VISIBLE LIGHT COMMUNICATIONS PERSONAL AREA NETWORK CONTROLLER AND ACCESS POINT SYSTEMS AND METHODS

摘要

A network, a Visible Light Communications (VLC) controller, and a method relate to a network architecture splitting frame processing functionality between Light Fidelity (LiFi) Access Points (APs) and a VLC controller or virtualized controller. In such configurations, the LiFi APs are so-called thin devices that may be widely deployed through an infrastructure to concurrently provide illumination and network access via VLC protocols such as IEEE 802.15.7 or variants thereof.

主权项

1. A network, comprising:
at least one visible light access point communicatively coupled to a device via a light connection; a controller communicatively coupled to the at least one visible light access point and an external network; the at least one visible light access point is configured to perform a first set of media access control functions; and the controller is configured to perform a second set of media access control functions, wherein the controller and the at least one visible light access point cooperatively perform the first set of media access control functions and the second set of media access control functions associated with frames between the device.