WO2018115872A1

WO2018115872A1 - Communication apparatus, methods and system

Info

Publication number: WO2018115872A1
Application number: PCT/GB2017/053842
Authority: WO
Inventors: Harald Haas; Stefan I. VIDEV; Lee HOUSE
Original assignee: The University Court Of The University Of Edinburgh
Priority date: 2016-12-23
Filing date: 2017-12-20
Publication date: 2018-06-28
Also published as: GB201622227D0

Abstract

The present disclosure describes a communication apparatus (112) for routing a signal between a network transceiver (120) and a user device (116). The communication apparatus (112) includes an optical communication module (130) for communicating with the network transceiver (120) using optical communication. The communication apparatus (112) further includes a radio frequency (RF) communication module for communicating with the user device (116) using RF communication. The communication apparatus (112) is configured to receive a signal in the form of one of: an optical and RF signal (122, 121), and transmit said signal in the form of the other of the optical and RF signal (122, 121).

Description

COMMUNICATION APPARATUS, METHODS AND SYSTEM

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to communication apparatus and methods for providing wireless communications, for example but not exclusively, optical wireless communications.

BACKGROUND

There is predicted to be a significant increase in the amount of data used in wireless communications, such as in cellular networks and Wi-Fi networks. So-called 4G technology has been widely deployed in cellular telecommunication networks, which has enabled a significant increase in data transmission rates sufficient to enable mobile devices to receive high definition videos, among other data-heavy applications. It is expected that the volume of data being transmitted over existing RF networks, such as cellular networks and Wi-Fi networks, will continue to increase, which has led to the prediction of a "spectrum crunch", in which the radiofrequency (RF) spectrum available for traditional wireless communication methods is no longer sufficient to carry the required volume of data.

Figure 1 illustrates a network transceiver 10 which is configured to provide data communication for several radio frequency (RF) transceivers 12. Each of the RF transceivers 12 has a signal range 14 serving at least one user device 16 (or Internet of Things (loT) device). In Figure 1 , at least two user devices 16 are located within the signal range 14 of at least one RF transceiver 12. In densely populated areas serving multiple user devices 16 many more user devices 16 may be located within the signal range 14. However, each RF transceiver 12 may only be able to provide bandwidth for a few of these user devices. If the density of user devices 16 (i.e. the number of user devices 16 per unit area) is too high there needs to be a plurality of RF transceivers 12 provided within the area. As illustrated by Figure 1 , there is some overlap in the signal range 14 of the RF transceivers 12. In overlapping parts 15 of the signal range 14, there may be interference in terms of the signal received/transmitted by the user devices 16 in the overlapping parts 15 of the signal range 14. In the overlapping parts 15 the data transmission rate between the user devices 16 and the RF transceivers 12 may be reduced compared with if there is no overlap between the signal ranges 14. Visible light communication (VLC) and other optical communication techniques (for example non-visible light communication such as infrared communication) have emerged as a potential candidate to address the spectrum crunch. Compared with RF communication, VLC operates at an unregulated part of the electromagnetic spectrum and is intrinsically safe to be used in electromagnetic interference (EMI) sensitive environments, such as aircraft, hospitals and oil refineries. VLC and other optical techniques may provide a method to enable higher bandwidth data transmission than is currently possible using RF techniques. However, in order for VLC techniques to become more widely deployed, cellular devices need to be VLC enabled, which current commercial considerations mostly rule out because VLC networks have not yet been widely deployed. For example, cellular devices such as smartphones and tablets which are currently on the market will likely require additional hardware and software in order to make use of the higher bandwidth afforded by VLC and other optical communication techniques.

In some RF communication systems there is a flow of data between the internet and at least one of: a network, a distribution or access point, and a user device for connecting to the internet. In some RF communication systems there is a flow of data between the internet and at least one of: a network, a first access point, secondary access point, and user device, and so on, with potentially multiple cascaded distribution points. In these communication systems there may be a fundamental limitation posed by communications between overlapping RF communication signals and multiple user devices.

SUMMARY

According to an example of the present disclosure there is provided a communication apparatus for routing a signal between a transceiver or network transceiver and a user device. The communication apparatus may comprise an optical communication module for communicating with the transceiver or network transceiver using optical communication such as optical wireless communication. The communication apparatus may comprise a radio frequency (RF) communication module for communicating with the user device using RF communication. The apparatus may be configured to receive a signal in the form of one of: an optical and RF signal. The apparatus may be configured to transmit said signal in the form of the other of the optical and RF signal.

The communication apparatus may comprise an electronic communication module for communicating with the user device and/or transceiver or network transceiver using electronic communication (e.g. via an electronic signal). The electronic communication may be provided or enabled by an electronic communication device such as a USB, ethernet, FireWire cable, or the like. The apparatus may be configured to convert one form of signal (e.g. selected from: an optical, RF and/or electronic signal) to another form of signal (e.g. selected from: an optical, RF and/or electronic signal). The apparatus may be configured to convert one or more of: an optical signal; RF signal; and electronic signal into one or more of: an optical signal; RF signal; and electronic signal. The apparatus may be configured to receive a signal in the form of one of: an optical; RF; and electronic signal. The apparatus may be configured to transmit said signal in the form of the other of: the optical; RF and electronic signal.

According to an example of the present disclosure there is provided a communication apparatus for routing a signal between a transceiver or network transceiver and a user device. The communication apparatus may comprise an optical communication module for communicating with the user device using optical communication such as optical wireless communication. The communication apparatus may comprise a radio frequency (RF) communication module for communicating with the transceiver or network transceiver using RF communication. The apparatus may be configured to receive a signal in the form of one of: an optical and RF signal. The apparatus may be configured to transmit said signal in the form of the other of the optical and RF signal.

The communication apparatus may comprise an electronic communication module for communicating with the user device and/or transceiver or network transceiver using electronic communication (e.g. via an electronic signal). The electronic communication may be provided or enabled by an electronic communication device such as a USB, ethernet, FireWire cable, or the like. The apparatus may be configured to convert one form of signal (e.g. selected from: an optical, RF and/or electronic signal) to another form of signal (e.g. selected from: an optical, RF and/or electronic signal). The apparatus may be configured to convert one or more of: an optical signal; RF signal; and electronic signal into one or more of: an optical signal; RF signal; and electronic signal. The apparatus may be configured to receive a signal in the form of one of: an optical; RF; and electronic signal. The apparatus may be configured to transmit said signal in the form of the other of: the optical; RF and electronic signal. According to an example of the present disclosure there is provided a communication apparatus for routing a signal between a transceiver or network transceiver and a user device. The communication apparatus may comprise an optical communication module for communicating with the user device and the transceiver or network transceiver using optical communication such as optical wireless communication.

The communication apparatus may be configured to receive a signal in the form of an optical signal. The communication apparatus may be configured to transmit said signal in the form of an optical signal. According to an example of the present disclosure there is provided a communication apparatus for routing a signal between a transceiver or network transceiver and a user device. The communication apparatus may comprise an RF communication module for communicating with the user device and the transceiver or network transceiver using RF communication.

