Visible Light Communication for Vehicular Networks: A Tutorial

The advent of the fifth-generation technology promises to bring about more vertical applications and emerging services that include vehicular networks and intelligent transportation systems (ITSs). To achieve their vision of real-time and safetyapplications, vehicular networks rely on short-range to medium-range communications. One emerging technology that aims to provide reliability and high-data rate in short-range communications is the visible light communications (VLC). Due to its remarkable advantages, some studies have recently investigated the integration of VLC in vehicular networks and ITSs. Despite their attractive features, such networks also face several implementation issues. This paper provides an extended tutorial on the implementation of VLC-based vehicular networks. To begin with, we present the implementation characteristics of these systems and discuss some related issues. The underlying system considers a general structure with transmitters, channels, and receivers based on photodetectors and cameras, as well as standardization efforts and types of topologies. In addition, we discuss the impact of the sun and artificial light sources, flickering, dimming, throughput enhancement, uplink security, and mobility on practical implementation. Finally, we highlight some key challenges and potential solutions and provide some directions for future research investigations that could constitute an advancement toward the development of commercial VLC-based vehicular systems.