The International Journal of Multi-Disciplinary Research

ISSN: 3471-7102, ISBN: 978-9982-70-318-5

Design of a Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) Prototype Using

Raspberry Pi
(Paper ID: CFP/1526/2020)

Author: Mr. Darry Derrick Advisor: Lameck Nsama

Department of ICT Department of ICT
Information and Communications University Information and Communications University
Lusaka, Zambia. Lusaka, Zambia
[email protected] [email protected]

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

With globalization and the thirst for connectivity We now live in a world that is infinitely connected
across society, the demand placed on wireless through a multitude of invisible, networked
infrastructure and the associated resource is growing
exponentially. Very soon this resource will reach pathways. They stretch and travel across houses,
saturation point, due to the finite bandwidth available towns, countries and continents. We are a truly
in the Radio Frequency (RF) spectrum. A method of global society that now has an insatiable appetite for
countering the impending saturation needs to be connection, information and convenience.
found. That method can be Visible Light
Communication (VLC).
Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) is a research field within VLC This intrinsic appetite has fuelled the proliferation
that utilizes the visible light band within the of connection technology from crude military
electromagnetic wave spectrum. This band is 10,000 beginnings at DARPA (Dennis et al. 1988), through
times larger than the RF band and cannot be ‘leased’ excruciatingly slow networks of public computers
or saturated with users. Light waves can be modulated
and onto networks increasing in speed and
to carry an enormous amount of simultaneous data, at
speeds faster than current consumer equipment can computational power, now without the use of
handle. cables.
This paper describes in detail the research,
construction and testing of a Li-Fi prototype using Almost exponentially the world has developed and
Raspberry Pi. The prototype is compact, low cost, uses
embraced technology that now allows us to carry
accessible components and provides a solid
foundation for other students to follow on with further super-advanced, micro-computers in our pockets.
work in this field. The majority of these devices are connected
The prototype successfully demonstrates the principle wirelessly to internet service providers, who in turn
of Visible Light Communication and shows the connect to the World Wide Web. With a swipe of
viability of using Python for coding, SPI for data
our finger we can find out the weather at that exact
transfer and lists suitable electronic components to
process bit-wise data signals. The prototype shows moment in Nairobi, St Petersburg and Honolulu.
that while it is possible to use addressable LED’s as Aside from the developing detrimental effect this
the transmitting element, paper concludes that they has on us socially, there is a price we are paying in
are not suitable outside of a heavily constrained the airwaves. This ‘wireless’ communication is
environment.
carried out across the Radio Frequency (RF) band
Keywords: Li-Fi, Wi-Fi, Visible light communication,
Raspberry Pi, LED, Radio Frequency, Transmitter (ACMA, 2013) and limited by blocks of
and Receiver. frequencies, each of a finite bandwidth. There will

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 The International Journal of Multi-Disciplinary Research
ISSN: 3471-7102, ISBN: 978-9982-70-318-5

be a point in time when all of the available bands There is even research underway by Rajagpol et al.
are all allocated, meaning the consumer blocks are (2012) where data streaming is being conducted at
clogged and causing ineffective and disrupted light levels such that the light appears to be off
communication. Although a ‘First World Problem’ according to the human eye. This could account for
this will have a negative impact on society, with daytime or purposefully dark environments where
deeper exclusivity creeping into signal allocation people may use their devices.
and wireless communications. With such a relatively new, green technology, the
bounds are at the outer limits of current electrical
A supplementary or superseding method of equipment, much like Wi-Fi was when it was
communication needs to be developed to combat emerging. The applications appear endless, ranging
the inevitable RF band saturation. There is such a from vehicle to vehicle communication, line of sight
method and it utilizes a relatively untapped source secure data networks, underwater communication
of waves, with an extremely large bandwidth. This (Rani et al. 2012) and all at communication speeds
method uses the visible light spectrum band, which (>3GB/s) currently not accessible to everyday
is shown (not to scale) in Figure 1 below. society (Stefan & Haas 2014).

