Visible light communication based

motion detection
Atul Sewaiwar, Samrat Vikramaditya Tiwari, and Yeon-Ho Chung∗
Department of Information and Communications Engineering, Pukyong National University,
South Korea
∗ yhchung@pknu.ac.kr

Abstract: In this paper, a unique and novel visible light communication

based motion detection is presented. The proposed motion detection is
performed based on white light LEDs and an array of photodetectors from
existing visible light communication (VLC) links, thus providing VLC with
three functionalities of illumination, communication and motion detection.
The motion is detected by observing the pattern created by intentional ob-
struction of the VLC link. Experimental and simulation results demonstrate
the validity of the proposed VLC based motion detection technique. The
VLC based motion detection can benefit smart devices control in VLC
based smart home environments.
© 2015 Optical Society of America
OCIS codes: (200.2605) Free-space optical communication; (230.3670) Light-emitting diodes;
(040.1880) Detection; (230.0040) Detectors

References and links

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Li-Fi network,” Opt. Commun. 339, 153–156 (2015).
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communication networks,” Opt. Express 23, 13015–13024 (2015).
4. S. Rajagopal, R.D. Roberts, and S.K.Lim, “IEEE 802.15.7 visible light communication: modulation schemes and
dimming support,” IEEE Comm. Mag. 50(3), 72–82 (2012).
5. S.V. Tiwari, A. Sewaiwar, and Y.H. Chung, “Color coded multiple access scheme for bidirectional multiuser
visible light communications in smart home technologies,” Opt. Commun. 353, 1–5 (2015).
6. S. Mitra and T. Acharya, “Gesture recognition: a survey,” IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern. C 37(3), 311–324
(2007).
7. Y. Kim and K. Baek, “A motion gesture sensor using photodiodes with limited field-of-view,” Opt. Express 21,
9206–9214 (2013).
8. P.P. Han, A. Sewaiwar, S. Tiwari, and Y.H. Chung, “Color clustered multiple-input multiple-output visible light
communication,” J. Opt. Soc. Korea 19, 74–79 (2015).

1. Introduction
Radio frequency (RF) based wireless communication networks are in constant search for high
speed, high efficiency and wide frequency spectrum to cope with an ever-increasing volume
of data traffic. As an alternative to this RF based wireless communications, visible light com-
munication (VLC) has been emerged over the last decade [1–5]. Up until now, VLC has been
conceived a transmission technology providing illumination plus communication in an indoor
environment.

#241351 Received 25 May 2015; revised 3 Jul 2015; accepted 7 Jul 2015; published 10 Jul 2015
© 2015 OSA 13 Jul 2015 | Vol. 23, No. 14 | DOI:10.1364/OE.23.018769 | OPTICS EXPRESS 18769
 We propose motion detection as another paradigm of functionality in VLC that can effi-
ciently be used to control smart devices in conjunction with emerging VLC based smart home
environments [5]. Motion detection techniques have been studied in terms of optical motion
detection or motion gesture control (MGC) using infrared (IR) [6, 7] and optical cameras [6].
The drawback of the IR based motion detection techniques is that the techniques need extra
hardware and circuitry to transmit the detected motion information. Moreover, it is certain that
it cannot be used for illumination. On the other hand, the optical camera based motion detection
can cause an intrusion of privacy and requires more complex processing circuitry and high pro-
cessing power. As an additional functionality to the existing VLC links, the VLC based motion
detection is considered. This technique offers low-cost and efficient motion detection and thus
will exhibit great potential in indoor VLC smart devices environments.
In the proposed technique, we present a unique and novel motion detection using VLC;
therefore, three independent functionalities are provided from the existing VLC links, i.e. il-
lumination, communication and motion detection. Based on an array of photodetectors (PDs),
which is used for communication and motion detection, the motion is detected by observing
the pattern created by intentional obstruction of the VLC link. We also propose an algorithm
to identify the motion created by the user. Experimental and simulation results demonstrate the
validity of the proposed VLC based motion detection technique.
Section 2 provides details of the proposed motion detection technique. Experimental setup
is explained in Section 3 and results are discussed and analyzed in Section 4. Conclusions are
drawn in Section 5.

