Wireless Pers Commun (2016) 86:1159–1168

DOI 10.1007/s11277-015-2980-3

Optical Wireless Audio Communication Using LED

Lighting System

Shanthi Prince1 • A. M. Vibin1

Published online: 4 August 2015

Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Abstract Visible light communication is one of the Optical wireless communication

method. It is a rapidly developing wireless communication technique and uses LEDs for
data communication. Due to advancements in the semiconductor industry solid state
lighting has become an emerging technology for ubiquitous lighting systems. Because of
the improvement in technologies visible light LEDs including white LEDs are becoming
more efficient and reliable. Recently these LEDs found a number of applications in the area
of lighting and communication. Researchers identified that wireless technology can be
embedded to these LED lighting systems by using proper modulation schemes. A novel
method for short range optical wireless audio signal communication using white LED
lighting system is described in this paper. The system is designed in such a way that the
visible LEDs can concurrently be used for lighting and communication applications. A
prototype of the system is developed and a pilot study has been carried out in this regard.
This paper also discusses the signal to noise ratio and bit error rate of the developed system
with the help of experimental and simulational results. The simultaneous use of visible
light LEDs for lighting and communication will lead to many interesting and useful
applications. Since the system is used for both lighting and communication, energy can be
conserved which is having prime most importance in the current century.

Keywords Optical wireless communication
Visible light communication
Light

emitting diode (LED)
Signal to noise ratio
Bit error rate

& Shanthi Prince

shanthi.p@ktr.srmuniv.ac.in
1
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, SRM University, Kattankulathur,
Tamil Nadu 603203, India

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1160 S. Prince, A. M. Vibin

1 Introduction

Free space optics (FSO) communication is a type of optical wireless communication (OWC)
technique in which data is transmitted through free space by properly modulating infrared
(IR) or visible light. It is cost effective, offers huge bandwidth, high data rate and very secure
alternative to other wireless communication techniques. In FSO data transmission from one
system to another is done by using eye safe light beams in the terra hertz spectrum.
Due to the advancement in the semiconductor industry and the advent of high energy
bright LEDs, researchers have now started to use visible spectrum for data communication
apart from its use as an optical source. This area is generally known as visible light
communication (VLC). This system allows achieving virtually unlimited bandwidth within
the visible spectrum. There are many light sources surrounding us and any one of these can
act as a transmitter in this communication. Due to this feature VLC systems are emerging
as a ubiquitous communication method. VLC systems find many new and useful appli-
cations in various fields and are discussed in various literatures. Nakagawa et al. [1] and [2]
developed a data transmission system using white LEDs which can be used in the indoor
environment. A VLC system utilizing white LED lights for developing wireless home link
is discussed by Nakagawa et al. [3]. VLC systems are also used in the field of Intelligent
Transport System (ITS). One example for such application is road to vehicle communi-
cation [4] and uses parallel optical communication. These systems help vehicle drivers by
providing traffic information. Here traffic signal light act as a transmitter and photode-
tectors or a camera can act as a receiver. Image processing is one of the key technology for
ITS and on-vehicle camera is expected to help drivers for improving safety [5]. Wireless
universal serial bus (WUSB) systems are also developed using VLC technique [6]. VLC
systems developed by using RGB LEDs [7] have the advantage of using three different
colours in which each colour can be modulated independently and can transfer three
different datas simultaneously.
Power line communication (PLC) is an emerging technique having potential capacities
and it can be used along with white LED indoor communication systems for various appli-
cations like broad band access [8]. Such integrated systems are also developed for FSO
communication [9]. Systems using light have more advantages when compared to radio wave
and IR systems. It is expected that the next generation of wireless networks will use light
because of its advantages and huge useable bandwidth. Another main advantage of these
systems is that it may be back-engineered into existing telecommunication technology and
hybrid systems can be developed in combination with radio frequency or microwave systems.
In this paper a novel method for optical wireless audio signal communication by using
LED lighting system is described. Next section describes the proposed system with the
help of a block schematic. Developed system is tested in the indoor environment and the
results are discussed in the following sections. This paper also discusses about various
performance analyzes which are carried out based on the experimental results.

