Home > Published Issues > 2025 > Volume 20, No. 3, 2025 >
JCM 2025 Vol.20(3): 261-271
Doi: 10.12720/jcm.20.3.261-271

A Visible Light-Based Optical Camera Communication System for Text Data Transmission

Mostafa A. R. Eltokhy1, Mohamed Abdel-Hady1, Ayman Haggag1, Hisham A. Hamad1, Tarek Hosny2, and Ali M. El-Rifaie3,*
1Electronics Technology Department, Faculty of Technology and Education, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt
2Communication Engineering Department, Al-Safwa High Institute of Engineering, High Ministry of Education, Cairo, Egypt
3College of Engineering and Technology, American University of the Middle East, Egaila 54200, Kuwait
Email: mostafaeltokhy2717@yahoo.com (M.A.R.E.); mohamedabdelhady23@techedu.helwan.edu.eg (M.A-H.); haggag@techedu.helwan.edu.eg (A.H.); hisham.ali@ techedu.helwan.edu.eg (H.A.H.); engelkammar@yahoo.com (T.H.); ali.el-rifaie@aum.edu.kw (A.M.E-R.)
*Corresponding author

doi:10.12720/jcm.20.3.261-271

Abstract—The technology of Optical Camera Communication (OCC) has been gaining significant attention within the Visible Light Communication (VLC) systems community. This technology employs a Light-Emitting Diode (LED) as a transmitter and a camera as a receiver to establish a communication link. Data is encrypted and conveyed by modulating the LED, which is subsequently decoded by a camera. This promising technology is suitable for both indoor and outdoor applications. In this paper, we address the problem of optimizing OCC systems for improved data transmission. Our primary aim is to propose a rapid, robust, and practical OCC system that utilizes an LED array to enhance the emitter's rate for data transfer using On-Off Keying (OOK) modulation. The system leverages a laptop's default camera as an OCC receiver and employs the OpenCV platform for decoding and processing the received data. Our methodology involves evaluating key performance metrics, such as the relationship between the number of LEDs in the array and transmission power, Bit Error Rate (BER), data transmission accuracy, and the exposure time required. The experimental results demonstrate successful text data transmission and reception using a rapid OCC system with a frame rate of 25 fps over a communication distance of 1.1 meters. Conclusively, the proposed system achieves a transmission rate of 32 Kbps under the specified system conditions, showcasing its effectiveness and practical utility in OCC applications.

Keywords—visible light communications, optical camera communication, Light-Emitting Diode (LED) transmitter, CMOS sensor, OpenCV library
 
Cite: Mostafa A. R. Eltokhy, Mohamed Abdel-Hady, Ayman Haggag, Hisham A. Hamad, Tarek Hosny, and Ali M. El-Rifaie, “A Visible Light-Based Optical Camera Communication System for Text Data Transmission," Journal of Communications, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 261-271, 2025.


Copyright © 2025 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).