2. Proposed motion detection technique

2.1. Basic principle

Fig. 1. Principle of motion detection (a) Array of PDs. (b) Thresholds for data detection.
(c) “On” condition. (d) “Off” condition.

The basic principle behind the proposed technique is to utilize an array of PDs for the de-
tection of the pattern created by intentional obstruction in the established VLC link. This array
also contributes to enhanced VLC performance via receiver diversity obtainable from multiple
PDs. Without loss of generality, we assume a total of 9 PDs employed in the present motion de-
tection. Figure 1 shows the principle of the proposed motion detection technique. For the data
detection, we define two threshold levels, Th1 and Th0 . That is, the intensity detected above
Th1 is considered “1” and the intensity detected between Th1 and Th0 is deemed “0”. If the

#241351 Received 25 May 2015; revised 3 Jul 2015; accepted 7 Jul 2015; published 10 Jul 2015
© 2015 OSA 13 Jul 2015 | Vol. 23, No. 14 | DOI:10.1364/OE.23.018769 | OPTICS EXPRESS 18770
intensity goes below Th0 , it is “No data” (ND) condition.
This ND condition occurs when the obstruction is intentionally created in the VLC link.
In other words, the ND detection for a period of time in a predefined fashion provides the
exact detection of the pattern created by the motion. As an example, the pattern for “ON”
command can be created by intentionally making a straight line over any of the three sets of
PDs. Likewise, the pattern for “OFF” command can be created by making a circle. Figures 1(c)
and 1(d) show these patterns. The detailed algorithm for the detection of these command signals
is explained in the subsequent section. Note that with the present PD array, we can create not
only the basic motion control signals, i.e. “ON” and “OFF”, but also advanced control signals
such as “Increase” and “Decrease”. Figure 2(b) shows these motion control signals.

(a) (b)

Fig. 2. Motion control signal (a) Basic control (ON and OFF). (b) Advanced control (In-
crease and Decrease).

2.2. Motion detection technique

The proposed technique is based on the user’s intentional obstruction of the VLC link followed
by the detection of the pattern created by that motion, while the VLC link operates for data
transmission. We use an array of light emitting diodes (LEDs) at the transmitter that fulfils the
need of illumination as well as data communication to transmit the modulated data [1–3]. In the
present study, the modulation format employed for the data transmission is non-return-to-zero
(NRZ) on-off keying (OOK) that is the simplest modulation scheme mentioned in PHY I of
IEEE standards [4]. Prior to the modulation, encoding schemes can be applied to remove a long
trail of 0 and 1. We use Manchester code as a run length limited (RLL) line code mentioned
in [4].

Fig. 3. Block diagram of the proposed motion detection technique.

As noted earlier, the array of PDs acts as the VLC receiver as well as the motion sensor.
Figure 3 shows the structure of the proposed VLC based motion detection technique where

#241351 Received 25 May 2015; revised 3 Jul 2015; accepted 7 Jul 2015; published 10 Jul 2015
© 2015 OSA 13 Jul 2015 | Vol. 23, No. 14 | DOI:10.1364/OE.23.018769 | OPTICS EXPRESS 18771
there are two paths, i.e. the VLC data transmission and the motion detection. For the data
transmission, we have the three groups formed from all PDs with each group having three PDs.
This grouping will facilitate efficient decoding of the transmitted data from the PDs, even when
the motion detection technique is in operation. The received signals from the three groups
of the PDs are first fed into the threshold detector and demodulator (TDD). The TDD block
estimates the received intensity, detects the transmitted symbols, and converts the symbol into
a bit stream. Since we employ the OOK modulation, symbols are interchangeable with bits. The
binary data from each PD through the TDD block is then passed to the selection combining (SC)
blocks where the most probable bit is detected [8]. The detected bits from the three different
blocks are provided to the decision circuit to accurately decide whether the bits are either “0” or
“1”. Finally, the line decoding is performed to recover the transmitted bits. Note that when the
obstruction occurs, the detected bits from one or two particular SC blocks may not be accurate.
Therefore, the decision circuit is employed for further reliability of the data detection.
On the other hand, for the motion detection, the signals from all PDs are fed into the motion
detection circuit so as to detect the pattern created by the user as shown in Fig. 3. The mo-
tion detection circuit detects the ND condition as mentioned in Section 2.1 and subsequently
identifies the pattern created by the user. Then, this detected motion will eventually initiate the
intended control of the devices.