Motivation and Significance of the study

Upon detailed investigation of Li-Fi research, it was
found that not a lot of research has been done to
develop this technology for commercial use. But
because research into Li-Fi is relatively new, the
possibilities are wide open. A lot of research is
being done to make this technology available for
commercial use in various fields, including Internet
Figure 1 - Radio Frequency vs. Visible Light access and vehicle-to-road communication using
Frequency Bands. Courtesy of author. traffic signal lights. From my review of the
literature, it became evident that work should be
done to look into the possibility of designing a new
model that could fit the present infrastructure for
indoor applications.

Scope of the study

The scope of the project was to research, develop,
build and test a prototype system that would
It can be seen that the available electromagnetic modulate Light Emitting Diodes (LED) such that
spectrum of RF and Visible Light are the integrity and quality of information was
disproportionately assigned in current preserved across free space and in turn received,
communication methods. Not only is there larger then displayed on a suitable device.
space to grow into, it is ‘greener’, the band cannot A Raspberry Pi microcontroller could be
be regulated, leased or saturated, it does not create incorporated to allow a compact, yet powerful tool
electromagnetic interference with other devices and to handle the system demands. This could help to
modulation of data can occur at frequencies that the put the prototype components within low budget
human eye cannot detect (Stefan& Haas 2014). reach of other students, consumers and researchers.
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ISSN: 3471-7102, ISBN: 978-9982-70-318-5

One of the foundations of the project was to enhance across free space. The prototype should be low
research in the area of Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) such cost, compact and simple to implement.
that a wider, functioning architecture could be
developed and implemented domestically, 2. Specific Objectives
commercially or where the benefits of Li-Fi could In order to arrive at the final aim, there were a
be realized. number of key objectives to satisfy during the
project.
The scope of this project did not include;
• Streaming audio and video signals. These included:
• Bi-directional Li-Fi communication between 1. Undertake a literature review on visible
the devices. Integration with Wi-Fi and light communication, modulation and
internet services. signal conditioning.
• Configuration of a video to interface with a 2. Undertake a basic requirements analysis
mobile or portable device 3. Critically evaluate alternative
• Creation of an application to provide a User implementations and identify suitable
Interface. components for the prototype
• Multi-channel communication. implementation.
4. Build a basic prototype with physical
Problem Statement components and achieve high speed square
The current wireless communication systems make wave transmission.
use of the Radio Frequency Spectrum. These 5. Evaluate the performance and investigate
wireless communication systems are carried out improved modulation techniques for
across the Radio Frequency (RF) band (ACMA, video transmission. Transmit basic video
2013) and limited by blocks of frequencies, each of and improve to HD (720p).
a finite bandwidth. There will be a point in time 6. Measure distance and video quality to define
when all of the available bands are all allocated, optimal prototype parameters.
meaning the consumer blocks are clogged and 7. Identify future research direction.
causing ineffective and disrupted communication.
Although a ‘First World Problem’ this will have a Research Questions
negative impact on society, with deeper exclusivity The study was guided by the following research
creeping into signal allocation and wireless questions:
communications. 1. To what extent does the current school
Thus, a supplementary or superseding method of management system impact the day-today
communication needs to be developed to combat school activities?
the inevitable RF band saturation. There is such a 2. What actions should the school take to ensure
method and it utilizes a relatively untapped source smooth, efficient, secure and reliable operation
of waves, with an extremely large bandwidth. This of day-to-day school activities?
method uses the visible light spectrum band, which 3. What is the most significant effect of managing
is known as light fidelity (Li-Fi). school management processes manually?
Aim of the study 4. To what extent does the current system impact
The project aim was to produce a functioning, the pupils, parents, teachers and administrators
‘proof of concept’ prototype that utilizes VLC work performance?
technology to send information to a related device
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 The International Journal of Multi-Disciplinary Research
ISSN: 3471-7102, ISBN: 978-9982-70-318-5

Summary The outputs of the Initialization Phase were;

