How Will FSO Weather For Practical Deployment Commercially?

Organisers: Liam Barry, Dublin City University, Volker Jungnickel, Fraunhofer HHI

Free-space optical communications has evolved significantly over the last decade. It is applied in a diverse range of applications from satellite communications to short range interconnects. The key motivations arise from a wide unregulated spectrum, robustness against electromagnetic interference, reduced inter-cell interference, enhanced security and precise positioning and ranging capabilities. These compelling characteristics of FSO technology enable new applications like satellite-based quantum communications, wireless-to-the-home, mobile access in industry, defense, medical and residential scenarios, underwater communications and others. The combination of FSO with RF is usually more efficient and delivers enhanced performance than each technology alone, hence FSO can complement RF systems in the future. Several challenges need to be overcome to make these FSO applications a practical reality. The workshop will present expert opinion from industry and academia speakers who will discuss the promising FSO applications that open new market opportunities and the technical challenges required to address them.

Speakers:

Individual wireless connectivity at very high user densities - optical wireless communication by narrow directed beams

Ton Koonen, Eindhoven Univ. of Technology, Netherlands

New Focus European Network Roadmap on Optical Wireless Communication

Iman Tavakkolnia, University of Strathclyde, UK

Next-generation wireless: Connecting the world with Taara Wireless Optical Communications (WOC)

Devin Brinkley, Project Taara, USA

Free space optical communication applications and industrialisation challenges

David Mackey, mBryonics, Ireland

Towards robust FSO quantum communication links

Ross Donaldson, Heriot Watt University, UK

Strategies behind NICT’s free-space lasercom terminals towards practical commercial deployment

Alberto Carrasco-Casado, NICT, Japan

Light Communication / FSO as a part of 5G and Beyond

Deepak Solanki, Velmenni Research and Development, India

Does turbulence preclude Tbit/s FSO

Andrew Ellis, Aston University, UK