Complementing the existing technology, reliable vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication can ensure the road safety especially at areas without internet coverage. The advancements in light emitting diodes (LEDs) technology have paved the way for optical wireless communication as a promising technology by its cost-effectiveness, energy efficiency, low interference and highly directional channels. However, the limited cone angles of LEDs give rise to blind spot areas when vehicles attempt to broadcast information to the left/right sides, thereby increasing the risk of traffic accidents. Beam steering optical devices can ensure efficiently coverage of blind spots and circumvent obstacles for broadcasting information in V2V communication. Ideally, these devices should possess large beam steering angles, reconfigurability, highly directionality, ultra-compactness, low cost and compatibility with curved surfaces. However, it is challenging for conventional beam steering devices to simultaneously meet all these requirements. To tackle this challenge, this project aims to develop a polarization dependent reconfigurable beam steering optical module via nano-imprinted meta-surfaces. Metasurfaces have shown remarkable electromagnetic wave manipulation capability and size miniaturization ability. By integrating non-mechanical polarization switches and employing nano-imprinting process, a cost-effective reconfigurable meta-surface enabled beam steering module can be fabricated with large beam steering angles. This project not only facilitates the mass production of meta-surfaces, but also fulfills all the necessary criteria for beam steering devices in V2V communication, that contributes to improved traffic safety and reduced accident incidence rates
