Toward 6G-V2X: Aggregated RF-VLC for Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Autonomous Driving

We are witnessing a transition to a new era of mobility where pervasively connected (semi-) autonomous cars will deliver significantly improved safety, traffic efficiency, and travel experiences. A diverse set of advanced vehicular use cases such as platooning, remote driving, and fully autonomous driving will be made possible by building on emerging sixth-generation (6G) wireless networks. Among many disruptive 6G wireless technologies, the principal objective of this article is to introduce the potential benefits of the hybrid integration of Visible Light Communication (VLC) and Radio Frequency (RF) based Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication systems. We examine the impact of interference as well as various meteorological phenomena viz. rain, fog and dry snow, on the proposed Link aggregated (LA) aided hybrid RF-VLC V2X systems. The simulation results suggest that our proposed LA-aided hybrid RF-VLC V2X systems have the potential to achieve a high level of reliability (estimated at approximately 99.999%) and low latency (potentially less than 1 ms) within a range of up to 200 m, even in scenarios affected by interference and adverse meteorological conditions. To stimulate future research in the hybrid RF-VLC V2X area, we also highlight the potential challenges and research directions.