Is Visible Light Communications Suitable for Using in Lane-Changing Maneuvers?

Lane-changing behaviour is a crucial aspect of driving that requires a safe and efficient driving environment. To achieve this, an accurate perception of the surrounding vehicles and environment is essential, enabling the vehicle to make informed lane-changing decisions and ultimately improving the process’s reliability and success rate. This paper uses a non-sequential ray channel modelling approach to investigate visible light communication (VLC) in lane change applications. The vehicle’s headlamps and taillights act as wireless transmitters, while photo-detectors on other vehicles act as wireless receivers. The system performance is evaluated in terms of bit error rate (BER), spectral efficiency, and packet delivery ratio (PDR) for different inter-vehicle distances and lateral shifts. The effect of vehicle velocity on the system performance is also investigated. The results demonstrated that VLC could be qualified for exchanging data between the cars for a safe lane change. It also showed significant vehicle position and velocity impacts on the system performance during this process.