The Chosen One: Combating VLC Interference in Platooning using Matrix Headlights

Platooning is one of the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) applications that is envisioned to improve both road traffic safety as well as road capacity and environmental impact. The coordination of vehicles in a platoon depends on reliable real-time communication. In addition to Radio Frequency (RF)-based technologies such as Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) and Cellular V2X (C-V2X), Line Of Sight (LOS) technologies such as Vehicular VLC (V-VLC) are considered to establish the necessary communication links. In previous work, we investigated the LOS behavior of V-VLC and found that there is a non-negligible amount of interference caused by cars on neighboring lanes or by following cars when driving on a curved road. In this paper, we investigate the impact of such interference on platooning applications. As a solution, we further suggest the use of spatial multiplexing using modern Adaptive Front-Lighting Systems (AFSs). The narrow beams of single LEDs of such matrix lights massively reduce the interference level and make the communication even more robust and reliable.