Bridging wireless optical communications with experimental real-time systems.

WOCLab is a research laboratory at the University of Málaga focused on free-space, satellite, aerial and underwater wireless optical communications, controlled channel emulation, FPGA/RFSoC prototyping, and AI-assisted link adaptation for next-generation optical and photonic communication systems.

Research Areas

Experimental wireless optical communications from channel modelling to real-time implementation.

Free-Space Optical Communications

Atmospheric optical wireless links, turbulence-induced fading, pointing effects and system-level performance evaluation.

Underwater Wireless Optical Communications

Experimental underwater optical links under turbidity, scattering and dynamic channel conditions.

Optical Channel Emulation

Controlled laboratory emulation of optical wireless channels, including turbulence, attenuation and time-varying impairments.

FPGA/RFSoC Real-Time Prototyping

Real-time implementation of wireless optical communication architectures using FPGA, RFSoC and embedded signal processing platforms.

AI-assisted Optical Link Adaptation

Data-driven monitoring, prediction and adaptation of optical links using machine learning and physical-layer measurements.

Satellite and Aerial Optical Communications

Optical communication systems for aerial platforms and satellite links, covering space-ground channels, pointing/tracking, and high-capacity free-space optical links.

Experimental Capabilities

Laboratory infrastructure for controlled wireless optical communication experiments.

Turbulence Emulation Chamber

Controlled laboratory testbed for studying atmospheric optical turbulence, fading dynamics and channel statistics.

Underwater Optical Testbed

Experimental platform for underwater wireless optical links under turbidity, scattering and dynamic channel conditions.

Turbulent Dispersive Channels

Modelling and performance analysis of atmospheric and underwater optical channels affected by turbulence, scattering, absorption, beam wander and pointing errors.

FPGA/RFSoC Platforms

Real-time signal generation, acquisition and processing using FPGA, RFSoC and embedded prototyping platforms.

Optical Sources and Detectors

Optical transmitters, receivers and instrumentation for free-space and underwater optical communication experiments.

Adaptive Optics

Experimental and numerical evaluation of adaptive optics, spatial diversity and aperture-based mitigation techniques for challenging optical channels.

Collaborate with WOCLab

WOCLab welcomes academic and industrial collaborations in wireless optical communications, experimental channel emulation, real-time prototyping and AI-assisted link adaptation.