The need for designing a system which gives the
A mental roadmap of the Project direction, with
application model of Li-Fi Technology using
alternative routes in reserve, a list of required
Raspberry Pi is inevitable. Li-Fi uses the visible
resources, and Set-up of a Project Diary to track
light spectrum which is better than Radio
daily progress and the reasons behind the various
frequency spectrum. With the use of LED data can
decisions made throughout the Project.
transmit at very high speed. If this technology can
be put in practical, every LED bulb can be used as C. Research Approach
like Wi-Fi hotspot to transmit data more secure and 1. Start-up
safe. The Project Start-Up phase took the outputs from
the Initialization Phase and built on them to begin
METHODOLOGY the procurement of Project resources, allocation of
A. Introduction Project space, Project management systems and to
This project was purely one of research and mark the start of the physical work phase of the
experimental work. The project was executed as a Project.
progressive development of concept following a This phase moved the Project from an idea, theory
body of research and expansion of ideas to achieve and research-based Project to one that was
the aim. The steps generally followed a typical tangible.
Project lifecycle model from the Project Outputs of the Start-Up Phase were;
Management Book of Knowledge (Stack pole, An allocated workspace to construct the prototype,
2010). Focused research to a preliminary modulation
technique, understood how to drive the LED’s
1. Project Initialization– research proposal, from a 3.3V Raspberry Pi output signal to a LED
literature review, design information Project i/p signal All necessary software downloaded and
Start Up – procurement, production readiness. installed, and Purchased and procured all test
2. Project Production Phase – build the equipment, power supplies, components, devices,
prototype cables and frame work.

3. Project Execution – get the prototype 2. Production

working, test and develop Project Closure – The Production Phase marked the start of the actual
write up dissertation, demobilization. building of the prototype. This was undoubtedly one
B. Project Initialization of the most exciting aspects of the project and
brought with it the start of the major challenge to get
The Project Initialization Phase was a combination
it working.
of producing a preliminary report, deeper research
into prototype specifics and formalization of the
The outputs of the Production Phase were;
project scope and outcomes.
This phase was purely research driven and the Build and develop the LED driver circuit to deliver
investigation carried out defined the general shape the required voltage to modulate the LED’s, and to
of the project. Significant information was completely construct all power supplies,
gathered during this phase and a thorough search equipment and components.
helped to prevent errors or miscalculations during
construction.
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 The International Journal of Multi-Disciplinary Research
ISSN: 3471-7102, ISBN: 978-9982-70-318-5

3. Execution An academic Dissertation submitted to ICU for

This phase contained the largest amount of work, B.Sc. Mobile Communication, Decommissioning of
frustration, technical demand, support and the prototype.
investigation. The primary focus was to get it
working and then to look for optimization and D. System Design
improvement, time permitting. The system can be broken down into two sub-
The planned sequence of work was; systems; the transmitter (tx) and the receiver (rx).
i. Connected power supply and signal Each one is made up of smaller functions such as
management circuits to drive LED’s on, the led electrical control circuit and board, the
ii. Confirmed that photodiodes could receive the photodiode electrical control and board, the
LED’s being manually switched on and off, software in the tx and rx modules, the peripherals
iii. Used the Raspberry Pi (RPi) transmission (keyboard, monitor, mouse etc.) And support
module (TX) to create a simple square wave to software (e.g. mobaxterm).
send to the RPi receiver module (RX) and
achieve basic communication, displayed on a Figure 2 Illustrates how the prototype is made up
screen or other output device, from a system point of view and shows the
iv. Increased data speed (via small steps) and interaction between the varying components.
maintained expected outputs,
v. Attempted to send a file across free space,
maintaining the quality of the original.

The outputs of the Execution Phase were;

A Project Diary that recorded the path followed

throughout the Project to provide a resource to
build the Dissertation from, a working Prototype
that could send files across free space using Visible
Light Communication technology, and a final
configuration (including software + code used) of
the system.

