Survey of RF Communications and Sensing Convergence Research <s> F. Li-Fi AND Lidar <s> Abstract This tutorial paper gives an introduction and overview of various topics related to airborne laser scanning (ALS) as used to measure range to and reflectance of objects on the earth surface. After a short introduction, the basic principles of laser, the two main classes, i.e., pulse and continuous-wave lasers, and relations with respect to time-of-flight, range, resolution, and precision are presented. The main laser components and the role of the laser wavelength, including eye safety considerations, are explained. Different scanning mechanisms and the integration of laser with GPS and INS for position and orientation determination are presented. The data processing chain for producing digital terrain and surface models is outlined. Finally, a short overview of applications is given. <s> BIB001 </s> Survey of RF Communications and Sensing Convergence Research <s> F. Li-Fi AND Lidar <s> For future short-range applications, optical wireless communications present a viable and promising supplemental technology to radio wireless systems. This contribution presents a review of infrared and visible light optical wireless indoor communications, including basics, state of the art, challenges and prospects. Advanced approaches based on diversity techniques and adaptive signal processing show potential to achieve both high spatial coverage and high bit rates of more than 100 Mb/s. <s> BIB002 </s> Survey of RF Communications and Sensing Convergence Research <s> F. Li-Fi AND Lidar <s> Abstract Knowledge of coastal elevation is an essential requirement for resource management and scientific research. Recognizing the vast potential of lidar remote sensing in coastal studies, this Special Issue includes a collection of articles intended to represent the state-of-the-art for lidar investigations of nearshore submerged and emergent ecosystems, coastal morphodynamics, and hazards due to sea-level rise and severe storms. Some current applications for lidar remote sensing described in this Special Issue include bluegreen wavelength lidar used for submarine coastal benthic environments such as coral reef ecosystems, airborne lidar used for shoreline mapping and coastal change detection, and temporal waveform-resolving lidar used for vegetation mapping. <s> BIB003 </s> Survey of RF Communications and Sensing Convergence Research <s> F. Li-Fi AND Lidar <s> In recent years, interest in optical wireless (OW) as a promising complementary technology for RF technology has gained new momentum fueled by significant deployments in solid state lighting technology. This article aims at reviewing and summarizing recent advancements in OW communication, with the main focus on indoor deployment scenarios. This includes a discussion of challenges, potential applications, state of the art, and prospects. Related issues covered in this article are duplex transmission, multiple access, MAC protocols, and link capacity improvements. <s> BIB004 </s> Survey of RF Communications and Sensing Convergence Research <s> F. Li-Fi AND Lidar <s> Visible Light Communication (VLC) is the technique adopting electromagnetic frequencies in the visible spectrum for free space optical communications. Although its practical use is still at early stages, in the last few years research activities have been exploring different solutions to achieve high data rates and reliable links using common LEDs and light sensors. VLC can be used in a variety of applications or end user segments, exploiting already existing lighting infrastructures and thus making VLC a cheap communication system. Among these applications, a prominent case study is that of ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems), where car headlamps and traffic lights can be used to communicate and fulfill the requirements of road safety applications. This option turns to be particularly effective in short range direct communications to exploit its line-of-sight feature and overcome the issues related to the isotropic nature of radio waves. Recently IEEE undertook standardization activities on VLC, resulting in the IEEE802.15.7 standard, which disciplines PHY and MAC layer services for Visible-light Personal Area Networks (VPANs). This paper shows the development of a VLC prototype based on IEEE802.15.7 standard, using low cost embedded systems as the target platforms. The aim is to get a device suitable to be integrated in existing PANs, or to cooperate with other wireless networks to provide communication services in complex architectures like ITS. <s> BIB005
Light based systems have been growing in interest as a solution to growing spectral congestion and stressing of 4G systems BIB002 . There have been numerous research threads investigating wireless communications using infrared and visible light BIB002 . New standards are being developed for Li-Fi, a light-based equivalent to Wi-Fi BIB005 , and other indoor optical systems to meet growing consumer needs for high throughput, media rich systems BIB004 . There is an equally fast growing industry researching optics for remote sensing applications BIB001 , such as Lidar for wetland mapping and monitoring  , and remote sensing using optical systems for coastal resource management (e.g., monitoring sea levels) BIB003 .