Wireless optical system using amplitude modulation with GNU radio on a Raspberry Pi

Abstract

Abstract Visible light communication system arises to create wireless links using light-emitting diode luminaires. The literature reports multiple works in visible light communication using different development tools. However, most are based on signal processors, field-programmable gate Arrays and proprietary software to develop the algorithms. This paper presents a wireless optical communication system using amplitude modulation on both hardware and free software tools. An algorithm for amplitude modulation/demodulation in GNU Radio installed on the Raspberry Pi development card was created. Additionally, an optical transmitter based on a white light-emitting diode and a receiver with a solar panel was designed. Communication experiments were performed based on the distance of the system link. The results report that the optimal response of amplitude modulation/demodulation was achieved with a solar panel response of --68 dBmV at maximum distance of 3 m between transmitter and receiver at usual illumination levels, and the potential to use free hardware and software tools in the implementation and analysis of optical wireless communication systems.