4. Project closure
The Closure Phase intends to wrap up the Project
and finalize all aspects ready for academic
E. Transmission circuit (PCB)
submission. Closure includes decommissioning the
prototype system, returning borrowed or loaned After deciding to utilize the DotStar LED
equipment and writing up the results. Should the (APA102c) and the recommended quad level
Project provide suitable material, a publishable shifting chip (74HCT125), the circuit was
paper could be written to give information to the constructed on a breadboard. A representative
wider engineering community. layout of the breadboard is shown in figure 27.
The outputs of the Project Closure phase are;

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 The International Journal of Multi-Disciplinary Research
ISSN: 3471-7102, ISBN: 978-9982-70-318-5

GND (Black wiring); o 330Ω resistor connected between OPA380

o All ground connections were made common TIA Pin 6 and RPi GPIO MISO pin 21
between the +5V power supply and the (BCM9).
Raspberry Pi.
o All OE pins used on the 74HCT125 are G. Raspberry Pi
grounded. The Raspberry Pi was selected as the micro-
o APA102C pin 3 is grounded. controller over the Arduino family of devices due to
its ability to handle faster processes, its versatility
+5V Power Supply (Red wiring); across all aspects of computing, low cost and simple
o +5V power supply connected to breadboard to use package. The Arduino family does tick off
rail, VCC pin 14 of 74HCT125 and VCC pin the low cost and actually has a wider range of
4 of APA102C. supporting devices such as sensors, displays, lights,
data processors, but it was assessed for this project
F. Receiver circuit (PCB) as not suitable for the potential media handling and
After component selection was completed, the general computing requirements of the project.
circuit was constructed on a breadboard and Arduino’s are very popular with robotics and hobby
connected to the RPi GPIO when the output levels projects, more targeted to smaller engineering-type
were known. A representative layout of the projects.
breadboard is shown in figure 35. The wiring Raspberry Pi offered the diversity to prevent the
technique is described below. project arriving at a roadblock that was unable to be
overcome, such as processing speed or data
GND (Black wiring); management. The RPi 2B CPU has a clock speed of
o All ground connections were made common. 900MHz and can be overclocked to 1000MHz
o Anode of S5973 Photodiode grounded. whereas the Arduino’s (in the same price bracket)
o Pins 3 and 4 of OPA380 TIA are grounded. have CPU speed <100MHz. Additionally, the RPI
o Anode of 1N4728 Zener grounded. came as a complete package, with Arduino
requiring ‘bolt-on’ components which would have
+5V RPi (Red wiring); increased the cost and complexity. Other micro-
o +5V supply from RPi GPIO pin 2 connected to computers were considered, but the support
breadboard +V rail. documentation, availability, cost and function
o Pin 7 of OPA380 TIA connected to +5V. removed them from final selection and purchase. A
o 1uF ceramic capacitor connected across +5V table of these has been presented earlier in this
rail and ground document.

DATA Signal (Blue wiring); H. Power supply

DotStar LED’s are a +5V device and the initial plan
o 1MΩ resistor connected across Pins 2 and 6
was to utilize the Raspberry Pi’s +5V power supply
of OPA380 TIA.
to light the LED and power the quad level shifting
o Cathode of S5973 Photodiode connected to
chip. On AdaFruit’s DotStar Overview webpage
Pin 2 of OPA380 TIA.
(Burgess, 2016), they discuss that it is possible to
o Cathode of 1N4728 Zener connected to Pin 6
power the LED’s off +3.3V but that it is not
of OPA380 TIA.

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ISSN: 3471-7102, ISBN: 978-9982-70-318-5

