This paper reports on a field trial in a robotic manufacturing cell. Channel measurements and transmission experiments were conducted, assisting the development of a light-emitting diode-based optical wireless communication (OWC) system tailored for the needs of industrial wireless applications. These are moderate data rates, reliability, and low latency. Since dedicated radio spectrum is hardly available, the usage of light is an interesting alternative. Due to its spatial confinement, OWC links provide enhanced security and are difficult to jam from outside a building—a particularly interesting property for industrial applications. We performed broadband distributed $8\times 6$ multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channel measurements in a manufacturing cell. Results confirm that the signal-to-noise ratio is sufficient if a line-of-sight (LOS) is available and bandwidth is limited to a few megahertz. However, small movements and rotations may lead to sudden fades of 10–20 dB, when an LOS is blocked. To improve reliability, antenna diversity concepts are applied. Results show that for reliable communication, MIMO diversity schemes are indispensable as it increases the probability of a free LOS significantly. Based on these insights, we suggest an OWC design tailored to industrial wireless applications.

This paper summarizes recent work on the use of optical wireless links as a robust outdoor backhaul solution for small radio cells, such as WiFi, LTE and 5G, over distances between 20 and 200 m. Results of a 5-month outdoor field trial in Berlin, Germany, indicate that the visibility range was never below 180 m, with more than 1 km in 99% of all times during this period. Rate-adaptive transmission proved to improve the availability remarkably in the occasional presence of fog or sunlight. A mathematical model of the backhaul link including these impairments is presented and implemented to obtain an optimized link design. A prototype was realized, accordingly, using low-cost optoelectronic components and a 1 Gb/s baseband chipset. Gross data rates of 800, 500, and 225 Mb/s have been achieved in real-time operation over 20, 100, and 215 m outdoor link distance, respectively, with 2 ms latency at 95% load. Finally, we discuss further evolution towards 5G mobile networks.

Precise position information is considered as the main enabler for the implementation of smart manufacturing systems in Industry 4.0. In this article, a time-of-flight based indoor positioning system for LiFi is presented based on the ITU - T recommendation G.9991. Our objective is to realize positioning by reusing already existing functions of the LiFi communication protocol which has been adopted by several vendors. Our positioning algorithm is based on a coarse timing measurement using the frame synchronization preamble, similar to the ranging, and a fine timing measurement using the channel estimation preamble. This approach works in various environments and it requires neither knowledge about the beam characteristics of transmitters and receivers nor the use of fingerprinting. The new algorithm is validated through both, simulations and experiments. Results in an $\text{1}\;{\rm{m}} \times \text{1}\;{\rm{m}} \times \text{2}\;{\rm{m}}$ area indicate that G.9991-based positioning can reach an average distance error of a few centimeters in three dimension. Considering the common use of lighting in indoor environments and the availability of a mature optical wireless communication system using G.9991, the proposed LiFi positioning is a promising new feature that can be added to the existing protocols and enhance the capabilities of smart lighting systems further for the benefit of Industry 4.0.

LiFi has been considered as a promising candidate for future wireless indoor networks. The IEEE P802.15.13 and P802.11bb standardization groups agreed upon channel models generated using the non-sequential ray tracing approach of OpticStudio. In this paper, in order to validate the channel modelling approach, at first 2×2 multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channel measurements are carried out over 200 MHz bandwidth using a channel sounder. The experimental scenario is also modeled in 3D by applying ray tracing. The obtained results indicate good agreement between simulations and measured channel impulse responses, from which parameters such as path loss and delay spread are derived. After validating the channel modeling approach, we investigate the singular values and the effect of user mobility onto the performance in a 4×4 distributed multi-user MIMO scenario.

We present a concept for networked optical wireless communications, also denoted as LiFi, to meet the requirements of industrial wireless applications. These are primarily mobility support with moderate data rates per device, reliable real-time communication, and integrated positioning. We describe a distributed multiuser multiple-input multiple-output architecture, serving mobile devices via an optical wireless infrastructure. The system consists of a central unit, being connected to a number of distributed optical frontends covering a larger area. Our main contribution is a medium access control protocol based on space division multiple access. Evaluation results demonstrate the advantages of joint transmission from adjacent optical frontends and the dynamic switching between spatial diversity and multiplexing. The relevance of spatial multiplexing becomes obvious through channel measurements in an indoor scenario. Moreover, we highlight a low-power physical layer based on on-off-keying for battery-powered mobile devices. Our architecture can easily integrate positioning by simultaneously measuring the time-of-flight between multiple optical frontends and the mobile device. We highlight the use of plastic optical fiber as an analog fronthaul technology and discuss the integration with other networks. The main functions described in this paper will be supported by the upcoming IEEE Std 802.15.13.