A bidirectional real-time visible light communications
prototype, supporting data rate adaption
according to the lighting conditions and operating
at speeds of up to 500 Mb/s, has been presented
for the first time. It combines both lighting and
fast wireless data communications under very
realistic conditions and is entirely based on commercially
available low-cost hardware.
Future research and development will be
directed toward further system optimization,
hybrid integration with other wired and wireless
technologies, and the use of space-division multiple
access for operating multiple optical wireless
links in parallel. An increasingly important
aspect is an internationally harmonized view on
standardization in order to create the ecosystem
needed for the rollout of this technology in the
future.