recommended. I attempted to do this initially, but RESULTS

was unable to get a single LED to respond. With the successful processing of square waves, the
For the first trials, the Raspberry Pi +5V supply script was finished off to process the binary data of
from the GPIO was used, with light output a file. This file was a picture of the raspberry pi logo
significantly lower than what would be expected in a jpeg format. The file was uncomplicated, but it
from a bright LED. Without modulation, the LED didn’t matter as the only meaningful aspect was that
was observed to flicker. Through research this was it contained binary data to extract and send.
found to be a result of the Raspberry Pi’s current
sharing scheme with other internal processes. The When the file data was first transmitted, the concept
RPi was powering a Wi-Fi USB dongle, running of data encoding was not at the forefront of the
Python code on the desktop, using SPI, and also project. However, once the output was seen, it was
providing power to the quad level shifter. This clear that this aspect was critical to the success of
unreliable nature of current sharing forced the sending and processing any information. A screen
purchase of a separate +5V, 1A power supply. capture of the data at the output of the receiver can
Although this was openly discussed on online be seen in section 5.3.8.
forums as necessary when powering an entire LED It shows the long sequences of similar bits and
strip, it did improve the brightness and robustness unless the original clock signal or timing is known,
of illumination from the circuit. Implementing a the bits cannot be separated into the original stream.
separate supply was at the expense of my compact Note that this is only a small snapshot of the data
prototype objective, but could be removed on future that gets transmitted and received.
revisions by a higher rated USB supply or a new
model RPi with USB3.0. Because of the boot-up failures of the raspberry pi
modules, the final testing to determine transmission
I. GPIO protection bit rate and actual frequency were unable to be
In order to prevent against damage due to performed. Timing of the transmission and
inadvertent supply of current back through the confirmation of the bit-wise size of the file data
output GPIO’s (MOSI, SCLK), 470Ω resistors were array (i.e. how many elements) could have been
placed between the GPIO and the input to the level used to determine this system performance
shifting chip. Because the LED was powered by the characteristic.
+5V power supply, the value of resistor had no
bearing on the brightness, which was set by the 32- Figure 3: Block Diagram for Transmitter and
bit data signal. Receiver Modules

To see if there was an effect on the data and SCLK

signals from the GPIO, 330Ω, 470Ω and 1kΩ
resistors were tested as protection. The value of
resistor had no measurable or detrimental effect on
the signal strength or quality coming out of the
GPIO. The quad level shifter also just boosted the
value to +5V and passed to the LED.

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ISSN: 3471-7102, ISBN: 978-9982-70-318-5

Figure 4 - Software Diagram for Transmission of 18 lumens, the luminous intensity does not offer
Module enough ‘power’ to transmit data over distance
greater than 400mm. For a domestic application this
does not allow an associated device to be far enough
away from a ceiling mounted lighting installation.
An opportunity does exist for smaller installations
such as desk lamps.

System Implementation Results

System implementation involves all the activities
starting from the installation of the new system, in
order to implement the full operation.

Figure 6 - Software Diagram for Receiver

Module.
Source: developed system

Figure 5 - Receiver Module Breadboard Layout

Source: developed system

Aside from measuring the system capability, it was

able to successfully extract a file and transmit the
data across free space using modulation of an LED.

Due to the nature of communication with

addressable LED’s, they are not suitable as a
transmission element, unless for low speed
applications. These speeds would have to be above Figure 7 - TX Module Layout Diagram.
those perceptible by the human eye and also those Source: developed system
that are likely to cause medical events such as
seizure triggers, headaches and nausea.
Transmission speeds with a clock signal of 32MHz
are therefore limited to 1MHz before any bandwidth
or circuit limiting conditions.

In an addressable LED strip, the proximity of the

illuminating elements to each other, may result in
difficulties locking onto a particular element or
interference caused by adjacent elements. This
could be overcome with a rigorous hand-off regime
or assigning transmission elements spaced a 1m or Figure 8– Prototype System Diagram
greater apart. With a singular element luminous flux Source: developed system
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ISSN: 3471-7102, ISBN: 978-9982-70-318-5

