Joint Visible Light and RF Backscatter Communications for Ambient IoT Network: Fundamentals, Applications, and Opportunities

The rapid growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) devices in the sixth generation (6G) wireless networks raises significant sustainability and scalability challenges due to energy consumption, deployment complexity, and environmental impact. Ambient IoT (A-IoT), leveraging ambient energy harvesting (EH) for batteryless device operation, has emerged as a promising solution to address these challenges. Among various EH and communication techniques, visible light communication (VLC) integrated with ambient backscatter communication (AmBC) offers remarkable advantages, including energy neutrality, high reliability, and enhanced security. In this article, we propose a joint VLC-AmBC architecture, emphasizing fundamental concepts, system designs, and practical implementations. We explore potential applications in environmental monitoring, healthcare, smart logistics, and secure communications. We present proof-of-concept demonstrations for three distinct types of ambient backscatter devices (AmBDs): EH-Only, VLC-Relay, and VLC-Control. Experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of implementing joint VLC-AmBC systems, highlighting their practical viability across various deployment scenarios. Finally, we outline future research directions, including integrated sensing and communication, as well as optimized energy-efficient deployment. Open issues, such as large-scale deployment challenges, are also discussed, thereby providing a clear roadmap for future developments in joint VLC-AmBC-enabled A-IoT ecosystems.