Visible light communication via dimmable LED lamps using pulses of equal shape

This paper, for the first time, presents the feasibility of employing the transmission of equally shaped pulses to accommodate both dimming and Visible Light Communication (VLC). Adjustment of the brightness experienced by the human eye is accomplished by varying the number of pulses within a set dimming frame. Duration of the pulses and dimming frames are such that the eye detects an average illumination level without experiencing flicker. Several constant pulse shape schemes are introduced with their merits and drawbacks examined. A major advantage of the proposed schemes is the fact that they allow for simple threshold detection.