1. Programming Language and Program addressable LED (which formed some of the
Design knowledge gap) there were no other components
The programming language used in this project is selected that were deemed inappropriate.
python. The system was designed in models which
is the structure it should be. The source and object Another significant objective was to build a basic
code are provided in appendix column. prototype with physical components and to achieve
high speed square wave transmission. This was
2. System Evaluation and Maintenance System achieved with the transmission of a 1MHz square
maintenance is the process of monitoring, wave between the two modules. The square wave
evaluating and modifying a system to make was at the correct level and was clamped to +3.3V
desirable changes. System maintenance involve to prevent damage to the Raspberry Pi GPIO.
the constant review of output from the system
and updating its format as well as the need of the The original project intent was to transmit and
changing the current situation. Therefore, receive video files, but the complexity of this task
evaluation ensures improved performance and as well as building a light fidelity prototype from
great efficiency. If the system performance is scratch meant that this goal was unobtainable in the
below the desired standard set in the design. timeframe available.
Then, it will need to identify the faults by the
application of relevant maintenance methods. The complexity of transmitting video signals at a bit
level was found to be at a significantly difficult
3. Documentation level for an undergraduate project. Just transmitting
Documentation it is the detailed information about a a video file is complex enough, but to stream the
system design specification, its internal workings video and mixed audio signals is very advanced
and its functionality. It includes information on how work. In hindsight (and only discovered through
to use the system and how it works. research) this should have been put into the ‘as time
permits’ section rather than a project objective.
DISCUSSION
The first step in the implementation of the project As such, the goal was amended to transmitting a file
was to conduct a literature review, conduct a across free space and that was partially achieved.
requirements analysis and identify suitable There was also difficulty encountered with
components for prototype implementation. implementation of an encoding scheme, with the
The literature review was comprehensive and realization coming late in the project development.
covered all aspects of Visible Light With other academic commitments, the ability to
Communication, alternative technology as well as deliver a coherent report took precedence over
the State of the Art. Light Fidelity is a fast-moving implementing the chosen encoding scheme.
research field with it gaining in popularity through With the challenges presented by the addressable
the media and topical journalism. Nevertheless, a LED, the distance was only able to be quantified at
knowledge gap was identified and targeted with this 200mm with a focusing lens and up to 400mm with
prototype. a collimator to focus the light beam onto the
Components were reviewed in light of the photodiode. Note that the distance parameter was
requirements analysis and selected to fulfil the improved by altering an aspect of the prototype.
various roles within the prototype. Aside from the Regarding quality of the reproduction, the file was
not able to be reproduced in the receiver module due
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to difficulties encountered with the encoding and So, although the performance of the prototype in
modulation scheme. The code tested was able to regards to distance and quality (at this point in time)
accurately reproduce the original file, but this was is poor, this object can be considered partially
within the transmission module rather than across successful.
free space.
COMPARISON OF LI-FI TO OTHER TRANSMISSION MEDIA
Features Li-Fi Wi-Fi WiMAX Bluetooth
Full form Light fidelity Wireless fidelity Worldwide Bluetooth full from the
Interoperability for epithet of the tenth-
Microwave Access century king Herald
“Bluetooth”
Operatio It transmits data using It transmits data using Broadband Wireless Anywhere at least two
n light with the help of radio waves with the access Bluetooth devices exist.
LED bulbs. help of Wi-Fi router,
Interfere Do not have any Will have interference WiMAX communications Bluetooth devices
nce interference issues issues from nearby pose a significant interfere with other
similar to access points (routes) interference threat to technologies
radiofrequency waves satellite signals
transmitted in the C -band
frequency
Technolo Present IrDA WLAN802.11a/b/g/n/ Wireless metropolitan WPAN
gy compliant devices ac/ad standard area
compliant devices network (WMAN)
Applicati Used in airlines, Used for internet WiMAX serves a larger Bluetooth applications
ons undersea explorations, browsing interoperable network is huge, because we
operation theatres in with the help of Wi-Fi transact business and
the hospitals, office kiosks or Wi-Fi communication more
and home premises for hotpots with people who are
data transfer and close by than with those
internet browsing who are far away
Merits Interference is less, it Interference is more, WiMAX can be used for Setting up a Bluetooth
can pass through salty cannot pass through long range. It provides connection between two
sea water, works in a sea broadband connectivity devices is quick and
dense region. water, works in less up to varied ranges, easy. A Bluetooth
dense region around 30km. headset is compatible
with any other device
that supports Bluetooth.
Privacy In Li-Fi, light blocked In Wi-Fi, RF signal WiMAX uses X.509 or Bluetooth offers several
by the walls and hence can’t PKMv2 as authentication security modes and
will provide more be blocked by wall algorithms. Mandatory-3 device manufactures
secure data transfer and DES Optical-AES determine which mode
hence need to employ to include in a
techniques to achieve Bluetooth-enabled
secure data transfer gadget.
Data About greater than WLAN -11n offers Waves at bps/Hz and can 800Kbps
transfer 10Gbps 150Mbps, About 1- peak up to 100 Mbps in a
Speed 5Gbps 20 MHz channel.
can be achieved using

