Towards 6G-V2X: Hybrid RF-VLC for Vehicular Networks

With the advent of connected autonomous vehicles, we are expecting to witness a new era of unprecedented user experiences, improved road safety, a wide range of compelling transportation applications, etc. A large number of disruptive communication technologies are emerging for the sixth generation (6G) wireless network aiming to support advanced use cases for intelligent transportation systems (ITS). An example of such a disruptive technology is constituted by hybrid Visible Light Communication (VLC) and Radio Frequency (RF) systems, which can play a major role in advanced ITS. Hence we outline the potential benefits of hybrid vehicular-VLC (V-VLC) and vehicular-RF (V-RF) communication systems over standalone V-VLC and standalone V-RF systems. In particular, we show that the link-aggregated hybrid V-VLC/V-RF system is capable of meeting stringent ultra high reliability (~99.999%) and ultra-low latency (<3 ms) specifications, making it a promising candidate for 6G ITS. To stimulate future research in the hybrid RF-VLC V2X area, we also highlight the potential challenges and research directions.