Optical Camera Communication in Vehicular Applications: A Review

Recently, substantial development is observed in the area of Internet of Vehicles owing to the application of wireless communication technologies. Majority of these technologies are based on radio frequency (RF); however, RF spectra are overly congested and regulated, and hence, insufficient to support massive data traffic in the future. In recent times, optical camera communication (OCC) that uses a light-emitting diode (LED) as a transmitter and a camera as a receiver has been deemed an excellent solution for future intelligent transportation systems. As a communication medium, OCC mostly uses visible light, the spectrum of which is vast, completely free, and unregulated. The current outdoor environment is heavily crammed with LED infrastructures, and most vehicles have built-in cameras, rendering OCC immensely promising. OCC is highly secured, supports mobility, and can achieve an excellent bit-error rate. However, the data rate obtained using OCC is not as high as that obtained using other RF-based systems; therefore, its reliability in fast-changing channels is still under research. This review article discusses the applications of the OCC system in vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure (or vice versa) networks; to the best of our knowledge, this is the first extensive review dedicated to the above topic. Herein, we provide a general overview of OCC standardization in IEEE and ISO in recent years. Then, we explain the general principles of OCC, including channel characteristics, region of interest signaling, and modulation schemes particularly considered in vehicular communications. Additionally, we present a comprehensive overview of the effects of mobility, noise, and interference in OCC. Finally, the challenges and future opportunities in OCC are outlined.