PerceptiFi: Integrated Light Sensing and Communications for Perceptive LiFi

The proliferation of the Internet-of-Things (IoT) is creating a cyber-physical continuum in which the human experience seamlessly co-exists with digitalised programmable intelligence. Examples include e-health, collaborative robots, and the metaverse. To realise a harmonious interaction between the physical and digital worlds in such applications, future wireless networks are required to provide not only unprecedented capacity, e.g., higher data rates and extended coverage, but also advanced sensing capabilities to capture the physical data and update the digital representation in real time. This project will address both requirements by pioneering new technologies for advanced light-based joint communications and sensing capabilities for light fidelity (LiFi) systems. LiFi offers high-speed optical wireless communications using simple light sources and detectors. However, realising a reliable LiFi operation in practical scenarios requires overcoming the limitations imposed by the nature of the optical channel, namely the dependency on the line-of-sight, which means that the performance can be jeopardised by link failure caused by user mobility, misalignment, and blockages. PerceptiFi will overcome these challenges and unlock new potentials for energy-efficient, cost-effective, and reliable LiFi systems. My vision is to transform LiFi access points from wireless communication devices to multi-service systems that sense, think, and adapt. Firstly, the project will engineer LiFi systems that are assisted by the physical environment via the integration of optical intelligent reflecting surfaces (IRSs). IRSs offer beam steering capabilities to control the indoor signal propagation, facilitating a dynamic operation that can be adapted to the varying system parameters. Secondly, the project will develop novel IRS-assisted light-based sensing mechanisms capable of locating active devices, monitoring passive objects, and tracking the changes in the environment with cm or sub-cm accuracy. Thirdly, analytically tractable performance evaluation metrics and resource allocation techniques will be proposed for effective IRS-assisted light-based joint communications and sensing, both in a single LiFi attocell and networked attocells. Fourthly, based on the developed sensing techniques, the project will conceive a novel architecture for perceptive LiFi systems that utilise sensing for autonomous configuration to dynamically provide capacity where and when it is needed. For example, if the communication channel undergoes rapid variations due to user mobility, random orientation of handheld devices, or link blockages, the LiFi system can sense these changes and adjust its operation in real-time in terms of user association, power levels, IRS’ elements allocation, etc. This project is timely because of the unprecedented need for advanced data collection and wireless capacity worldwide. It supports the UK’s requirement for national capability in wireless communications while contributing to the UK's 2050 net-zero targets by enabling green and energy-efficient light-based multi-service systems. The outcomes of this research will tackle the main barriers to wide LiFi deployment, enabling the UK industries to gain market advantage by developing reliable LiFi solutions that could serve a wide range of vertical sectors, including smart homes, healthcare, automated manufacturing, public safety, and public transport. The project will be conducted in collaboration with multiple industrial partners within the LiFi ecosystem, including the major telecoms service provider, BT, the leading LiFi solutions supplier, pureLiFi, and the UK authority on advanced digital technology, Digital Catapult. The programme of research will also be supported by our academic collaborators at the Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser of the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas(IESL-FORTH), Greece, who are experts in the development of programmable optical IRSs.