Quantum-Chromodynamics-Inspired 2D Multicolor LED Matrix to Camera Communication for User-Centric MIMO

Abstract

With the high availability of low-cost and energy-efficient LEDs and cameras, there is increased interest in optical camera communication (OCC) to provide nonradio-frequency-based communication solutions in the domains of advertisement, vehicular communication, and the Internet of Things (IoT). As per the IEEE 802.15.7-2018 standard, new physical-layer clauses support low-frame-rate camera communication with allowable flickering. This paper proposes an OCC system that can provide user-centric multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) loosely based on quantum-chromodynamics (QCD) concepts. A QCD–OCC simulator and prototype are proposed, implemented, and evaluated on the basis of the pixel intensity profile, peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), the success of reception (%), bit-error rate (BER), and throughput under different ambient lighting conditions and distances. We observed 100% and 84% success of reception using the proposed prototype and simulator, respectively, for the data rate of 720 bps. The maximal tolerable BER of 1.13×10−2 for IoT applications was observed at a maximal distance of 200 cm and a maximal data rate of 3600 bps. The proposed system was also compared with other existing OCC systems with similar hardware and implementation requirements. The proposed QCD–OCC system provided rotation support up to 90 degrees and throughput of 4.32 kbps for a 30 fps camera.