Navigation Research

 The VLC links can also be used for navigation. While satellite-based GPS and GPS-aided inertial navigation systems (INS) are capable methods for outdoor navigation, GPS signals are usually unavailable indoors. Indoor navigation emerges as a growing area of research. Most existing approaches typically require installation of special-purpose infrastructure or sensors. Thus attempts to provide spatial location information in complex buildings, like hospitals, airports, train stations, hotels, convention centers, etc., are either expensive or inaccurate. We consider “free” and widely-distributed illumination LEDs as location sensors, a native part of the building infrastructure, in order for the system to offer low-cost spatial location and navigation services. We research how the lighting characteristics align with the requirements of navigation approaches. In the process, we examine suitable signaling formats superimposed onto communication, and develop new navigation techniques while predicting performance.