Design and realization of indoor VLC-Wi-Fi hybrid network

Abstract

Indoor wireless communication networking has received significant attention along with the growth of indoor data traffc. VLC (Visible Light Communication) as a novel wireless communication technology with the advantages of a high data rate, license-free spectrum and safety provides a practical solution for the indoor high-speed transmission of large data traffc. However, limited coverage is an inherent feature of VLC. In this paper, we propose a novel hybrid VLC-Wi-Fi system that integrates multiple links to achieve an indoor high-speed wide-coverage network combined with multiple access, a multi-path transmission control protocol, mobility management and cell handover. Furthermore, we develop a hybrid network experiment platform, the experimental results of which show that the hybrid VLC-Wi-Fi network outperforms both single VLC and Wi-Fi networks with better coverage and greater network capacity.