The communication apparatus may be configured to receive a signal in the form of an RF signal. The communication apparatus may be configured to transmit said signal in the form of an RF signal. According to an example of the present disclosure there is provided a communication apparatus for routing a signal between a transceiver or network transceiver and a user device. The communication apparatus may comprise an optical communication module for communicating with at least one of the user device and the transceiver or network transceiver using optical communication such as optical wireless communication. The communication apparatus may comprise a radio frequency (RF) communication module for communicating with at least one of the network transceiver and the user device using RF communication. The apparatus may be configured to receive a signal in the form of one or both of an optical and RF signal. The apparatus may be configured to transmit said signal in the form of one or both of an optical and RF signal. The communication apparatus may comprise an electronic communication module for communicating with the user device and/or transceiver or network transceiver using electronic communication (e.g. via an electronic signal). The electronic communication may be provided or enabled by an electronic communication device such as a USB, ethernet, FireWire cable, or the like. The apparatus may be configured to convert one or more forms of signal (e.g. selected from: an optical, RF and/or electronic signal) to one or more forms of signal (e.g. selected from: an optical, RF and/or electronic signal). The apparatus may be configured to convert one or more of: an optical signal; RF signal; and electronic signal into one or more of: an optical signal; RF signal; and electronic signal. The apparatus may be configured to receive a signal in the form of one or more of: an optical; RF; and electronic signal. The apparatus may be configured to transmit said signal in the form of one or more of: the optical; RF and electronic signal.

Any example of the communication apparatus according to the present disclosure may be provided. As explained below, there may be many different modes of operation possible with the communication apparatus, which may utilise RF and/or optical communication such as optical wireless communication and/or electronic communication. The communication apparatus may be adapted in accordance with the current usage requires, the environmental conditions, usage conditions, and/or technological status of the user device.

For example, at least one user device may not be enabled for optical communication such as optical wireless communication (for example, if the hardware and/or software has not yet been widely deployed in the marketplace). In this case, the communication apparatus may be configured for RF communication with the user device and configured for at least one of RF and optical communication with the transceiver or network transceiver. The transceiver and network transceiver may or may not operate as a transceiver for connecting to the internet or an intranet. In another example, at least one user device may be enabled for optical communication such as optical wireless communication but there may be a problem with the optical connection (e.g. due to a blockage) between the user device and the communication apparatus. Again, the communication apparatus may be configured for RF communication with the user device and configured for at least one of RF and optical communication with the network transceiver. In another example, at least one user device may be enabled for RF communication but there may be a problem with the RF connection (e.g. due to interference or another problem) between the user device and the communication apparatus.

In another example, the user device may be able to direct connect (e.g. using optical and/or RF communications) with the network transceiver, e.g. so as to bypass the communication apparatus. It will be appreciated that the flexibility provided by the communication apparatus and an associated system for controlling the communication apparatus, user devices may be appropriately assigned an appropriate mode of communication (e.g. optical and/or RF communication and/or electronic communication) so as to maximise the available bandwidth for each user device.

At any time the communication apparatus may utilise optical communication for communicating with the network transceiver and the user device. At any time the communication apparatus may utilise RF communication for communicating with the network transceiver and the user device. At any time the communication apparatus may utilise optical communication for communicating with the network transceiver and RF communication for communicating with the user device. At any time the communication apparatus may utilise RF communication for communicating with the network transceiver and optical communication for communicating with the user device. Further, data transmissions using the communication apparatus may be different depending on whether the communication apparatus is sending or receiving a signal/data.

The optical signal may be a wireless optical signal, e.g. for a wireless optical communications system. The optical signal may be a wired optical signal, e.g. for a wired (e.g. optical fibre) optical communications system. The communication system may comprise either or both of a wireless optical communications system and a wired optical communications system.

The communication apparatus may receive an optical signal from the network transceiver for downloading data from the internet and send an RF signal to the network transceiver for uploading data to the internet. Alternatively or in addition, the communication apparatus may receive an RF signal from the network transceiver for downloading data from the internet and send an optical signal to the network transceiver for uploading data to the internet.

The communication apparatus may receive an optical signal from the user device for uploading data to the internet and sending an RF signal to the user device for downloading data from the internet onto the user device. Alternatively or in addition, the communication apparatus may receive an RF signal from the user device for uploading data to the internet and sending an optical signal to the user device for downloading data from the internet onto the user device.

Therefore, the communication apparatus or a communication system for controlling the communication apparatus may be completely flexible in determining which mode of communication (e.g. optical and/or RF communication) can be used at a given time. If there is a problem with any mode of communication, another mode of communication may be used if this is available or possible. The communication apparatus may be managed so as to make best use of available network and/or bandwidth resources. In use, the communication apparatus may provide an RF signal range defined by the RF communication module. The RF signal range may define a localised volume in which at least one user device may connect to the communication apparatus and transfer the signal therebetween using RF communication. The communication apparatus may further provide an optical signal range defined by the optical communication module.

Using optical communication between the network transceiver and the optical communication module may provide a higher bandwidth than is currently possible using RF communication. Further, optical communication may not be limited in terms of the available frequencies, in contrast to RF communication which may be regarded as a highly regulated part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The higher frequencies supported by optical communication may inherently support a larger volume of data and therefore may potentially satisfy a requirement for large data transfer in communications networks. Currently available user devices such as smart phones, tablets, phablets, watches, Internet of Things (loT) devices, and the like, may not be enabled for optical communication using, for example, so-called VLC or LiFi. In due course such user devices may become enabled for optical communication. However, at the current time, widespread deployment of optical communication enabled user devices may be regarded as relatively limited. However, many currently available user devices configured for accessing data services are enabled for communicating using RF technologies such as WiFi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, and the like. The communication apparatus may route a signal received via optical communication to be transmitted to the downstream user device via radio frequency communication. The apparatus may route a signal received via RF communication to the upstream transceiver. In this manner, the apparatus may provide a way to bridge or route data to/from a high bandwidth transceiver such as a LiFi transceiver to a user device which may not be enabled for optical communication. In this manner, user devices which are not enabled for optical communication may benefit from the higher bandwidth afforded by optical communication while not needing any additional optical communication- enabled hardware to be directly connected to the user device and/or any software for operating said hardware.

Although a final link to the user device (e.g. from the communication apparatus) may be via RF communications, having a high bandwidth available all the way through a transmission chain (e.g. between the internet and at least one of: a network, a first access point, secondary access point, and user device, and so on, with potentially multiple cascaded access/distribution points, and the like) to the RF access point for one or more users may be beneficial over the current practice where the furthest downstream access point may be shared across multiple users. Providing an optical communication link between the communication apparatus and the network transceiver may provide a high bandwidth connection for high data transmission across the communication system. The at least one user device may therefore potentially benefit from the full available bandwidth available from the RF access point.

