Communications in (I)IoT-Environment: Comparing VLC, WiFi and Bluetooth

Abstract:
Within the ongoing developments in digitalization and transformation towards an industrial metaverse, robust, fast and trustworthy communication is indispensable. Therefore, the developments in Beyond 5G (B5G) and Sixth Generation (6G) technologies, including enabling technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods, Terahertz Communication, and Optical Wireless Communication (OWC) are opening up additional potential and perspectives. This work focuses in particular on Visible Light Communication (VLC) as a complementary and alternative technology for applications with particular requirements for minimal electromagnetic interference and high data security. Among other aspects like latency and throughput, these are compared with established protocols such as Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Ethernet. The analysis is conducted by examining the application of collaborative robots (Cobots), specifically illustrated through the deployment of two Dobots MG400 robotic arms. The results indicate that depending on the use case, all traditional methods exhibit strengths and weaknesses, but VLC appears to be a comparably robust, low-latency solution. Clear advantages can be seen, particularly in critical areas where traditional Radio Frequency (RF) communications may pose security risks or suffer from interference.