Low Power Free Space Optical Communication in Wireless Sensor Networks

This paper details the design and implementation of a low power transceiver for free space optical communication (FSO) in wireless sensor networks. The design and implementation of the transceiver using commercial electronic and optical is described. The properties of the FSO communication link are examined and deployment issues arising from using FSO communications in sensor networks are discussed. The use of the FSO communication channel to reduce latency and improve performance in a class of wireless sensor network applications is analysed. The FSO communication channel can reduce latency introduced by low power duty cycled MAC protocols by an order of magnitude using a receiver with a current consumption of less than 100 uA.