The communication apparatus may be or comprise an Integrated Circuit (IC), Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or processor/FPGA hybrid device, or the like. The communication apparatus, transceiver or network transceiver may be configurable to provide a first communication mode, which may define an optical-RF communication mode in which the communication apparatus, transceiver or network transceiver may be configured to receive a signal in the form of one of: an optical and RF signal, and may be configured to transmit the/another signal in the form of the other of the optical and RF signal.

The communication apparatus, transceiver or network transceiver may be configurable to provide a second communication mode, which may define an optical-optical communication mode in which the communication apparatus, transceiver or network transceiver may be configured to receive a signal in the form of an optical signal, and may be configured to transmit the/another signal in the form of another optical signal. The communication apparatus, transceiver or network transceiver may be configurable to provide a third communication mode, which may define a simultaneous optical-RF and optical-optical or multimodal communication mode in which the communication apparatus, transceiver or network transceiver may be configured to receive a signal in the form of an optical signal and/or an RF signal, and may be configured to transmit the/another signal in the form of another RF and/or optical signal.

The communication apparatus, transceiver or network transceiver may be switchable between and/or simultaneously provide the first communication mode and the second communication mode. The communication apparatus, transceiver or network transceiver may be switchable between and/or simultaneously provide the first communication mode and the third communication mode. The communication apparatus, transceiver or network transceiver may be switchable between and/or simultaneously provide the second communication mode and the third communication mode.

The RF communication module may comprise an RF transceiver. The RF communication module may comprise at least one of an RF receiver and an RF transmitter. The communication apparatus may comprise an optical transceiver. The optical communication module may comprise at least one of an optical receiver and an optical transmitter. The RF communication module may be configurable to define a radio frequency (RF) signal range and/or the optical communication module may be configurable to define an optical signal range.

The RF and/or optical signal range may be determined according to a density of downstream user devices within the RF signal range.

The RF communication module may be configured to control the RF signal range according to a proximity of a user device to the RF communication module and/or optical communication module may be configured to control the optical signal range according to a proximity of a user device to the optical communication module.

The apparatus may be configured to adapt or modify the RF and/or optical signal range according to the proximity of the first user device. The RF or optical communication module may be configured to detect the proximity of at least one further user device to the RF or optical communication module and modify the RF and/or optical signal range so that the further user device may no longer be within the RF and/or optical signal range. The RF communication module may define a localised signal range or volume. The localised signal range may define a personal signal range for a single user, or may define a signal range for a relatively small number of users. By controlling or modifying the RF signal range, it may be possible to ensure that only one or a few user devices can be connected to the communication apparatus at any one time. In this manner, RF interference between adjacent communication apparatus may be minimised while permitting at least one user device to communicate with the communication apparatus.

The RF and/or optical signal range may be less than 100 m, 50m, 20 m, 10 m, 5 m, 2 m, 1 m, 0.5 m, 0.25 m, 0.1 m, 0.05 m, or the like. The communication apparatus may be configured to provide a bridge between optical and RF communications.

The communication apparatus may comprise a common power source for powering the optical and RF communication modules.

The communication apparatus may comprise a power source for powering at least one of the optical and RF communication modules. In an example, the power source may comprise the common power source. By providing a common power source, the optical and RF communication modules may be simultaneously powered so as to simultaneously transmit and/or receive at least one of the optical and RF communication signals.

The power source may comprise a photovoltaic or solar cell. The power source may be configured to simultaneously receive optical communications. For example the power source may be in the form of a photovoltaic cell, which may be self-powered by receiving optical communications, which may carry both energy and data. The power source may comprise a chemical energy source such as a cell or battery. The power source may be configured to power both the optical and RF communication modules such that said modules may comprise a common power source.

The optical communication module may be configured for receiving a modulated optical signal and simultaneously modulating an electrical signal for powering the RF communication module.

Modulating the electrical signal for powering the RF communication module may cause the RF communication module to produce an RF signal comprising a same or similar modulation to the modulated optical signal.

The RF communication module may be configured for receiving a modulated RF signal and simultaneously modulating an electrical signal for powering the optical communication module. Modulating the electrical signal for powering the optical communication module may cause the optical communication module to produce an optical signal comprising a same or similar modulation to the modulated RF signal. The communication apparatus may comprise a concentrator for concentrating at least one of the optical signal and the RF signal.

The concentrator may comprise a reflector. The concentrator may comprise a metallic component. The concentrator may be shaped to concentrate at least one of the optical signal and the RF signal. The concentrator may be configured to concentrate both the optical signal and the RF signal. The concentrator may be configured to provide gain for receiving and/or transmitting at least one of the optical and RF signals.

The communication apparatus may comprise a controller for managing communication between the optical communication module and/or the RF communication module.

The controller may be provided in any appropriate form, and may comprise at least one of hardware, middleware and software. The controller may be configured to manage communications between the optical and RF communication modules according to a communication protocol. The controller may be configured to receive a network usage parameter such as at least one of: data usage, number of users, density of users, bandwidth assigned to each user, user proximity, user priority status, and the like. The controller may be configured to determine or evaluate network resources, for example, available bandwidth and/or optimum or maximum data transfer rate.

The controller may be configured to allocate network resources to one or more users, user devices, loT devices, and the like. The controller may be configured to communicate with at least one other controller, for example, at least one other controller in order to determine at least one network usage parameter. The controller may be configured to reallocate network resources.

The communication apparatus may comprise a processor for routing communications between the optical communication module and/or the RF communication module. The processor may be connected to the optical communication module via a first signal connection. The processor may be connected to the RF communication module via a second signal connection. The processor may be controlled by the controller, which may be connected via a control line.

The optical communication module may comprise an optical sensor. The optical sensor may be disposed on an outer surface of the communication apparatus. The optical sensor may be configured to send and/or receive an optical signal. The optical sensor may be optically connected to a transceiver, for example, a network transceiver or any other transceiver.

The optical communication module may be configured to receive an optical signal. The optical communication module may be configured to convert the optical signal into an electrical signal, e.g. for transmission to the processor via the first signal connection. The processor may be configured to process the electrical signal and send the processed electrical signal to the RF communication module, e.g. via the second signal connection. The RF communication module may be configured to convert or relay the processed electrical signal to an RF signal, e.g. for transmission to a user device or other device enabled for RF communication.

The RF communication module may be configured to receive an RF signal. The RF communication module may be configured to convert the RF signal into an electrical signal for transmission to the processor, e.g. via the second signal connection. The processor may be configured to process the electrical signal and send the processed electrical signal to the RF communication module, e.g. via the first signal connection. The optical communication module may be configured to convert or relay the processed electrical signal to an optical signal, e.g. for transmission to a transceiver enabled for optical communication.

The controller may be configured to control the processing of the electrical signals, for example, to appropriately route or replay a signal between the optical and RF communication modules according to an algorithm for determining network resources and/or usage requirements, or the like. The processor may be configured to process the electrical signal if at least one of the optical communication module and RF communication module are configured to operate (e.g. transmit and/or receive signals) using different communication protocols, e.g. by appropriately processing the electrical signal so as to comply with the requirements of the at least one communication protocol.

