LANET: Visible-light ad hoc networks

Visible light communication (VLC) is a wireless technology complementary to well-understood radio frequency (RF) communication that is promising to help alleviate the spectrum crunch problem in overcrowded RF spectrum bands. While there has been significant advancement in recent years in understanding physical layer techniques for visible light point-to-point links, the core problem of developing efficient networking technology specialized for visible-light networks is substantially unaddressed. This article discusses the current existing techniques as well as the main challenges for the design of visible-light ad hoc networks - referred to as LANETs. The paper discusses typical architectures and application scenarios for LANETs and highlights the major differences between LANETs and traditional mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). Enabling technologies and design principles of LANETs are analyzed and existing work is surveyed following a layered approach. Open research issues in LANET design are also discussed, including long-range visible light communication, full-duplex LANET MAC, blockage-resistant routing, VLC-friendly TCP and software-defined prototyping, among others.