Indoor optical wireless access networks-recent progress [Invited]

Abstract

Optical wireless access networks have seen rapid progress. With beam-steering capability, optical wireless communications can deliver very high capacity, support user mobility with indoor localization supported directly at the optical layer, be resilient against the blocking of beams by exploiting spatial diversity at the optical layer, and guarantee low-latency links with modified protocols and network architectures. This paper presents a review of recent progress in achieving functions of communication, localization, resiliency, and dynamic networking using optical-layer techniques.