The processor may be configured to relay or bridge the electrical signal between the optical and RF communication modules. For example, both the optical and RF communication methods may operate using the same or an equivalent communication protocol.

The optical and RF communication modules may be directly connected, for example, via a direct signal connection. In this example, the communication may be managed by the controller according to a communication protocol.

The optical communication module may comprise an optical receiver, optical transmitter, optical transceiver, photodiode, photodetector, optical sensor, photovoltaic cell, light emitting diode, laser, solid state device, lighting luminaire, or the like.

The RF communication module may comprise an RF receiver, RF transmitter, RF transceiver, optical receiver, optical transmitter, optical transceiver, photodiode, photodetector, optical sensor, photovoltaic cell, light emitting diode, laser, or the like. The RF communication module may comprise an RF antenna. The RF antenna may be provided in any appropriate form. The RF antenna may comprise a patch antenna, quarter wave antenna, microstrip antenna, microstrip patch antenna, NFC antenna, fractal antenna, horn antenna, inverted-F antenna, or indeed any other appropriate RF antenna. The RF antenna may be combined or integrated with the optical communication module in any appropriate way. For example, the RF antenna could be integrated into the wiring of the optical communication module, e.g. within a light emitting diode, or the like.

The optical and RF communication modules may the same or separate components of the communication apparatus. The optical and RF communication modules may operate within different bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. The RF communication module may be configured to operate in an RF band below 300 GHz. The optical communication module may be configured to operate in an optical communication band above 300 GHz, for example, by making use of at least one of optical communication in at least the following parts of the electromagnetic spectrum: microwave, Terahertz, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma rays. It will be understood that the 300 GHz boundary is merely exemplary and different boundaries may be defined between optical and RF frequency bands. For example, the boundary between optical and RF frequencies may be defined as 25 GHz, 50 GHz, 100 GHz, 150 GHz, 200 GHz, 250 GHz, 300 GHz, 350 GHz, 400 GHz, 500 GHz, 600 GHz, 700 GHz, 800 GHz, 900 GHz, 1 THz, 2 THz, 5 THz, 10 THz, 20 THz, 50 THz, 100 THz, 200 THz, 500 THz, 1 PHz, or indeed any other frequency. The communication apparatus may be disposed in or under a skin surface e.g. a biological skin surface. For example, the communication apparatus may be embedded in or under the skin surface. The communication apparatus may define a personalised RF signal range in the proximity of a user's skin. The communication apparatus may be configured for optical communication using an optical frequency or optical band that may be substantially or sufficiently transmitted through the skin, e.g. animal or human skin. The communication apparatus may receive and/or transmit optical signals through the skin.

The network transceiver may define a network access point. The network transceiver may comprise an RF transceiver. The network transceiver may comprise an optical transceiver.

The user device may define an endpoint device, e.g. for connecting to a network. The network may be provided or accessed by the network transceiver. The network transceiver may be configured to communicate a signal between the network transceiver and the communication apparatus. The communication apparatus may be configured to communicate the signal between the communication apparatus and the endpoint device. According to an example of the present disclosure there is provided a communication method for routing a signal between a transceiver or network transceiver and a user device. The method may comprise communicating with the transceiver or network transceiver using optical communication such as optical wireless communication. The method may comprise communicating with the user device using radio frequency (RF) communication.

The method may comprise communicating with the user device and/or transceiver or network transceiver using electronic communication (e.g. via an electronic signal). The electronic communication may be provided or enabled by an electronic communication device such as a USB, ethernet, FireWire cable, or the like. The method may comprise converting one form of signal (e.g. selected from: an optical; RF and electronic signal) to another form of signal (e.g. selected from: an optical; RF and electronic signal). According to an example of the present disclosure there is provided a communication method for routing a signal between a transceiver or network transceiver and a user device. The method may comprise communicating with the transceiver or network transceiver using radio frequency (RF) communication. The method may comprise communicating with the user device using optical communication such as optical wireless communication.

The method may comprise communicating with the user device and/or transceiver or network transceiver using electronic communication (e.g. via an electronic signal). The electronic communication may be provided or enabled by an electronic communication device such as a USB, ethernet, FireWire cable, or the like. The method may comprise converting one form of signal (e.g. selected from: an optical; RF and electronic signal) to another form of signal (e.g. selected from: an optical; RF and electronic signal).

According to an example of the present disclosure there is provided a communication method for routing a signal between a transceiver or network transceiver and a user device. The method may comprise communicating with the transceiver or network transceiver and the user device using radio frequency (RF) communication.

According to an example of the present disclosure there is provided a communication method for routing a signal between a transceiver or network transceiver and a user device. The method may comprise communicating with the transceiver or network transceiver and the user device using optical communication such as optical wireless communication. According to an example of the present disclosure there is provided a communication method for routing a signal between a transceiver or network transceiver and a user device. The method may comprise communicating with the transceiver or network transceiver using one or both of radio frequency (RF) communication and optical communication such as optical wireless communication. The method may comprise communicating with the user device using one or both of optical communication and radio frequency (RF) communication.

The method may comprise communicating with user device and/or transceiver or network transceiver using electronic communication (e.g. via an electronic signal). The electronic communication may be provided or enabled by an electronic communication device such as a USB, ethernet, FireWire cable, or the like. The method may comprise converting one or more forms of signal (e.g. selected from: an optical; RF and electronic signal) to one or more forms of signal (e.g. selected from: an optical; RF and electronic signal). The method may comprise communicating with the transceiver or network transceiver using one or more of: radio frequency (RF) communication; optical communication such as wireless optical communication; and electronic communication. The method may comprise communicating with the user device using one or more of: optical communication; radio frequency (RF) communication; and electronic communication.

Any example of the communication method of the present disclosure may have at least one feature or benefit in common with any example of the communication apparatus of the present disclosure. The method may comprise receiving at least one of: an optical and RF signal.

The method may comprise transmitting said signal in the form of the other of the optical and RF signal. The method may comprise at least one of: converting a received signal into an electrical signal. The method may comprise converting an/the electrical signal into a transmitted signal. The received signal may comprise at least one of the optical and RF signals. The transmitted signal may comprise at least one of the optical and RF signals.

The method may comprise simultaneously converting or relaying the received signal into the transmitted signal.

The method may comprise receiving a modulated signal and converting the modulated signal into a modulated electrical signal.

The method may comprise converting the modulated electrical signal into a further modulated signal.

The modulated signal may comprise at least one of a modulated: optical and RF signal. The further modulated signal may comprise at least one of a modulated: optical and RF signal. Receiving a modulated RF signal may cause modulation of an electrical signal, which may in turn modulate an optical signal. Alternatively or in addition, receiving a modulated optical signal may cause modulated of an electrical signal, which may in turn modulate an RF signal.

The method may comprise processing an electrical signal transmitted between an optical communication module and an RF communication module.

