Low-Cost Optical Wireless Communications Laser Tracking System
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Date
2022-04-18
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Abstract
As wireless data transfer has grown more prolific, and the technologies that rely upon it more numerous and sophisticated, critical limitations of RF-band wireless communication schemes such as WiFi have become apparent. To mitigate these limitations and enable the continued growth of wireless device functionalities, Light Fidelity (LiFi) schemes that transmit data through modulating visible, infrared, or ultraviolet light are being developed [1-5]. LiFi systems present many advantages over RF systems, including vastly improved data transmission rates, but also lower power consumption, higher security, and utilization of a much broader, unlicensed spectrum [1-5]. Laser LiFi systems in particular hold promise for their exceptional speed and range capabilities [2, 4]. This however comes at the cost of lasers being highly directional and thus requiring more precise alignment. This gives rise to the need for a transmit/receive system wherein the transmitting unit can locate and align its laser to a mobile target/detector, establishing a link over which data could be sent. Such a system must be able to align rapidly and realign with the target in the case of beam obstructions. It should also ideally be low-cost and of a manageable size. To meet these needs, this work builds off of the previous year’s work on this design [6], and develops a low-cost, practically-sized, fast infrared laser LiFi alignment and tracking system that can perform the aforementioned functions. The system produced was able to reliably identify a backlit LED target and align a laser with a detecting element attached to this target. This initial alignment took no more than 16 seconds, and realignment following beam obstructions was also shown to not exceed 16 seconds. Weight did not exceed 2 kilograms for either module, and the modules were compact, not exceeding 25.4 centimeters on a side.
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light fidelity, Li-Fi, free space, optical wireless, tracking, communications, laser, infrared, align, LiFi