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WiGig/Giga-IR

Frequenc 10000 times frequency 2.4GHz, 4.9GHz and Licensed/Unlicensed 2G 2.4GHz

y of spectrum of the radio 5GHz to
operation 11GHz
Data Works in high dense Works in less dense Works in high dense Less dense
density environment environment due to environment
interference related
issues
Coverage About 10 meters About 32 Up to 40 miles About 10 meters
distance meters
(WLAN802.11b 11
g), vary based on
transmit
power and antenna
types
System Lamp driver, LED Requires routers to be There are three main Four major components:
compone bulb (lamp) and photo installed, subscriber components of WiMAX Radio Unit (radio
nt detector will make up devices (laptops, network architecture: the transceiver), Baseband
Complete Li-Fi system. PDAs, mobile stations, an access Unit (flash memory &
desktops) are referred service network and CPU),
as connectivity service Software Stack (driver
antenna network which is software) and
responsible for providing Application Software
IP functions. (user interface)
Power Medium Medium High Low
Consump
tion
Cost Low Medium Medium low
price
Working Direct Binary Data Various Topologies Request/Grant Master-Slave
concept Serving

CONCLUSION
This thesis demonstrated a solution to the problem have been facing for many years, mainly
of integrating Visible Light Communication environmental and power usage issues.
technology with present infrastructure, without VLC is still in its beginning stages, but
having to make major changes to that infrastructure. improvements are being made rapidly, and soon
The proposed system was segmented into two parts this technology will be able to be used in our daily
with different interface protocols and was lives.
demonstrated practically. Visible Light
Communication is a rapidly growing segment of the It is intended that this research will provide the
field of communication. There are many advantages starting steps for further study and development on
to using VLC. There are also many challenges. VLC raspberry pi integration with white LEDs can be
will be able to solve many of the problems people used for data transmission.
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In spite of the research problems it is our belief opportunity to tailor a light Fidelity prototype
that the VLC system will become one of the most using Arduino products. These remove the
promising technologies for the future generation in challenges faced with a +3.3V device
optical wireless communication. interfacing with +5V components and remove
the current and CPU sharing schemes of the
Future works Raspberry Pi.
There was a significant process of discovery and 5. Alternative Coding Language: Python is
learning throughout the project and this has resulted regularly out-performed in coding benchmarks
in a clear understanding of where this research by other languages such as C and C++. Python
needs to go in the future as outlined below. could present a limitation in a real-time
environment particularly if streaming data live.
1. Internet of Things: Light Fidelity has a place An option would be to explore an alternative
in the domestic environment to contribute to the coding language to handle the file processing
Internet of Things. The release of small and LED modulation.
microprocessors means that similar prototype 6. Vehicle to Vehicle Communication: Being
fundamentals shown here can be implemented able to modulate an LED means that this can be
on a much smaller scale. The components used applied to any LED. Many vehicles now come
in this project are compact and can easily be with LED lights in the front and rear and if
adapted to fit into a small package such as the these could be modulated to carry information,
Raspberry Pi Zero. An LED transmitter would then vehicles could communicate.
need to be in line of sight of the receiver and This application can lend itself to sending voice
communication can take place between activated messages to drivers in front or behind,
household devices. or warn a trailing vehicle of the speed it is
2. Improvement of LED Transmitter Element: doing, or that a vehicle is too close the one in
It is clear that addressable LED’s are not front. A potential invention could be the sending
presently suitable for this application, so of SMS-like messages to other drivers,
research could continue to find a small, bright converted from voice to text and sent via
LED that could be used as the transmission modulated head or taillights. Imagine being able
element for a prototype. This would cut down to tell another driver that he has one headlight
on coding and support components. out or he’s left his wallet on the roof or that
Consideration should be given to ceiling there’s a speed camera up the road.
mounted LED’s or even modulation of domestic 7. Photodiode in Photovoltaic vs
ceiling lights. Photoconductive Modes: Test the photodiode
3. Implementation of Data Encoding in photoconductive mode and a control of
Techniques: This project was not able to photovoltaic mode to observe differences in
successfully implement a data encoding speed, noise, signals etc.
technique to allow data reproduction in the
receiver module. The project has suggested that
Differential Manchester is suitable and also
shown software diagrams of where to integrate
it. Other encoding schemes could be trialed.
4. Possible Introduction of Arduino: With the
success (with some limitations) there is an
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 The International Journal of Multi-Disciplinary Research
ISSN: 3471-7102, ISBN: 978-9982-70-318-5