Processing the electrical signal may comprise relaying the electrical signal. Processing the electrical signal may comprise converting the electrical signal to conform to a different communication protocol. For example, the optical communication module may be configured to operate according to an optical communication protocol and the RF communication module may be configured to operate according to an RF communication protocol. The optical and RF communication protocols may be the same, similar or different. Processing the electrical signal may provide a bridge or conversion between the optical and RF communication protocols. The method may comprise controlling at least one of the optical and RF communications so as to allocate network resources or bandwidth.

Allocating network resources or bandwidth may comprise balancing a usage load on the network by allocating resources to one or more transceivers and/or communication apparatus in the network.

The method may comprise detecting a disruption to a signal transmitted between the transceiver and the user device. The method may comprise assigning a network resource to counteract the disruption. Assigning the network resource may comprise providing at least one of an optical and RF signal for communicating the signal between the transceiver and the user device.

The disruption may comprise interference, which may be caused by at least one RF signal overlapping with another RF signal. The disruption may comprise a blockage to an optical signal, which may prevent the optical signal being transmitted. Assigning the network resource may counteract the disruption by providing an alternative route for the signal. For example, if there is a blockage to the optical signal, the method may comprise detecting the blockage and sending and/or receiving an RF signal instead of the optical signal. The RF signal and optical signal may be used interchangeably depending on a network condition, for example, if one of the RF signal and optical signal cannot be successfully routed, then the other of the RF signal and optical signal may be successfully routed, which may reduce disruption to access to the internet or intranet.

The method may comprise at least one of transmitting and receiving visible or invisible light communications across an infrastructure area. The method may comprise at least one of transmitting and receiving RF communications. Transmitting or receiving visible or invisible light communications may be utilised unless said light communications are disrupted. A disruption to light communications may be overcome by switching to RF communications until or if the light communications become available again.

The network transceiver may be configured bridge a downstream wireless network to a wired or wireless upstream network, for example, the internet or an intranet. The communication apparatus may comprise routing or bridging software to enable routing of communications. The transceiver may comprise routing or bridging software to enable routing of communications. The transceiver may comprise at least one of: an optical transceiver and an RF transceiver.

The communication apparatus may act as an end station or terminal device. The communication apparatus may directly connect to multi-media or other electronic devices to provide communication services. The communication apparatus may be integrated into said multi-media or other electronics devices.

The communication apparatus may be configured to sense an RF parameter, for example, an environmental parameter. The RF parameter may comprise at least one of: RF channel utilisation, RF signal strength on a per channel basis, an RF signature of other communication apparatus and/or transceiver, and the like.

The communication apparatus may be configured to adjust, for example dynamically adjust, at least one RF parameter. The RF parameter may comprise at least one of: RF signal strength, RF frequency channel selection, RF input signal strength, RF output signal strength, and the like. The signal strength may be determined using a signal rejection algorithm and/or circuitry.

The controller and/or a system controller may be centralised as a system-wide resource, or may comprise distributed logic running in at least one of the: network transceiver, any other transceiver, the communication apparatus, and the like.

The system controller may comprise at least one feature of at least one of the communication apparatus, network transceiver, and the like.

The controller and/or the system controller may comprise system control logic. The system control logic may be configured to gather statistics from at least one of the communication apparatus, network transceiver, transceiver, user device, and the like. The statistics may be sent to the network transceiver for use in network tuning.

The system control logic may gather at least one of: optical communication connectivity, bandwidth availability, and the like. The system control logic may be configured to establish an RF signal path for providing connectivity if an optical signal path is not available.

The system control logic may be configured to gather statistics from the communication apparatus for at least one of: RF channel utilisation, optimisation, signal strength detection, and the like. The statistics may be used to establish an optimal cellular map for an area, for example, the infrastructure area. The map may be used to send control information to the communication apparatus for at least one of: dynamic channel allocation, signal strength detection, disabling or enabling RF signal connectivity at said communication apparatus, and the like.

The system control logic may be configured to gather performance statistics from at least part of the network so as to at least one of: manage fault conditions, manage disruptions, optimise user quality of services, and the like. The statistics may be used to further tune at least part of the network.

The method may comprise using at least one of: the communication apparatus, network transceiver, optical communication module, RF communication module, controller, system controller, system control logic, and the like, in any appropriate way and/or as described in the present disclosure.

According to an example of the present disclosure there is provided a computer program product that when executed by a processing system or control unit causes the processing system or control unit to at least partially implement any feature of any method in the present disclosure.

The controller and/or system controller may comprise at least one of: the processing system and control unit. The processing system or control unit may comprise a processor and a memory. The processing system or control unit may comprise a communications module, such as a wireless and/or wired communications module, and/or may comprise the communication apparatus according to any example described in the present disclosure. The memory may be configured to store at least part of the computer program product. The control unit may be coupled or in communication with at least one input device or user input device and/or at least one output or user output device. Examples of suitable user input devices include, such as a keyboard, mouse, trackball, switch, touch screen or contact pad such as a capacitive or inductive touch screen or contact pad, optical and/or camera based input system and/or the like. Examples of suitable output or user output devices include a display, screen, led, speaker or other audio output, haptic output device, a virtual reality headset, a data store, a network, a remote server, and/or the like.

The computer program product may be provided on a carrier medium. The carrier medium may be a tangible, non-transient carrier medium, such as a flash drive, memory stick, optical disk or carrier, magnetic disk or carrier, memory, ROM, RAM, and/or the like. The carrier medium may be, comprise or be comprised in a non- tangible carrier medium such as an electromagnetic wave, electronic or magnetic signal, digital data and/or the like.

In addition, it will be well understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art that whilst some examples, aspects or embodiments may implement certain functionality by means of a computer program having computer-readable instructions that are executable to perform the method of the embodiments, the computer program functionality could be implemented in hardware (for example by means of a CPU or by one or more ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays) or GPUs (graphic processing units)) or by a mix of hardware and software. According to an example of the present disclosure there is provided a communication system for routing a signal between a transceiver or network transceiver and a user device. The communication system may comprise at least one communication apparatus according to any example of the present disclosure. The communication system may comprise performing any one of the steps according to any part of any method of the present disclosure.

The communication system may further comprise at least one of: a network transceiver according to any example of the present disclosure; and a transceiver according to any example of the present disclosure. The communication system may be configured to control the optical and/or RF signal range of each communication apparatus so as to reduce RF interference between adjacent communication apparatus. The communication system may operate or implement a method based on any method described in the present disclosure.

The communication system may comprise any computer program product described in the present disclosure.

