On Prototyping Multi-Transceiver Free Space Optical Communication Structures

Abstract

Wireless networking has conventionally been realizedvia radio frequency (RF) based communication technologies. However,the capacity of these networks are limited by the availabilityof the RF spectrum. Free-Space-Optical (FSO) communicationhas the potential to deliver wireless communication links atoptical-level speeds. Although it has the advantage of high speedmodulation, maintenance of line-of-sight (LOS) betweentransceivers during an on-going transmission is an importantissue since FSO transmitters are highly directional. In this paper,we present a prototype implementation of such multi-transceiverelectronically-steered communication structures. Our prototypeuses a simple LOS detection and establishment protocol andassigns logical data streams to appropriate physical links.We showthat by using multiple directional transceivers we can maintainoptical wireless links with minimal disruptions that are caused byrelative mobility of communicating nodes.