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank the Almighty God for the gift
of life and knowledge throughout my academic
journey.
Firstly, I would like to thank my family for being
patient, thoughtful, tolerant and supportive during
times of stress and pressure. Without such an
understanding and considerate family this process
would not have been possible, nor would I have
enjoyed the success I have reached.
Secondly, I would like to thank the teaching staff of
the Information and Communications University,
without their dedication and devotion, the external
student programs of the Information and
Communications University would not be the
successful institution they are today. Their
commitment and sacrifice are a cornerstone to
building professional and competent engineers.
Lastly, I would like to thank my supervisors, Ms.
Silvia Nanyangwe and Mr. Lamarck Nsama.
Without their insight, discipline and technical
support I would not have decided to take on the
challenges presented by this project.

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 The International Journal of Multi-Disciplinary Research
ISSN: 3471-7102, ISBN: 978-9982-70-318-5

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 The International Journal of Multi-Disciplinary Research
ISSN: 3471-7102, ISBN: 978-9982-70-318-5

PYTHON CODE 2. Receiver Module Code

1. Transmitter Module Code #!/usr/bin/python
#!/usr/bin/python from PIL import Image
from PIL import Image import time
import time import spidev
import spidev
import RPi.GPIO as GPIO #set up SPI
#set up SPI for LED spi = spidev.SpiDev()
spi = spidev.SpiDev() spi.open(0,1)
spi.open(0, 0) spi.max_speed_hz = 31200000
spi.max_speed_hz = 31200000 #define sync-words for start and finish
#define start and finish sync-words picture = bytearray()
#implement differential Manchester coding with SCLK buffer = bytearray()
#store new encoded data in new bytearray #this is where I store the final bits
#append start and finish sync-words to data bytearray #put the bits in an array to rebuild
#opening the image file// for the TX module #Insert GPIO listening for start sync-word
buffer = bytearray() #put the bits in an #once start sync-word seen store next data to bytearray
array to rebuild fordecoding
picture = bytearray() #this is where I store #listen for finish sync-word and stop sending to
the final bits bytearray
file = open("logo.jpg", "rb") #decode bytearray looking for transitions in data.
bytes = bytearray(file.read()) #send 1’s or 0’s to new bytearray for conversion back
for byte in bytes: to image
for i in range(8): #convert back to right structure// for RX module
bit = (byte>>i) & 1 for i in range((len(buffer)/8)):
buffer.append(bit) bitstobytes = buffer[i*8:i*8+8]
#send bits to the LED using SPI byte = 0
if bit == 1: for x in xrange(8)
resp = spi.xfer([0xFFFFFFF]) byte = byte +
else: pow(2*bits obytes[x],x)*bitstobytes[x]
resp = spi.xfer([0x00000000]) picture.append(byte)
spi.close() #write to file and display result
refile = open("relogo.jpg", "wb")
refile.write(picture))

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