At least one feature of any example, aspect or embodiment of the present disclosure may replace any corresponding feature of any example, aspect or embodiment of the present disclosure. At least one feature of any example, aspect or embodiment of the present disclosure may be combined with any other example, aspect or embodiment of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other examples of the present disclosure will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the following drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing interference between overlapping signal ranges;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an optical communication system according to an example of the present disclosure;

Figure 3 is a further schematic diagram of the optical communication system of Figure

2; Figure 4 is a schematic illustration of an apparatus enabled for optical communication according to an example of the present disclosure;

Figure 5 is a schematic illustration of an apparatus enabled for optical communication according to an example of the present disclosure; and Figure 6 is a schematic side view of the optical communication system of Figure 3 deployed in a multi-user environment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 2 illustrates a communication system 100 including a network transceiver 110 configured to provide data communication with the internet or an intranet for several optical communication-enabled transceivers 120, which for ease of reference shall now be referred to as Optical Transceivers (OTs 120). Each of the OTs 120 is configured for optical communication (e.g. VLC or any other appropriate optical communication system) with a number of communication apparatus, which in this example are in the form of RF communication-enabled Optical Transceivers 1 12 (RFOTs 1 12). Each of the RFOTs 1 12 is configured to provide RF communication via an RF signal 121. The optical communication provided by the RFOTs 1 12 may enable a relatively high rate of data transfer (compared with RF communication) with minimal interference using an optical signal 122 communicated between the RFOTs 112 and the OTs 120. Due to the minimal (or zero) interference between the optical signals 122, it is possible to provide a large number of RFOTs 1 12 within a certain area, for example, an area with a higher density of user devices 1 16 (or Internet of Things (loT) devices) than is currently appropriate with existing non-optically enabled RF transceivers due to the interference problem illustrated by Figure 1. Each RFOT 1 12 is enabled for optical communication and RF communication and may be considered to provide a bridge for enabling the communication of data via both optical and RF signals.

By providing optical communication between one of the OTs 120 and at least one of the RFOTs 1 12 via the optical signal 122, it may be possible to provide an RF signal range 114 for each RFOT 1 12 that does not overlap with the signal range 1 14 of an adjacent RFOT 112. The RFOTs 1 12 may have a relatively short signal range 114, which may be selectable by controlling the RF power emitted by the RFOTs 1 12 so that the signal ranges 1 14 of each RFOT 112 within a densely populated area does not overlap, or at least does not significantly overlap. In this manner, a limited number of user devices, for example, one user device 1 16 can connect to one individual RFOT 1 12 using RF communication, where the RFOT 1 12 can connect to an OT 120 using VLC. Each user device 116 or a limited group of user devices 116 may therefore be able to communicate with a respective RFOT 1 12, which provides an individual RF signal zone defined by the signal range 1 14 of each RFOT 1 12 that cannot or is unlikely to interfere with an adjacent RF signal zone defined by a nearby RFOT 1 12.

At least one RFOT 1 12 and/or at least one OT 120 may be configured to detect whether at least one user device 1 16 is in the vicinity of the signal range 114 provided by at least one of the RFOTs 112. The signal range 114 of at least one RFOT 1 12 may be varied, e.g. by varying the RF power, so that no more than a permitted number of user devices 116 can connect to any one of the RFOTs 1 12. The permitted number of user devices 1 16 may depend on the availability of RF signal bandwidth. In an example, only one user device 1 16 is permitted to connect to any one RFOT 112. However, providing there is sufficient bandwidth available, it may be possible to connect more than one user device 1 16 to the RFOT 112.

If too many user devices 1 16 are detected as being within the signal range 1 14 of a single RFOT 1 12, the signal range 1 14 of the RFOT 1 12 may be varied so that fewer user devices 116 are within the signal range 1 14. The signal range 1 14 of the RFOTs 1 12 may be appropriately adjusted according to the number of user devices 116 located in the vicinity of the RFOTs 1 12 and/or according to bandwidth usage of each of the user devices 1 16. In this manner, network bandwidth may be actively managed to ensure that interference between the RF signal of adjacent RFOTs 112 is minimised.

Figure 3 illustrates an example installation of the communication system 100 illustrated by Figure 2. The communication system 100 includes a network transceiver 110, which in this example is in the form of a LiFi omni-directional access point configured for providing optical communication with a plurality of zones 102, each of the zones 102 including a number of RFOTs 112 and a number of user devices 1 16. The network transceiver is configured to transmit data to or receive data from the user devices 116 via the RFOTs 1 12. At least one of the RFOTs 1 12 is configured to be in optical communication with the network transceiver 1 10 via at least one optical signal 122 and/or in optical communication with at least one other RFOT 1 12.

The RFOTs 1 12 are configured for RF and optical communication between the user devices 1 16. For example, the RFOTs 1 12 are enabled for WiFi and LiFi communication. The RFOTs 112 may serve as WiFi and/or LiFi hotspots. The communication system 100 further includes a system controller 104 for managing network resources according to usage of the internet and/or the intranet by the user devices 116. The system controller 104 may be configured to manage the network resources in any appropriate way, for example, by managing a protocol under which RFOTs 112 are configured to provide RF signal for at least one user device 116.

The communication system 100 is extended to cover a larger area by the provision of optical signal extenders, which in this example are in the form of OTs 120 disposed in optical communication with the network transceiver 110 via optical signals 122. Thus, the network transceiver 1 10 and/or the OTs 120 are capable of communicating optically with the RFOTs 112, depending on the management of the communication system 100 by the system controller 104.

The system controller 104 may be configured to manage the overall network configuration. In Figure 3, the system controller 104 is shown as a separate system block, while it is understood that the appropriate hardware, middleware or software may reside within one or more of the units 110, 1 12 or 120 or a combination thereof. For example, the system controller 104 may be integrated into the network transceiver 1 10, or may be a distributed logic element running in the RFOTs 112 and/or OTs 120.

Optionally, an RF communication-enabled network transceiver 1 10 and/or an RF communication-enabled signal extender may be provided for situations where the optical signal cannot be provided for any reason. For example, an RF network transceiver may be deployed alongside the network transceiver 1 10 in order to provide a fall-back for at least one of downlink and uplink connectivity to the RFOTs 1 12, which themselves are configured for RF communication.

Figure 4 illustrates at least some of the components provided in the RFOT 112. The RFOT 1 12 includes a housing 124 for a number of communication modules and other components. The RFOT 1 12 includes a power source 126, for example either an external power source or an internal power source such as a chemical cell, photovoltaic cell, or the like. The power source 126 is used to provide power for at least one of the components of the RFOT 1 12. In this example, the power source 126 is connected to a processor 128 configured to route a signal between an optical communication module, which in this example is in the form of an optical transceiver 130, and an RF communication module, which in this example is in the form of an RF transceiver 132. The processor 128 is connected to the optical transceiver 130 via a first signal connection 131 and is connected to the RF transceiver 132 via a second signal connection 133. Optionally, the optical transceiver 130 and the RF transceiver may instead or additionally be directly connected via a direct signal connection 134.

The processor 128 is controlled by a controller 135 connected via a control line 136. The optical transceiver 130 is provided with an optical sensor 138 disposed on an outer surface of the housing 124. The optical sensor 138 is configured to send and/or receive an optical signal, and may be optically connected to an OT 120 such as illustrated by Figures 2 or 3. The optical transceiver 130 is configured to receive an optical signal 122 (e.g. from an OT 120) and convert the optical signal into an electrical signal for transmission to the processor 128 via the first signal connection 131 , whereupon the processor 128 processes the electrical signal and sends the processed electrical signal to the RF transceiver 132 via the second signal connection 133. The RF transceiver 132 can then convert the processed electrical signal to an RF signal 121 for transmission to a user device 1 16.

