Modeling and Analysis of VOC-based Interplant Molecular Communication Channel

Molecular communication (MC) enables information transfer using particles inspired by biological systems. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are one of the most abundant and diverse classes of signaling molecules used by living or non-living objects. VOC-based MC holds great promise in developing long-range, bio-compatible communication systems capable of interfacing nano- and micro-scale devices. In this paper, we present a comprehensive end-to-end framework for VOC-based interplant MC from an ICT perspective. The communication process is divided into three stages: transmission (VOC biosynthesis and emission from leaves), channel propagation (advection-diffusion in turbulent wind via Gaussian puff for stress-induced VOC release and Gaussian plume for constitutive VOC release), and reception (VOC uptake and physiological response in the receiver plant). Each stage is analyzed by its attenuation and delay. Numerical results demonstrate that VOC-based channels exhibit low-pass behavior, with bandwidth and capacity heavily influenced by distance, wind velocity, and noise. Though the physical channel supports moderate frequencies, biological constraints at the transmitter restrict the end-to-end channel to slow-varying signals.