2.3. Algorithm for motion detection technique

The proposed detection technique is solely based on the obstruction created by the user and
initiates a command to control smart devices. Therefore, the detection of the ND condition
for a specific period of time, Δt, at a PD is important. Apparently, the value of Δt needs to be
determined on the basis of the speed of hand movement of the user. An empirical value obtained
from the experiments for Δt is 100μ s with a tolerance of ±10μ s. If the motion is faster or slower
than Δt, it is not considered as any signal. Likewise, if the movement is irregular, the pattern
is not recognized. It should be noted, however, that the algorithm is designed to allow an extra
time of 10μ s as an additional margin for irregular motion. Nevertheless, this interval can readily
be calibrated for a particular user prior to practical applications.

Fig. 4. Motion detection algorithm for ON and OFF signals.

The algorithm for the motion detection is illustrated in Fig. 4. It is important to note that the
user is assumed to create the predefined patterns and the algorithm detects the patterns over the
VLC link. The proposed algorithm is designed to provide a degree of flexibility. For example,
the pattern for the “ON” signal can be drawn, starting from either PD 1 or PD 2 or PD 3, not in
the reverse order. Similarly, for the pattern of the “OFF” signal, the user can start from any of
PD 2, 4, 6 and 8.

#241351 Received 25 May 2015; revised 3 Jul 2015; accepted 7 Jul 2015; published 10 Jul 2015
© 2015 OSA 13 Jul 2015 | Vol. 23, No. 14 | DOI:10.1364/OE.23.018769 | OPTICS EXPRESS 18772
 Figure 5(a) shows the pattern detection starting from any of the three PDs, i.e. PD 1, 2 or 3
for the “ON” condition. It can be observed that the obstruction occurs at the designated PDs
after an interval of Δt. Likewise, Fig. 5(b) shows the circular pattern for the “OFF” condition
with the assumption that the pattern begins at PD 2. It also shows flexible pattern detection
capability for the “OFF” signal when the user does not complete a full circle or the user starts
from PD 6. For the “ON” signal, the detection algorithm is also flexible that it can be designed
to detect from PD 7 or 8 or 9. It was found, however, that the “ON” signal requires at least 3
PDs for accuracy and reliability of the motion detection.

(a)

(b)

Fig. 5. Principle of pattern detection (a) ON condition. (b) OFF condition.

It should be noted that the present study focuses on the validity of the proposed motion
detection technique while providing an efficient VLC link. For this reason, we employ the sim-
plest modulation scheme of OOK to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique.
Nevertheless, the proposed technique can readily be extended simply by defining the minimum
threshold (Th0 ) for the ND condition, to accommodate other modulation schemes such as or-
thogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) [2], pulse position modulation (PPM) [4],
pulse width modulation (PWM) [4] etc.

3. Experimental setup
In order to verify its effectiveness, we performed experiments with an array of LEDs comprised
of 20 RGB LEDs having a modulation bandwidth of 120 MHz with an optical output power
of 60mW each . This optical output power is considered adequate in fulfilling the need of
illumination. We used the NRZ OOK modulation scheme as described previously. In addition,
prior to the modulation, a line encoding scheme mentioned in [4] was employed to remove a

#241351 Received 25 May 2015; revised 3 Jul 2015; accepted 7 Jul 2015; published 10 Jul 2015
© 2015 OSA 13 Jul 2015 | Vol. 23, No. 14 | DOI:10.1364/OE.23.018769 | OPTICS EXPRESS 18773
long trail of 1 and 0 from the data. The data transmission was performed at a data rate of 10
kbps, based on Arduino ATMEGA 2560.

(a) (b)

Fig. 6. Experimental setup (a) LEDs and PD array. (b) Enlarged view of PD Array.

The experimental setup for the demonstration of the proposed motion detection is shown in
Fig. 6(a). Figure 6(b) shows an array of 9 PDs in a more detail at the receiver side with a field
of view of (FOV) of 60◦ , a physical area of 1.0 cm2 and responsitivity equal to 1. Along with
the PD array, Arduino ATMEGA 2560 board was also utilized at the receiver end.

