, neither additional infrastructure nor modification is required on the transmitter side. On the receiver side, 6-axis sensor is embedded to provide 3-axis of Azimuth and 3-axis of Tilt angulations information to perform positioning estimation. We verify the proposed system characteristics by making both empirical and numerical analysis, to confirm the effectiveness of proposed system. We define two words to justify the characteristic of the proposed system, which are Field-of-View (FOV: ψc) Limit and Sensitivity (RXS) Limit. Both FOV and Sensitivity Limits have crucial impact on positioning estimation accuracy. Intuitively, higher positioning accuracy can be achieved with smaller FOV configuration in any system that has FOV. Conversely, based on system characteristics of VLID, we propose a positioning estimation scheme, namely Switching Estimated Receiver Position (SwERP) yields high accuracy even with wide FOV configuration. Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) of error distance and Root Mean Square of Error Distance (RMSED) between experimental positions and estimated receiver positions are used to indicate the system performance. We collected 440 samples from 3 receivers' FOV configurations altogether 1320 samples within the experimental area of 1200 mm5000 mm2050 mm. The results show that with the proposed scheme, the achievable RMSEDs are in the range of 298 and 463 mm under different FOV configurations, which attained the maximum accuracy improvement over 80% comparing to the one without positioning estimation scheme. The proposed system's achievable accuracy does not depend on transmitters' orientation; only one transmitter is required to perform positioning estimation.