A Survey on Acquisition, Tracking, and Pointing Mechanisms for Mobile Free-Space Optical Communications

This paper presents a comprehensive survey on acquisition, tracking, and pointing (ATP) mechanisms used in free-space optical (FSO) communications systems. ATP mechanisms are a critical component for a wide variety of use cases of mobile FSO communications. ATP mechanisms are used to align an FSO tr...

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Published in:IEEE Communications surveys and tutorials Vol. 20; no. 2; pp. 1104 - 1123
Main Authors: Kaymak, Yagiz, Rojas-Cessa, Roberto, Jianghua Feng, Ansari, Nirwan, MengChu Zhou, Tairan Zhang
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 01.01.2018
Subjects:
acquisition
Free-space optical communications
free-space optics
Laser beams
line-of-sight
Long Term Evolution
Mobile communication
mobile stations
Optical receivers
Optical transmitters
optical wireless
tracking and pointing
ISSN:2373-745X
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Abstract This paper presents a comprehensive survey on acquisition, tracking, and pointing (ATP) mechanisms used in free-space optical (FSO) communications systems. ATP mechanisms are a critical component for a wide variety of use cases of mobile FSO communications. ATP mechanisms are used to align an FSO transmitter and receiver to attain line-of-sight, which is required for effective operation of FSO communications. Transceiver motion is not only associated to mobile stations but also to temporary displacements experienced by stationary FSO terminals, such as in building-to-building FSO communications. This survey categorizes ATP mechanisms according to their working principles, use cases, and implementation technology. This paper also discusses advantages and disadvantages of the surveyed ATP mechanisms, and presents a discussion on challenges and future research.
AbstractList This paper presents a comprehensive survey on acquisition, tracking, and pointing (ATP) mechanisms used in free-space optical (FSO) communications systems. ATP mechanisms are a critical component for a wide variety of use cases of mobile FSO communications. ATP mechanisms are used to align an FSO transmitter and receiver to attain line-of-sight, which is required for effective operation of FSO communications. Transceiver motion is not only associated to mobile stations but also to temporary displacements experienced by stationary FSO terminals, such as in building-to-building FSO communications. This survey categorizes ATP mechanisms according to their working principles, use cases, and implementation technology. This paper also discusses advantages and disadvantages of the surveyed ATP mechanisms, and presents a discussion on challenges and future research.
Author Ansari, Nirwan
Kaymak, Yagiz
Tairan Zhang
Rojas-Cessa, Roberto
Jianghua Feng
MengChu Zhou
Author_xml – sequence: 1
  givenname: Yagiz
  surname: Kaymak
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  givenname: Roberto
  surname: Rojas-Cessa
  fullname: Rojas-Cessa, Roberto
  email: rojas@njit.edu
  organization: Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., New Jersey Inst. of Technol., Newark, NJ, USA
– sequence: 3
  surname: Jianghua Feng
  fullname: Jianghua Feng
  email: fengjh@csrzic.com
  organization: Inst. of Electr. Technol. & Mater. Eng., CRRC Zhuzhou Inst. Co. Ltd., Zhuzhou, China
– sequence: 4
  givenname: Nirwan
  surname: Ansari
  fullname: Ansari, Nirwan
  email: ansari@njit.edu
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  surname: MengChu Zhou
  fullname: MengChu Zhou
  email: zhou@njit.edu
  organization: Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., New Jersey Inst. of Technol., Newark, NJ, USA
– sequence: 6
  surname: Tairan Zhang
  fullname: Tairan Zhang
  email: zhangtrg@csrzic.com
  organization: Inst. of Electr. Technol. & Mater. Eng., CRRC Zhuzhou Inst. Co. Ltd., Zhuzhou, China
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Snippet This paper presents a comprehensive survey on acquisition, tracking, and pointing (ATP) mechanisms used in free-space optical (FSO) communications systems. ATP...
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StartPage 1104
SubjectTerms acquisition
Free-space optical communications
free-space optics
Laser beams
line-of-sight
Long Term Evolution
Mobile communication
mobile stations
Optical receivers
Optical transmitters
optical wireless
tracking and pointing
Title A Survey on Acquisition, Tracking, and Pointing Mechanisms for Mobile Free-Space Optical Communications
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