The RF transceiver 132 is configured to receive an RF signal 121 (e.g. from a user device 1 16) and convert the RF signal 121 into an electrical signal for transmission to the processor 128 via the second signal connection 133, whereupon the processor 128 processes the electrical signal and sends the processed electrical signal to the RF transceiver 132 via the first signal connection 131. The optical transceiver 130 can then convert the processed electrical signal to an optical signal 122 for transmission to an OT 120.

The controller 135 is configured to control the processing of the electrical signals, for example, to appropriate route signals between the optical transceiver 130 and the RF transceiver 132 according to an algorithm for determining network resources and/or usage requirements.

In an example, the processor 128 may process the electrical signal if the optical transceiver 130 and RF transceiver 132 are configured to operate (e.g. transmit and receive signals) using different communication protocols, e.g. by appropriately processing the electrical signal so as to comply with the requirements of the communication protocols.

In an example, the processor 128 may relay or bridge the electrical signal between the optical transceiver 130 and the RF transceiver 132. For example, both the optical and RF communication methods may operate using the same or an equivalent communication protocol.

In an example, the optical transceiver 130 and the RF transceiver 132 may be directly connected, e.g. via the direct signal connection 134. In this example, the communication may be managed by the controller 135 according to a communication protocol.

Figure 5 illustrates an example of an RFOT 212 for a communication system 200, the RFOT 212 being configured for directly communicating between at least one optical transceiver 230, and at least one RF transceiver 232. Both the optical transceiver 230 and the RF transceiver 232 are disposed in a transceiver housing 240, which itself is housed within a housing 224, for example, an light emitting diode housing, or the like. Any appropriate arrangement of the optical transceiver 230 and RF transceiver 232 may be used.

In an example, the optical transceiver 230 includes electrical connections 242 for powering the optical transceiver 230 and the RF transceiver 232, which in this example share a common power source 226 but could use different power sources. A controller 235 is provided for controlling an electrical signal for powering the optical transceiver 230 and the RF transceiver 232. The controller 235 is powered by the power source 226, for example, a photovoltaic cell, chemical cell, or the like. The optical transceiver 230 includes at least one optical transmitter configured for emitting an optical signal 222, for example a light-emitting diode, or the like. The optical transceiver 230 includes at least one optical receiver, for example a photodetector, configured for receiving an optical signal 222. The optical transmitter and optical receiver may or may not include the same component for transmitting and receiving the optical signal 222.

Modulation of the electrical signal may produce an optical signal 222 by virtue of the optical transceiver 230 emitting light, while simultaneously producing an RF signal 221. The RF transceiver 232 may receive an RF signal 221 , which may act to module the electrical signal for powering the optical transceiver 230, which may cause the optical signal 222 to become modulated. If at least one optical transceiver 230 receives an optical signal 222 (e.g. from an OT), at least one optical transceiver 230 may convert said optical signal 222 into an electrical signal. The electrical signal may be directed to at least one optical transceiver 230 so that the electrical signal can power the optical transceiver 230 while also providing an RF signal 221 from the RF transceiver 232. The signal can then be transmitted from the optical transceiver 230 in the form of an optical signal 222 and/or from the RF transceiver 232 in the form of an RF signal 221.

If at least one RF transceiver 232 receives an RF signal 221 (e.g. from a user device), at least one RF transceiver 232 may convert said RF signal 221 into an electrical signal. The electrical signal may be directed to at least one optical transceiver 230 and/or at least one RF transceiver 232. The optical transceiver 230 may provide an optical signal 222, which may be modulated by the RF signal 221 received by the RF transceiver 232, and/or may be modulated by a modulated electrical signal. The RFOT 212 may act to receive a modulated optical signal 222 and relay said optical signal 222 to an RF transceiver 232 in order to transmit a modulated RF signal 221. The RFOT 212 may act to simultaneously receive a modulated RF signal 221 and relay said RF signal 221 to an optical transceiver 230, which may be powered by an electrical signal which is modulated, e.g. directly, by the RF signal 221. Thus, the RFOT 212 may act to simultaneously receive a modulated RF signal 221 and provide a similarly modulated optical signal 222. The RFOT 212 may act to simultaneously receive a modulated optical signal 222 and provide a similarly modulated RF signal 221. The RFOT 212 may include at least one optical transceiver 230 and RF transceiver 232 so that the device can relay optical and RF communications as required.

The optical transceiver 230 and the RF transceiver 232 may take any appropriate form. For example, the optical transceiver 230 may include a light emitting diode including an RF transceiver 232 electrically connected to the light emitting diode, e.g. electrically connected to the diode within a housing of the diode. In this example, the RFOT 212 includes a concentrator 244 for concentrating at least one of the RF signal 221 and the optical signal 222. The concentrator 244 is disposed in the housing 224 and includes a metallic layer, which in this example is of a parabolic shape, configured to increase the directionality of the RF and optical signals 221 , 222. Thus, the signal strength transmitted and/or received by the RFOT 212 may be increased for at least one of the RF and optical signals 221 , 222 compared with the example where no concentrator 244 is provided. Figure 6 illustrates a practical implementation of a communication system 300 for a densely populated area of users 306 such as in a train carriage, airplane, room, seating area, or the like. Features of the communication system 300 which are identical or similar to any feature of the communication systems 100, 200 are incremented by 100 or 200 as appropriate.

The communication system 300 includes a network transceiver 310 that is connected to the internet or an intranet. The communication system 300 includes a plurality of RFOTs 312, each of which is disposed on a seat 307 for each user 306. The RFOTs 312 provide a personal RF signal 321 for providing RF communication with a user device 316 held in the proximity of the RFOT 312 by the user 306. The RFOT 312 provides a signal range 314 within which the user device 316 can connect to the RFOT 312 via RF communication. The RFOTs 312 are disposed in positions to enable optical communication with the network transceiver 310 and a number of OTs 320. The network transceiver 310 is configured for optical communication with a number of OTs 320. The OTs 320 act to either relay an optical signal 322 between adjacent OTs 320 and/or to relay an optical signal 322 between the OTs 320 and RFOTs 312 capable of being provided in communication with at least one of said OTs 320.

It will be appreciated that if an optical signal 322 becomes blocked, e.g. by a user 306, another optical signal 322 may be available, for example, by switching the optical communication from one of the network transceiver 310 and the OTs 320, to another of the network transceiver 310 and the OTs 320. In this manner, the RFOTs 312 may be more likely to remain in optical communication with at least one of the network transceiver 310 and the OTs 320. Any appropriate modification may be made to at least one feature of any of the examples, aspects or embodiments described herein.

