Green Optical Wireless Communications Facilitated by Photonic Power Harvesting "GreenCom"

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Today, mobile devices such as smartphones and wearables are usually powered by batteries, while a data connection to the internet is provided by radio frequency (RF) signals. The need for the daily charging of our mobile devices is considered a hurdle to scale the number of internet of things (IoT) connections and the large-scale introduction of new devices such as augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) and industry 4.0 applications. At the same time, the demand for higher data rates and ultra-low latency data connections is set to increase in future sixth generation (6G) cellular networks. The GreenCom project will address both requirements jointly. We are developing optical wireless communication systems that achieve a 10 times higher data rate compared to current wireless systems, while the system harvests energy from the data link as well as the ambient light. The project will unlock new potentials for energy-efficient, ultra-high speed, and ultra-low latency wireless connectivity. The ambitious goals of this project are achieved through an international collaboration with the German Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) who are world-leading in the development of energy efficient photovoltaic (PV) cells. ISE will develop unique semiconductor devices for combined power harvesting and data reception with unprecedented photovoltaic conversion efficiency and digital data reception capability. The University of Strathclyde's LiFi Research and Development Centre (LRDC) will develop the communication techniques, algorithms and protocols to facilitate optimum energy harvesting and ultra-high data rates and ultra-low latency in a multiuser environment. Scalability of both harvested power and data rates will be achieved by creating parallel transmission links separated in space and by means of different wavelengths. This partnership will create new applications in the fields of future sustainable mobile wireless communications (including optical wireless fronthaul, optical wireless backhaul) as well as smart wireless devices for the Internet of Things (IoT), the Internet of Senses and Industry 4.0 applications, and thereby lay the foundation for a new research area. Joint experimentation within the project will push the performance boundaries of optical wireless multiuser links and will set a new benchmark for simultaneous harvested power and transmitted data rates with 1 W harvested power at 10 m distance and 10 Gb/s link data rate, respectively.