Enhancing Vehicular Systems through the Synergy between Visible Light Communication (VLC) and Radio Frequency (RF)

Vehicular communication is a critical technology in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) that aims to improve transportation safety and efficiency. However, traditional radio-based systems, such as Cellular V2X (C-V2X) and Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC), may suffer from performance degradation in dense traffic scenarios. To address this issue, Line of Sight (LoS) technologies such as Visible Light Communication (VLC) are being explored as complementary technologies to RF.VLC utilizes LEDs on vehicles to exchange information with preceding and subsequent vehicles, allowing ITS to create a safer and less congested transportation system. Recent studies have shown that combining DSRC and VLC can minimize the performance degradation experienced by RF communication technologies.This paper highlights the need to combine RF and LoS technologies to improve the stability and reliability of V2V communication. It discusses various LoS and RF technologies and presents combinations that can be used for communication. Finally, a hybrid strategy that combines the best properties of individual technologies is proposed, demonstrating the feasibility of such a solution.