Audio Signal
(Voice/MP3)

Audio Modulator & PreAmplifier Demodulator Audio Filter

Amplifier LED Driver & Amplifier

LED Array Detector Array

Fig. 1 Block schematic of the optical wireless audio signal communication system

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Optical Wireless Audio Communication Using LED Lighting System 1161

2 System Model

The optical wireless audio signal system is show in Fig. 1. Data i.e. the audio signal either
voice signal or MP3 format is transferred wirelessly in optical form from transmitter to
receiver. The system uses an array of LEDs as a transmitter and the receiver consist of an
array of photodiodes (SFH203P).
The transmitter module consists of a microphone input/audio jack through which either
voice/MP3 signal that is to be transmitted is sent. Audio amplifier amplifies the audio
signal. LEDs have the ability to switch ON and OFF thousands of times per second. In the
developed system switching frequency is set at 100 kHz. This frequency is generated by a
Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) and it is frequency modulated by the audio signal
which is to be transmitted. So in the optical domain the data is embedded within the visible
light by On–Off Keying (OOK). Since switching occurs at very high frequency, it is
beyond the persistence of vision of human eye and therefore light source appears to be
constantly ON.
At the receiver side direct detection is used to receive the modulated light. The pho-
todetector array will produce a current proportional to the intensity of light falling on it.
The preamplifier is nothing but a transimpedence amplifier which will convert the current
produced by the photodetector to a voltage. This voltage is amplified and demodulated. An
audio filter is used to separate audio signal. This signal is amplified and fed to a sound
reproduction system such as loud speaker.

3 Performance Analysis

The feasibility study of a VLC system and its performance measures are simulated. Based
on the simulation studies a pilot study is carried out and an optical wireless link is
established by using white LED lighting system as a transmitter and an array of pho-
todetectors as receiver.

Fig. 2 Optical wireless communication link geometry

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1162 S. Prince, A. M. Vibin

3.1 Simulation Study

Various performance analyses have been carried out in the indoor environment for
studying the system. Some of the measurements that are used to characterize the perfor-
mance of the VLC system are discussed in this section.
Figure 2 shows the OWC geometry for a single transmitter and receiver. In Fig. 2, Pt is
the transmitted power, d is the distance between transmitter and receiver, h is the angle of
irradiance and u is the angle of incidence.The visible radiations from the source are
generally expressed by a number of flux lines and it is proportional to the intensity of that
lighting system. For visible radiation this luminous flux is expressed in Lumens. The
distribution of luminous flux lines for the developed system is shown in Fig. 3. This figure
shows the luminous flux inside a room with a single transmitter. The room is assumed to be
a having a width of 5 m, length 5 m and height 5 m. The transmitter is fixed at the center
of the ceiling and it’s position coordinate is (2.5, 2.5). The work bench is assumed to be
having a height of 1.5 m. The user terminal is on the work bench and movable along the
horizontal plane of the work bench.
Luminous intensity is the unit that indicates the energy flux per unit solid angle. It is
given by the ratio of luminous flux of a source to the solid angle subtended by the detected
area and source. The semi-angle at half power is experimentally found out to be 33°. The
maximum value of luminous flux at the center is 350 lumen and reduces towards the corner
of the room. The illuminance of lights is standardized by International Organization for
standards (ISO) and according to these standards illuminance of 300–1500 lux is required
for office work. The sufficient illuminance, according to ISO, can be achieved if multiple
LED lighting equipments are fixed inside the room, which in turn improves the perfor-
mances of the developed system.

