Optical Wireless Technology: An Industrial Perspective

Amir Khalid, Research Scientist, NYUAD

Biography: Dr. Amir Khalid has recently joined New York University, Abu Dhabi as a Research Scientist at Wireless Research Center. He has over 15 years of experience spanning academia and industry, bringing deep expertise in optical wireless communication systems, and a strong research aptitude for developing next-generation wireless technologies, including 6G and beyond.  Previously, He has served as R&D Project Manager and Lead System Architect at Signify (formerly Philips) in the Netherlands for eleven years, where he was doing end-to-end design research and development of LiFi-based optical wireless commercial products.

He has also worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Electro-Optics Group at TU Eindhoven (TU/e) under the EU-FP7 BROWSE project, which was focused on system (Tx/Rx) design for Hybrid Fiber/Optical wireless communication and system integration for beam steered reconfigurable optical wireless system.

He completed the Ph.D degree (with Cum Laude) in Optics and Photonics from Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy in Nov 2013. He is research driven and innovation-oriented professional, and has authored over 40 scientific publications, filed 11+ patents, and actively contributed to standardization activities (e.g., ITU-T G.VLC and IEEE 802.11bb) as part of the LiFi Standardization Task Force.

Abstract: Optical Wireless Communication (OWC) is an emerging technology that enables high-speed, secure, and spectrum-efficient wireless communication using light instead of traditional radio frequencies. Technologies such as LiFi, Visible Light Communication (VLC), and Free Space Optics (FSO) are gaining industrial interest for applications in smart manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, and future 6G networks. This seminar presents an industrial perspective on optical wireless technology, covering its working principles, current advancements, standardization efforts, key applications, and commercialization challenges. I will also present my previous work (products/prototype) developed for different use cases.