4. Result and analysis

Experimental results are shown in Fig. 7. Figure 7(a) shows the detection of the “ON” signal
based on PD 1, 4 and 7. It can be observed that the sequential ND occurrence is detected for
a period of Δt from PD 1, 4 and 7. Therefore, this pattern is identified as the “ON” signal
according to the proposed algorithm. For the “OFF” condition, Fig. 7(b) shows the received
signal. The sequential ND measurement is also observed from PD 2, 6, 8 and 4, which is
interpreted as the “OFF” control signal.
In the experiments, it was found that over a distance of up to 60cm as shown in Fig. 6(a),
no bit errors were observed from 21,000 bits transmitted, while maintaining a data rate of 10
kbps. Moreover, a high level of accuracy for the motion detection of the “ON” and “OFF”
conditions was obtained from the proposed technique. With respect to the threshold values,
they are determined by performing the transmission of a known trail of 1s and 0s prior to actual
transmission of the data. The two threshold levels are so obtained and fixed. The values of Th0
and Th1 are experimentally found to be 25 lx and 100 lx, respectively.
In addition to the detection accuracy analysis, we conducted performance evaluation of the
VLC link using MATLAB. It was ensured that the simulation parameters are identical to the
parameters of the experiment, except for the data rate, distance and number of transmitted bits.
We used a data rate of 96Mbps and transmitted 108 bits. The distance of the data transmission
ranges 40cm to 100cm. The simulation results are shown in Fig. 8. It reveals that the conven-
tional OOK with SC is superior to the conventional OOK without SC [1, 4]. This performance
gain is due to the receiver diversity in the form of SC, obtained from the PD array. A further
analysis was conducted for the effect of the motion detection on the VLC link performance. It is
observed that the effect of the proposed motion detection on the existing VLC link is negligible
in terms of the BER performance, regardless of whether it is “ON” or “OFF” condition. In other
words, it can be said that the communication quality remains unchanged due to SC. Therefore,
the proposed motion detection constitutes an additional functionality of the existing VLC link.
It is also worth noting that the impact of Δt is negligible on the communication link, because
the ND condition of either “ON” or “OFF” signal does not affect the link performance.

#241351 Received 25 May 2015; revised 3 Jul 2015; accepted 7 Jul 2015; published 10 Jul 2015
© 2015 OSA 13 Jul 2015 | Vol. 23, No. 14 | DOI:10.1364/OE.23.018769 | OPTICS EXPRESS 18774
 (a)

(b)

Fig. 7. Received signals (a) ON condition. (b) OFF condition.

For more advanced motion gestures in addition to the present gestures considered, the pro-
posed detection technique can further be extended by defining the patterns and subsequently the
detection algorithm with a denser PD array having a large number of PDs or the use of imaging
receivers. This denser PD array or imaging receivers can also enhance detection accuracy for
the advanced motion gestures at the expense of more complex detection algorithm.

#241351 Received 25 May 2015; revised 3 Jul 2015; accepted 7 Jul 2015; published 10 Jul 2015
© 2015 OSA 13 Jul 2015 | Vol. 23, No. 14 | DOI:10.1364/OE.23.018769 | OPTICS EXPRESS 18775
 Fig. 8. BER performance comparison.

5. Conclusion
A unique and novel technique for the VLC based motion detection is presented. The proposed
technique is found to provide accurate detection of the motion while satisfying illumination
requirement. The detection algorithm is also presented on the basis of the obstruction duration
(Δt) created by the user. The experiments and simulation results show that the proposed tech-
nique is able to accurately detect the motion using an array of PDs and also does not affect
existing VLC link performance. The proposed VLC based motion detection can be considered
an additional functionality of emerging VLC systems and is envisioned to perform a relatively
basic control of present or future smart devices in environments such as VLC based smart
homes where the device control via motion detection can aptly be facilitated.

Acknowledgment
This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research
Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (2015R1D1A3A01017713).

#241351 Received 25 May 2015; revised 3 Jul 2015; accepted 7 Jul 2015; published 10 Jul 2015
© 2015 OSA 13 Jul 2015 | Vol. 23, No. 14 | DOI:10.1364/OE.23.018769 | OPTICS EXPRESS 18776