Coalitional Games Based Resource Allocation for D2D Uplink Underlaying Hybrid VLC-RF Networks

Device-to-Device (D2D) communication combining visible light communication (VLC) with radio frequency (RF) is a promising paradigm for future high-speed indoor wireless communication. In order to fully capitalize on the benefits from hybrid VLC and RF technologies, rational resource allocation may play an important role in mitigating mutual interference and increasing system capacity. In this paper, we target the problem of the uplink resource allocation of DUs when multiple DUs and CUs coexist in hybrid VLC-RF networks. To solve this problem, an exploratory coalition formation game is proposed to maximize the sum rate of the D2D system while ensuring the quality of service (QoS) requirements of the CUs and DUs. In the initial stage, we design a priority sequence to guide DUs to choose their own appropriate resources. And in the formation stage, DUs can decide whether to perform the switch operation according to the transfer rule of the cooperative game combined with the greedy strategy. Simulation results corroborate that the proposed algorithm reaches near optimal performance compared with the exhaustive algorithm, and outperforms several other practical schemes in terms of the D2D system throughput.