Indoor Optical Wireless Systems: Design Challenges, Mitigating Techniques and future Prospects

Abstract

The need for easy, reliable and fast connectivity is a growing requirement of today's short-range indoor communication systems, such as wireless local area networks (LANs). The requirement is for a communication medium that has high speed, low cost, and low power consumption. Optical wireless (Infrared) and radio are both viable solutions, but the promise of high unregulated bandwidth at a low cost makes optical wireless an attractive technical alternative. The goal of optical wireless system designers is to achieve reliable wireless connectivity between any devices in a network. This paper reviews the research efforts to date in the field of indoor optical wireless communications and identifies the technical obstacles and limitations of infrared (IR) medium. The methods of mitigating the inherent problems associated with the medium have also been discussed.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chaturi Singh

Chatutri Singh was born in 1959 in the Firozabad district of Uttar Pradesh. He received his Diploma in Electronics Engineering with honours from Government Polytechnic, Kanpur in 1981. Thereafter he graduated in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the Institution of Engineers (India), Kolkata in 1984. He completed his MTech in Electrical Engineering in 1990 from Hercourt Butler Technological Institute (HBTI) Kanpur. Currently, he is pursuing his PhD from CSJM University, Kanpur. He has been working in IIT Kanpur since 1982 and presently working asa Research Engineer in the National Wind Tunnel Facility of the institute. His current areas of academic interest include Optical Wireless Systems, Virtual Instrumentation, Electronic Measurement and Digital Control. He is the life member of the Institution of Engineers (India).

Joseph John

Joseph John received his BSc (Engg) degree in Electronics and Communications from the University of Kerala in 1978, MTech degree from IIT Madras in Electrical Engineering in 1980 and PhD in Electronic Engineering from the University of Birmingham, UK in 1993. He worked as a Research Engineer for nine years in the Advanced Centre for Electronic Systems at IIT Kanpur, Currently at IIT Kanpur, he is the Head of the Centre for Laser Technology and Laser Technology Programme and also Professor in the Electrical Engineering Department. His current areas of interest are Wireless Optical Communications, Fibre Optic Communications, and Electronic Instrumentation. He is a Fellow of the IETE.

Y N Singh

Y N Singh was born in Delhi in 1969. He obtained BTech in Electrical Engineering with honours from Regional Engineering College, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh in July 1991, MTech in Optoelectronics and Optical Communications from IIT Delhi in December 1992 and PhD from Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Delhi in 1997. He was with the Department of Electronics and Computer Engineering, University of Roorkee as faculty from February 97 to July 97, He is currently working as faculty in the Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Kanpur. He is a member of the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE), India and the Institution of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., (IEEE) USA. His academic interests include Optical Networks, Photonic Packet Switching, Optical Communications, Telecom Networks and Networks Management.

K K Tripathi

K K Tripathi obtained his BE Degree from University of Allahabad in 1965, MTcch in Instrumentation and Controls from IIT Delhi in 1970 and PhD from Kanpur University in 1989. He joined as a lecturer in Electrical Engineering Department in 1965 at HBTI, Kanpur and subsequently served as Assistant Professor since 1975 and became Professor and Head of Electronics Department in 1989. His areas of interest are Instrumentation, Digital Controls, Fibre Optics and Optical Communication. He has been active member of professional societies like the Institution of Engineers (India), the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (India) and the Computer Society of India. Currently, he is the Head of Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering at Ajay KumarGarg Engineering College, Ghaziabad.