Design and Implementation of the MIMO–COOK Scheme Using an Image Sensor for Long-Range Communication

Radio-frequency technologies are widely applied in many fields such as mobile systems, healthcare systems, television and radio broadcasting, and satellite communications. However, one major problem in wireless communication based on radio frequencies is its impact on human health. High frequencies adversely impact human health more than low frequencies if the signal power transgresses the permissible threshold. Therefore, researchers are investigating the use of visible light waves (instead of the radio-frequency band) for data transmission in three major areas: visible light communication, light fidelity, and optical camera communication. In this paper, we propose a scheme that upgrades the camera on–off keying (COOK) scheme by using it with the multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) scheme; COOK has been recommended by the IEEE 802.15.7-2018 standard. By applying technologies, such as matched filter, region of interest, and MIMO, our proposed scheme promises to improve the performance of the conventional scheme by improving the data rate, communication distance, and bit error rate. By controlling the exposure time, the focal length in a single camera and using channel coding, our proposed scheme can achieve the communication distance of up to 20 m, with a low error rate.