VibeComm: Radio-Free Wireless Communication for Smart Devices Using Vibration

• Main Authors: Inhwan Hwang, Jungchan Cho, Songhwai Oh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2014-11-01
• Series: Sensors
• Subjects: smartphones; vibration; wireless; communication
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/14/11/21151

This paper proposes VibeComm, a novel communication method for smart devices using a built-in vibrator and accelerometer. The proposed approach is ideal for low-rate off-line communication, and its communication medium is an object on which smart devices are placed, such as tables and desks. When more than two smart devices are placed on an object and one device wants to transmit a message to the other devices, the transmitting device generates a sequence of vibrations. The vibrations are propagated through the object on which the devices are placed. The receiving devices analyze their accelerometer readings to decode incoming messages. The proposed method can be the alternative communication method when general types of radio communication methods are not available. VibeComm is implemented on Android smartphones, and a comprehensive set of experiments is conducted to show its feasibility.