Vehicular Visible Light Positioning System Based on a PSD Detector

• Published in: Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 24; no. 7; p. 2320
• Main Authors: Raissouni, Fatima Zahra, De-La-Llana-Calvo, Álvaro, Lázaro-Galilea, José Luis, Gardel-Vicente, Alfredo, Cherkaoui, Abdeljabbar, Bravo-Muñoz, Ignacio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01-04-2024
• Subjects: Accuracy; angle of arrival; Cameras; Communication; Data transmission; Evaluation; Exterior lighting; Light; Localization; Methods; positioning sensor device; Safety and security measures; Sensors; Simulation methods; smart cities; vehicle-to-vehicle; Vehicles; visible light communication; visible light positioning; smart cities; visible light positioning; visible light communication; positioning sensor device; angle of arrival; vehicle-to-vehicle
• ISSN: 1424-8220; 1424-8220
• DOI: 10.3390/s24072320

In this paper, we explore the use of visible light positioning (VLP) technology in vehicles in intelligent transportation systems (ITS), highlighting its potential for maintaining effective line of sight (LOS) and providing high-accuracy positioning between vehicles. The proposed system (V2V-VLP) is based on a position-sensitive detector (PSD) and exploiting car taillights to determine the position and inter-vehicular distance by angle of arrival (AoA) measurements. The integration of the PSD sensor in vehicles promises exceptional positioning accuracy, opening new prospects for navigation and driving safety. The results revealed that the proposed system enables precise measurement of position and distance between vehicles, including lateral distance. We evaluated the impact of different focal lengths on the system performance, achieving cm-level accuracy for distances up to 35 m, with an optimum focal length of 25 mm, and under low signal-to-noise conditions, which meets the standards required for safe and reliable V2V applications. Several experimental tests were carried out to validate the results of the simulations.