340

320
400
300
Luminous flux (Lumen)

300 280

260
200
240

100 220

200
0
180
5
4 5 160
3 4
2 3 140
2
1 1
Room length (m) 0 0 Room width (m)

Fig. 3 The distribution of flux lines inside a room

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Optical Wireless Audio Communication Using LED Lighting System 1163

The optical power levels define the SNR at the receiver, which is often used to char-
acterize the performance of analog communication system.The variation in SNR with
distance for different angle of irradiance is shown in Fig. 4. From figure it is clear that the
SNR degrades with distance, due to loss in received optical power. SNR is inversely
proportional to the transmitter–receiver separation. The variations in SNR for line of sight
(LOS) condition (h = 0°) non line of sight conditions at different angle of irradiance are
also shown in the same figure for comparison. From Fig. 4 it is also clear that the SNR
varies with the the angle of irradiance and angle of incidence. From the wireless optical
communication link geometry shown in Fig. 2 it is clear that the angle of incidence and
angle of irradiance are same. The SNR value can be improved by increasing the number of
LEDs in the lighting system since it effectively increases the transmitted optical power.
A fundamental consideration in optical communication system design is the difference
between the transmitted and received optical power levels. Some of the transmitted optical
power will be lost due to attenuation, noise, scattering and electronics and these losses
increases with distance. The variation in SNR with transmitter power for the line of sight
configuration, with transmitter power (W) along the x-axis and SNR (dB) along the y-axis
is shown in Fig. 5. SNR as a function of transmitter power for different values of trans-
mitter–receiver separation is also shown in the Fig. 5. From figure it is clear that, for a
particular transmitter–receiver separation, the received power is directly proportional to the
transmitted power and the SNR increases with transmitter power. The SNR is directly
proportional to the square of the transmitter power and inversely proportional to the square
of the distance.
In digital systems, bit errors are the number of received bits of a data stream over a
channel that have been altered due to synchronization errors, distortion, interference or
noise. For digital transmissions, the most common figure of merit is the bit error rate or bit

2
10

1
10
SNR (dB)

0
10

-1
10

θ=0o
θ=15o

-2
θ=45o For 3 LEDs
10
1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Distance (m)

Fig. 4 SNR as a function of distance for directed LOS and non-directed LOS links

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1164 S. Prince, A. M. Vibin

2
10

SNR (dB)

1
10

d=1m
d=2m
d=3.5m

For direct LOS θ= 0 o, ψ = 0 0

0
10
0 5 10 15 20
Transmitter power (W)

Fig. 5 Variation in SNR with transmitter power for LOS configuration

0
10

-2
10

-4
10

-6
10
BER

-8
10

-10
10

-12
10

-14
10

-16
10
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
SNR (dB)

Fig. 6 BER versus SNR for OOK signaling

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Optical Wireless Audio Communication Using LED Lighting System 1165

error ratio (BER) and it is the number of bit errors divided by the total number of trans-
ferred bits during a studied time interval. The BER performance of a receiver is a figure of
merit that allows different designs to be compared. The value of BER must be minimized
as much as possible. BER performance is usually depicted on a two dimensional graph.
The ordinate is the SNR expressed in decibels (dB). The abscissa is the bit-error-rate, a
dimensionless quantity, usually expressed in powers of ten. Figure 6 shows the BER plot
for the optical wireless system with OOK signalling. It can be observed that as the SNR
increases the BER decreases, i.e. when we have line of sight (LOS) received signal strength
is good and thereby SNR is higher as can be seen in Fig. 4.
From the above simulation studies it can be observed that LOS gives better SNR and
that SNR can be improved with transmitter power. Later, to achieve the desired BER a
simulation is carried out, to arrive at the system’s transmitter power and the results are
shown in Fig. 7. From the figure it is seen to reach a distance of 3.5 m (LOS) to have a
BER of 10-6 and 10-9 the transmitter power should be 7 and 9 W respectively.

