Indoor tracking for smart hospital by a hybrid visible light positioning system

Modern hospital operations and management, i.e., smart hospitals, require pervasive system-wide wireless communication and positioning capabilities. Unfortunately, this cannot be entirely facilitated by existing radio frequency (RF) wireless technologies due to interference concerns in hospitals. We design and implemented a novel hybrid RF-free wireless tracking system utilizing combined visible light communication (VLC) and positioning (VLP), and powerline communication (PLC) technologies to enable future smart hospital operations. This VLC/VLP/PLC tracking system consists of host optical transceivers embedded in light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs and user-end photodetector (PD) optical tags, as well as backbone powerline interface, to form a ubiquitous wireless tracking and communication network connecting all people and equipment throughout all hospital buildings. The new indoor optical-based tracking system was validated via simulation and experiments. Being embedded into the existing LED lighting infrastructure, this hybrid VLC/VLP/PLC tracking system technology is accurate, ultralow cost and environment friendly. Smart hospitals will lead to efficient and affordable healthcare, a revolutionary solution in the human society.