Keywords

UAV, Free-Space Optical Communication (FSO), Optical Wireless Communication (OWC), Multi-Element Transceiver, Genetic Algorithm, Pointing Error, Atmospheric Turbulence, Link Optimization

Subject Categories

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Abstract

The rapid expansion of data-intensive applications, autonomous aerial platforms, and Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices has intensified demand for communication systems that deliver multi-gigabit capacity, low latency, and strong security beyond the limits of radio-frequency (RF) networks. Optical wireless communication (OWC)—encompassing free-space optical (FSO) and visible light communication (VLC)—offers a compelling complement through vast unlicensed bandwidth, inherent spatial confinement, and high spectral efficiency.

This dissertation investigates multi-element optical transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) architectures for mobile platforms, unifying two complementary domains: (i) UAV-mounted multi-element in-band full-duplex (IBFD) FSO transceivers for outdoor aerial networks, and (ii) hemispherical multilayer LED arrays for indoor VLC-based IoT networks.

In the first part, the optimum tiling of TX and RX elements on UAV-mounted transceiver planes is formulated and shown to be an NP-complete problem through reduction to the Minimum 𝑘Cut problem. A genetic algorithm (GA) framework is developed to optimize element placement and count across multiple transceiver geometries under IBFD operation. To capture realistic aerial operating conditions, experimental vibration data are collected from UAV platforms and incorporated into a vibration-aware FSO framework. A stabilization model is also introduced to mitigate platform-induced motion, enabling evaluation and optimization of transceiver designs under both measured and stabilization-assisted vibration conditions.

In the second part, a hierarchical optimization pipeline is developed for a VLC system employing a multi-layer hemispherical LED bulb for simultaneous illumination and communication. This pipeline integrates LED power allocation, user and LED clustering, and fairness-oriented time allocation to maximize the minimum SINR across users while maintaining illumination uniformity.

Together, these contributions establish a unified multi-element optical design framework bridging outdoor and indoor domains—linking geometric optimization of UAV-mounted FSO transceivers with power and resource allocation in illumination-constrained VLC networks—advancing high-capacity, energy-efficient, and resilient optical wireless systems for next-generation aerial and IoT platforms.

Completion Date

2026

Semester

Summer

Committee Chair

Yuksel, Murat

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Department

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Format

PDF

Document Type

Dissertation

Language

English

Release Date

8-15-2027

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Available for download on Sunday, August 15, 2027

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