A Mobile Channel Model for VLC and Application to Adaptive System Design

Abstract

In this letter, we propose a realistic channel model for visible light communication (VLC) assuming a mobile user. Based on non-sequential ray tracing, we first obtain channel impulse responses for each point over the user movement trajectories, and then express path loss and delay spread as a function of distance through curve fitting. Our results demonstrate large variations in received power. In system design, this necessitates the use of adaptive schemes, where transmission parameters can be selected according to channel conditions. To demonstrate the benefits of link adaptation over a mobile VLC channel, we propose an adaptive system with luminary selection and demonstrate improvements in spectral efficiency over non-adaptive systems.