Experimental evaluation of MIMO configurations in indoor visible light communications under the consideration of illumination

Visible light communications (VLC) enable wireless data transmission using existing light-emitting diode (LED) illumination. This experimental study evaluates the performance of multiple input and multiple output (MIMO) configurations in indoor VLC systems by analyzing their impact on both communication and illumination. Various MIMO setups (2 × 2, 3 × 2, and 4 × 2) are compared against single input single output (SISO), and single input multiple outputs (SIMO) schemes, using commercial LED luminaires as transmitters. While the 4 × 2 MIMO configuration demonstrates superior overall performance, intermediate configurations like 3 × 2 or 2 × 2 MIMO offer an attractive trade-off between system complexity and performance enhancement, particularly in scenarios with space or cost constraints. The results show that MIMO configurations significantly outperform SISO systems, achieving reliable communication (BER ≤ 10 −3 ) at practical indoor distances of up to 2 meters while maintaining illumination levels above 300 lux, where conventional SISO setups do not meet these dual requirements. These findings demonstrate the practical feasibility of MIMO-VLC systems for indoor deployments.