Optical Camera Communication (OCC)
Optical Camera Communication (OCC) is a wireless communication method that uses light to send data and a camera (or image sensor) to receive it.
Think of it as:
Wi-Fi, but with light + a camera instead of radio waves + an antenna
How OCC Works
-
Transmitter:
- Light source (LED, screen, traffic light, car headlight)
- Light is modulated (on/off or intensity changes)
- Modulation is too fast for the human eye to notice
-
Receiver:
- Camera or image sensor
- Captures frames of the light source
- Decodes brightness changes into data
Why Use a Camera?
- Receives data from multiple light sources simultaneously
- Provides spatial information (location of the transmitter)
- Already available in smartphones, cars, drones, and robots
Example
A traffic light transmits information using LED flickering, and a car-mounted camera receives and decodes the signal to obtain traffic data.
Applications of OCC
Intelligent Transportation
- Traffic lights to vehicles
- Vehicle-to-vehicle communication via headlights and taillights
Smartphones
- Phone screens transmit data
- Cameras receive the data
Indoor Positioning
- LED lights broadcast location identifiers
- Camera determines user position
Robotics & IoT
- Robots use light signals for navigation
- Machine-to-machine communication
OCC vs Other Light-Based Communication
| Technology | Receiver | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Li-Fi | Photodiode | Very high data rate |
| VLC | Photodiode | Point-to-point communication |
| OCC | Camera | Spatial awareness and multi-source reception |
Advantages
- No radio-frequency interference
- Works in RF-restricted environments
- High security due to line-of-sight communication
- Uses existing LEDs and cameras
Limitations
- Lower data rate (limited by camera frame rate)
- Requires line-of-sight
- Sensitive to ambient lighting conditions
Summary
Optical Camera Communication is a wireless communication technique that transmits data using modulated light sources and receives it using camera image sensors.