3.2 Hardware Prototype

Based on the simulation studies to have a BER of 10-9 the transmitted power should be
9 W minimum, for the transmitter–receiver distance of 3.5 m. The prototype of VLC
system is designed consisting of three 3 W LEDs in the transmitter side and two PIN
photodiodes in the receiver module. The designed prototype of the transmitter, receiver and
established VLC link for voice/MP3 signal is shown in Fig. 8. The developed LED system
can be sused as lighting system also since three LEDs are used which could provide a 350
lumens at the centre (Fig. 3).

20
For BER=10-9
18 For BER=10-6

16
Required transmitter power (W)

14

12

10

2
For direct LOS θ=0o,ψ =0o.
0
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Distance (m)

Fig. 7 Average transmitter power versus distance for a given BER in LOS links

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1166 S. Prince, A. M. Vibin

LED Lighting
System

Photodector
Array

Microphone
Speaker
Audio Jack

Fig. 8 Photograph of the VLC prototype designed for voice transmission

Fig. 9 a Transmitted signal. b Received signal

Since the total transmitted power is 9 W, from Fig. 7, it can be deduced that the system
can operate over a transmitter–receiver separation of more than 3.5 m with a BER of 10-9. In
order to estimate the BER audio signal of 100 kHz was transmitted from an audio frequency
generator and the received signal observed in the CRO. The transmitted and received
waveforms are shown in Fig. 9. After filtering and amplification the signal can be restored for
playing in the speaker and the audio quality was good which ensures that the BER is very
very small. This system is suitable for many applications as it is portable and low cost.

4 Conclusion

The use of LEDs as lighting systems will dominate the conventional systems in future
because of its advantages over conventional lighting systems. In this project, a VLC system
which can be used for lighting and communication applications have been developed.
Experimental and simulational analyses are done for the designed system under various
circumstances. An optical wireless transmitter and receiver modules are designed and an
optical wireless link is established by using high brightness white LEDs. It is realised that
visible light can be used as a carrier for wireless communication by using proper modu-
lation techniques. High speed data communication links can be realized by VLC systems
using high brightness white LEDs. A study has been carried out to study the angle diversity
of the system. It is found that the semiangle at half power for the developed system to be
33°. The system is implemented as a portable device at low cost and it is confirmed that the

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Optical Wireless Audio Communication Using LED Lighting System 1167

system can operate over a distance of 3.5 m with a good SNR and BER of 10-6. The
simultaneous use of visible light LEDs for lighting and communication will lead to many
new and useful applications. Since the system is used for both lighting and communication
we can conserve energy which is having prime most importance in this century. Systems
using light as a carrier, for transmitting data is better than RF systems when it comes to some
wireless communication applications. LED based systems have a variety of advantages over
RF including high bandwidth, security, long life time, low power consumption and free from
harmful radiations. Further work is in progress to develop a system for transmitting voice
messages in real time by establishing a duplex link for two way communication.

References
1. Komine, T., & Nakagawa, M. (2004). Fundamental analysis for visible-light communication system
using LED lights. IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics, 50(1), 100–107.
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Dr. Shanthi Prince is a professor of Electronics and Communication

Engineering at SRM University, India. She has coauthored over 60
journal and conference publications. She is the recipient of Career
Award for Young Teacher (CAYT) from AICTE, New Delhi, India in
the year 2005. Her research interests include photonics for underwater
wireless communication, visible light Communication, optical spec-
troscopy, imaging and the study of photon migration techniques for the
detection of tissue physiology, as well as pathologies such as cancers.

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A. M. Vibin is a Senior Engineer at Wipro Technologies where he is

involved in Physical Design of nanometer scale ASICs. He secured his
Bachelor’s in Electronics and Communication Engineering and Mas-
ter’s degree in Communication Systems. His research interests include
Fibre Optic Sensors, photonics for wireless communication, and Vis-
ibleLight Communication. Vibin’s keen interest in optical wireless
systems helped him to create a working prototype of the VLC system
for Audio applications. Currently he is working in the physical design
of MCU designs.

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