For example, while the OTs 120, 320 are configured for optical communication with the network transceiver 1 10, 310, it may be appropriate to additionally or alternatively provide RF communication between the OTs 120, 320 and the network transceiver 1 10, 310 as a backup in case of failure or breakdown of the optical communication system (e.g. in the event of a light blockage). In addition or alternatively, the RFOTs 112, 212, 312 are configured for RF communication with the user device 1 16, 316. However, it will be appreciated that the RFOTs 1 12, 212, 312 may be configured for optical communication with the user device 116, 316 in addition to or instead of RF communication. For example, the user device 1 16, 316 may be enabled for optical communication by virtue of modified hardware and/or software components provided in the user device 116, 316.

In addition or alternatively, the RFOTs 112, 212, 312 are configured for optical communication with the network transceiver 1 10, 310 and/or the OTs 120, 320. However, it may be appropriate to additionally or alternatively provide RF communication between the OTs 120, 320 and the RFOTs 1 12, 212, 312 as a backup in case of failure or breakdown of the optical communication system (e.g. in the event of a light blockage).

The optical signal 122, 222, 322 may include at least one wavelength, or at least one wavelength band. It may be possible to configure at least one RFOT 1 12, 212, 312 to transmit and/or receive one of the wavelengths or wavelength bands (e.g. by use of a bandpass filter or the like). Thus, the network transceiver 110, 310 and/or the OTs 120, 320 may be configured to provide signal modulation at different wavelengths or bands so as to increase signal bandwidth, e.g. for wave division multiplexing (WDM) methods, or the like, which may be provided for one or more of the RFOTs 1 12, 212, 312.

Described aspects, examples or embodiments refer to providing at least one of: optical communication; and RF communication between a user device and a transceiver or network transceiver. The optical communication may be in the form of wireless optical communication (e.g. via VLC, LiFi, or the like) and/or wired optical communication (e.g. via an optical fibre, or the like. It will be appreciated that the aspects, examples or embodiments may comprise, may be adapted to comprise, or may be provided in communication with an electronic communication module for communicating with the user device and/or transceiver or network transceiver using electronic communication. The electronic communication may be provided or enabled by an electronic communication device such as a USB, ethernet, FireWire cable, or the like. Apparatus and methods for routing a signal between the transceiver or network transceiver and the user device may be configured to receive a signal in the form of one or more of: an optical; RF; and electronic signal. The apparatus and methods may be configured to transmit said signal in the form of one or more of: the optical; RF and electronic signal. The apparatus may be configured to or methods may comprise converting one or more forms of signal (e.g. selected from: an optical, RF; and electronic signal) to one or more forms of signal (e.g. selected from: an optical, RF; and electronic signal). For example, a received optical signal may be converted to any combination of optical, RF and electronic signals, as appropriate.

Claims

1. Communication apparatus for routing a signal between a transceiver or network transceiver and a user device, comprising:

an optical communication module for communicating with the transceiver or network transceiver using optical communication such as optical wireless communication; and

a radio frequency (RF) communication module for communicating with the user device using RF communication,

wherein the apparatus is configured to receive a signal in the form of one of: an optical and RF signal, and transmit said signal in the form of the other of the optical and RF signal.

2. Communication apparatus for routing a signal between a transceiver or network transceiver and a user device, comprising:

an optical communication module for communicating with at least one of the user device and the transceiver or network transceiver using optical communication such as optical wireless communication; and

a radio frequency (RF) communication module for communicating with at least one of the network transceiver and the user device using RF communication,

wherein the apparatus is configured to receive a signal in the form of one or both of an optical and RF signal, and transmit said signal in the form of one or both of an optical and RF signal.

3. Communication apparatus for routing a signal between a transceiver or network transceiver and a user device, comprising:

an optical communication module for communicating with the user device and the transceiver or network transceiver using optical communication such as optical wireless communication.

4. Communication apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the RF communication module is configurable to define a radio frequency (RF) signal range and/or the optical communication module is configurable to define an optical signal range.

5. Communication apparatus of claim 4, wherein the RF communication module is configured to control the RF signal range according to a proximity of a user device to the RF communication module and/or optical communication module is configured to control the optical signal range according to a proximity of a user device to the optical communication module.

6. Communication apparatus of claim 5, wherein the RF or optical communication module is configured to detect the proximity of at least one further user device to the RF or optical communication module and modify the RF and/or optical signal range so that the further user device is no longer within the RF and/or optical signal range.

7. Communication apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising a common power source for powering the optical and RF communication modules.

8. Communication apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the optical communication module is configured for receiving a modulated optical signal and simultaneously modulating an electrical signal for powering the RF communication module.

9. Communication apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the RF communication module is configured for receiving a modulated RF signal and simultaneously modulating an electrical signal for powering the optical communication module.

10. Communication apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 9, comprising a concentrator for concentrating at least one of the optical signal and the RF signal.

1 1. Communication apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 10, comprising a controller for managing communication between the optical communication module and the RF communication module.

12. Communication apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 11 , comprising a processor for routing communications between the optical communication module and the RF communication module.

13. A communication method for routing a signal between a transceiver or network transceiver and a user device, comprising:

communicating with the transceiver or network transceiver using one of: optical communication such as optical wireless communication; and radio frequency (RF) communication; and

communicating with the user device using the other one of the optical and radio frequency (RF) communication.

14. A communication method for routing a signal between a transceiver or network transceiver and a user device, comprising:

communicating with the transceiver or network transceiver using one or both of: radio frequency (RF) communication; and optical communication such as optical wireless communication; and

communicating with the user device using one or both of: optical communication such as optical wireless communication; and radio frequency (RF) communication.

15. A communication method for routing a signal between a transceiver or network transceiver and a user device, comprising:

communicating with the transceiver or network transceiver and the user device using optical communication such as optical wireless communication.

16. The communication method of any one of claims 13 to 15, comprising receiving at least one of: an optical and RF signal.

17. The communication method of claim 16, comprising transmitting said signal in the form of the other of the optical and RF signal.

18. The communication method of claim 16 or 17, comprising at least one of: converting a received signal into an electrical signal and converting an electrical signal into a transmitted signal.

19. The communication method of claim 18, comprising simultaneously converting or relaying the received signal into the transmitted signal.

20. The communication method of claim 18 or 19, comprising receiving a modulated signal and converting the modulated signal into a modulated electrical signal.

21. The communication method of claim 20, comprising converting the modulated electrical signal into a further modulated signal.

22. The communication method of any one of claims 13 to 21 , comprising processing an electrical signal transmitted between an optical communication module and an RF communication module.

23. The method of any one of claims 13 to 22, comprising controlling at least one of the optical and RF communications so as to allocate network resources or bandwidth.

24. The method of any one of claims 13 to 23, comprising detecting a disruption to a signal transmitted between the transceiver and the user device and assigning a network resource to counteract the disruption, wherein assigning the network resource comprises providing at least one of an optical and RF signal for communicating the signal between the transceiver and the user device.

25. A communication system for routing a signal between a transceiver or network transceiver and a user device, comprising:

at least one communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12.