LED data transmission used to be all the rage -- we fondly remember
beaming Palm Pilot contacts via IrDA. Then we got omni-directional
Bluetooth and building-penetrating
WiFi, and put all that caveman stuff behind us. But now, scientists the world over are
looking to bring back line-of-sight networking, and the latest demonstration has Chinese researchers streaming video to a laptop with naught but ceiling-mounted blue LEDs. The Chinese Academy of Sciences claims to have realized a 2Mbit per second internet connection that transmits data simply by modulating the flicker of the little diodes, and imperceptibly enough to have them serve as room lighting as well.
Like Boston University before them, the Chinese scholars see short-range LED networks controlling smart appliances. It's not quite the gigabit speed you'd get from
laser diodes, but this way you'll get more mileage out of those
expensive new bulbs, eh?
posted May 17th 2010 8:22PM
@Avaron
Wow, you're able to make out the wings of a flying hummingbird without any blur? That must be sweet.
@Avaron
Epilepsy is generally induced by things flashing at under 10Hz (i.e. 10 times per second). How is an LED flashing at 2000000Hz going to do that?
What about those of us that prefer the dark...?
@GadgetTamer You can cut yourself on your own time, company time means company rules.
@sortius Lol, i'm thinking about if this makes its way to homes... it'd be useless for me. I use my computer with the lights off as it's easier on my eyes, and my phone is usually in my pocket, so no good there, and my laptop would have to have sensors all over it to pick up light effectively.
WHOA!
Thats AWESOME!
But is it two way?
Otherwise, its little more than a novelty. Or less.
sweet jesus!
@WillSmith saw you on oprah
those laser diodes are gonna make holes in my body
Is that a light switch on the wall? You turn the lights off... with THE LIGHTS!? O.o
So they've invented RONJA?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RONJA
notice the guy is sucking up the 2mb looking at HD Pr0n?????
and the plant is dieing????
Why does everyone look angry
@steakman
They cant get work done because the dam lights keep on flickerin @v@
Maybe will come true?
Sadly, those produce faster speeds than my "high speed" cable internet, in this small town... sigh....
...and then the janitor turned off the lights, putting some important downloads and overnight tests to a halt.
China FTW! Imagine an LED cluster for every citizen in China, thats probably a sun worth of lite
what happens when you turn the lights off?
Adequate for a little light surfing...
D*mn it, who turned off the light? I'm sending an email...
Good idea!
@Vaio
Nah. It's fast enough. I'm quite happy with it. My laptop's LED screen transmits porn multimedia data to my eyes at 100 Mbps.
Not only have American engineers demonstrated this... it's been standardized. The original 802.11 spec has this, FHSS, and DSSS (which is what we use today)
But...LED lights are still ridiculously expensive, you would have to be crazy to install them in a room, let alone an entire office building.
This would've been great if it were still 1997. However it is not and Wi-fi has already replaced this.
http://www.golem.de/1001/72458.html
In Germany Siemens, make ist Reality 4 Month bevor...
The ChinaBoys comes too late.
http://www.golem.de/1001/72458.html
In Germany Siemens shows the same, 4 Month bevor.
The ChinaBoys comes too Late.
wow, If this comes true like powerline ethernet did this will be truly amazing! Think of the applications!
With a really long string of 0's, you could turn the lights out!
(120000000 zeros for a minute. That's a heck of a .txt :P)
How is this better than wifi, uwb, bluetooth, etc?
Battery-life... is that it?
Need a firewall to protect your office network from outside intrusions? Buy curtains!
"line-of-sight networking"
I'm liking the sound of that. My main concern with wireless is security but this might solve that issue.
"by modulating the flicker of the little diodes"
...you mean they actually flicker all the time? Major headache incoming!
LED sniffing FTW
Can't wait for multi-room roaming.
NANI. Tried this in the '90s with IR; too slow and error prone. There's been an uptick in interest over the last 5 years, most notably by Dr. Kavehrad at Penn State U.
https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://cictr.ee.psu.edu/CICTRnews/White%2520LED/sad0707Kave4p.pdf
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100127211857.htm
www.technologyreview.com/communications/24522/?a=f
Infrastructure cost is the problem. You need to get the signal to the lamp modulation units in every room and install optical transceivers on the devices (USB on computers but ?? on TVs).
As with the IR stuff in the 1990s, there's a problem with power consumption, backscatter, and occlusion. Signal goes bouncing around the room like crazy -- think "hall of mirrors" -- and a sheet of mislaid paper cuts off reception.
Bottom line: still some bugs to work out.
Also, Siemens owns the patent: www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/wo.jsp?WO=2009033984
Let the seizure party begin!