Visible Light Communication Based Positioning Using Color Sensor

Based on light-emitting diode (LED) lighting and recent advances in visible light communication (VLC), we propose a new visible light-based localization scheme that uses a grid color-coding principle to develop a highly accurate localization system. By measuring the light received through the projected area on the color-coded film (for light filtering) and comparing it with a predefined color code, the system can determine the 2-dimensional position of the receiver relative to an LED, i.e., the reference point (RP). It is worth noting that the proposed solution has the following attractive features and differs from existing systems: (i) it uses only one photodiode (PD) on the user device for localization, and (ii) it can provide highly accurate indoor localization with centimeter resolution. Interesting applications include localization for unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), advanced warehousing and logistics. Since PD or light sensor can have a response time of about 25 ms or even faster, one can also expect low latency in localization, which is especially suitable for supporting mobile users and new location-based services. Simulation results have shown that an average positioning error of less than 10 centimeters is achievable under suitable conditions.