In the heart of China’s capital, researchers are pioneering a technology that could illuminate the future of transportation, particularly in challenging mountain terrains. Wei Yang, a leading figure from the Institute of Intelligent Communication and Computing at Beijing Information Science and Technology University, has spearheaded a study that could revolutionize how vehicles communicate in intelligent transportation systems (ITS).
The study, published in the journal “Photonics” (translated to English), focuses on visible light communication (VLC), a technology that uses light to transmit data. While VLC has been touted as a key technology for next-generation ITS, its effectiveness has been hindered by obstacles that block the line-of-sight (LOS) communication link, especially in dynamic environments like mountain roads.
To tackle this issue, Yang and his team proposed a novel vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) VLC system that employs optical reflecting intelligent surfaces (RISs). These RISs act like smart mirrors, reflecting and focusing light to maintain communication even when direct lines are obstructed.
“The beauty of this system is its adaptability,” Yang explained. “By using RISs, we can significantly improve the performance of VLC systems in challenging environments, making them more reliable and efficient.”
The researchers also considered real-world factors like atmospheric turbulence and weather conditions in their channel modeling, ensuring the practicality of their study. They derived closed-form expressions for average path loss, channel capacity, and outage probability, providing a comprehensive understanding of the system’s performance.
One of the most notable findings is the derivation of a novel closed-form expression for the properties of RIS. This expression can be used to calculate the number of RIS elements required to achieve a target energy efficiency, a crucial factor for commercial applications.
“With a reasonable number of RIS elements, we’ve seen an improvement of over 23.5% in path loss performance compared to existing studies,” Yang revealed. This enhancement could translate to more robust and energy-efficient communication systems, a boon for the energy sector.
The study’s theoretical expressions were validated through numerical simulations, confirming the effectiveness of the RIS-aided V2I–VLC system. The implications of this research are vast, promising to shape the future of ITS, particularly in challenging terrains.
As the world moves towards smarter and more sustainable transportation systems, technologies like RIS-aided V2I–VLC could play a pivotal role. By enhancing communication reliability and energy efficiency, they could contribute significantly to the energy sector’s goals, driving us towards a brighter, more connected future.
In the words of Yang, “This is just the beginning. The potential of RIS-aided V2I–VLC is immense, and we’re excited to explore its possibilities further.”