Joint Visible Light and RF Backscatter Communications for Ambient IoT Network: Fundamentals, Applications, and Opportunities

2026-03-04

arXiv.org

AI Summary

This work addresses the sustainability challenges of 6G-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) systems concerning energy consumption, deployment complexity, and environmental impact by proposing a novel integrated architecture that synergistically combines visible light communication (VLC) with ambient backscatter communication (AmBC). For the first time, it systematically establishes an energy-neutral operational framework for battery-free ambient IoT devices. By defining three distinct AmBC device categories—EH-Only, VLC-Relay, and VLC-Control—and incorporating ambient energy harvesting with passive design techniques, the proposed architecture demonstrates feasibility across diverse applications, including environmental monitoring, healthcare, smart logistics, and secure communications. Prototype experiments validate that the system achieves reliable, secure, and highly energy-efficient communication performance, significantly enhancing IoT scalability and green sustainability.

Abstract

The rapid growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) devices in the sixth-generation (6G) wireless networks raises significant generality and scalability challenges due to energy consumption, deployment complexity, and environmental impact. Ambient IoT (A-IoT), leveraging ambient energy harvesting (EH) for batteryless device operation, has emerged as a promising solution to address these challenges.Among various EH and communication techniques, visible light communication (VLC) integrated with ambient backscatter communication (AmBC) offers remarkable advantages, including energy neutrality, high reliability, and enhanced security. In this paper, we propose a joint VLC-AmBC architecture, emphasizing fundamental concepts, system designs, and practical implementations. We explore potential applications in environmental monitoring, healthcare, smart logistics, and secure communications. We present proof-of-concept demonstrations for three distinct types of ambient backscatter devices (AmBDs): EH-Only, VLC-Relay, and VLC-Control. Experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of implementing joint VLC-AmBC systems, highlighting their practical viability across various deployment scenarios. Finally, we outline future research directions, including integrated sensing and communication, as well as optimized energy-efficient deployment. Open issues, such as large-scale deployment challenges, are also discussed, thereby providing a clear roadmap for future developments in joint VLC-AmBC-enabled A-IoT ecosystems.

Problem

• Ambient IoT
• Energy Harvesting
• Visible Light Communication
• Backscatter Communication
• Sustainability

Innovation

• Visible Light Communication (VLC)
• Ambient Backscatter Communication (AmBC)
• Ambient IoT
• Energy Harvesting
• Batteryless Devices