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Signify's LiFi system promises up to 150 Mbps internet via LED lights
This week, Signify, formerly Philips Lighting, launched one of the first commercial LiFi, or Light Fidelity, systems. LiFi transmits broadband internet through lights, using LEDs to move data and bypass radio signals. We've seen some experimental applications of the tech, but this is the most realistic deployment yet.
Philips tests LiFi in a real office
This week, Philips announced that its LiFi, or Light Fidelity, tech is currently being tested at the offices of Icade, a French real estate investment company. LiFi provides broadband internet through lights, using LEDs to transmit a high-speed connection of up to 30 Mb per second through light waves.
MyLiFi lamp delivers secure internet via LEDs
MyLiFi is a lamp that provides a secure, wireless, radiowave-free internet connection to nearby devices, all through the data-transferring power of LEDs. It's a simplistic, industrial-style desk lamp that beams broadband to a dongle, which users connect to their laptops or mobile devices -- and boom, they have secure, fast internet. Data is transferred between the bulb and the dongle via invisible, blinking LEDs, which means the lamp doesn't need to be on in order to provide a connection.
Smartphone concept incorporates LiFi sensor for receiving light-based data
The lights are now dimmed throughout the many halls of CES, and none are more perturbed by darkness than the folks at Oledcomm. Illumination is the company's specialty, after all; or, more specifically, LiFi technology, which facilitates high-speed data transmission via pulsating light sources (though they appear static to the naked eye). We swung by the firm's booth in Vegas to check out the various demos on display, including a two-way, 10 Mbps link tying a Macbook to a router. What interested us most, however, was a concept smartphone that took instructions from the many lamps scattered around the booth.
Wysips Connect will make your phone a solar cell that can receive data transmitted through light waves
Remember that 90% transparent solar-cell that stumbled into our CES trailer last year? It's back, and it's got some new tricks. Wysips Connect is making its official debut on the show floor this year, and while the transparent panel can still generate electricity through sun exposure, it's now equipped with LiFi - a visible light spectrum communication technique capable of transmitting data at broadband speeds. If LiFi becomes common in smartphones, shopping malls, airports or hospitals could use the technology to push local map data to a user's phone, or help them find a product's location in an oversized supermarket. All talk? Not quite: Sunpartner Technologies and Oledcomm say that they'll be announcing the first Wysips Connect equipped smartphone during the show. The jury's still out on if the technology will take the mobile world by storm, but at least the company is leading by example. We'll let you know how the solar cellphone fares under the lights of the CES 2014 show floor.
Researchers beat fiber optic broadband speeds using visible LED light
High speed data is already being transmitted by visible light to the moon, so why not in your living room, too? After the Fraunhofer Institute showed off 3Gbps speeds with LED lights, researchers from five UK universities have managed to transmit data at 10Gbps using micro-LEDs with a technique they've coined "LiFi." The team was able to crack the barrier by combining 3.5Gbps streams in each of the red, green and blue frequencies that make up white light. Such a technique could one day work with existing light bulbs, promising higher speeds than current WiFi and increased security -- since visible light can't penetrate solid objects like walls. In addition, a single bulb could theoretically provide connectivity for up to four devices. For now, such devices are confined to the lab, but given the torrid pace of development, don't be surprised if your data connection is soon a click of the switch away.
Luxim wants to brighten your block with ultra-powerful plasma lightbulbs
Sure, we all enjoy a Tic Tac from time to time, but what if that minty Tic Tac were also able to generate the same amount of light as an industrial LED? You probably wouldn't want to ingest that, though according to the company Luxim -- known to us for its work in the A/V world -- you might want to stick it in a streetlight. Apparently, the company has created a micro-sized bulb that uses 250 watts of power, but outperforms a 400 watt LED. Gas inside the tiny bulb is electrified by a component called a puck, which heats the gas into plasma and produces light, allowing a sizable chunk of energy to become light rather than heat -- thus the ultra-bright performance. Inside the mint-sized bulb the gas reaches 6000-degrees Kelvin -- or about the surface temperature of the Sun -- producing 140 lumens per watt, or roughly ten times that of a standard lightbulb. Really, it's quite bright. Still, a Tic Tac would probably be more refreshing.[Via CNET]
Panasonic ships LCZ / LCX LIFI rear-projection HDTVs
Remember that LIFI RPTV that Panasonic introduced way back in January? Welp, it's finally shipping to anxious consumers. Reportedly, Panny has just loosed the LCZ and LCX line of rear-projection HDTVs into the world, both of which include the nearly-everlasting LIFI bulb. The LCZ series brings a trio of 1080p-capable displays that check in at 50-, 56-, and 61-inches, while the LCX delivers a 56- and 61-incher that offer up 720p. In case you weren't aware, the LIFI bulb is said to "virtually never need to be replaced," which means that you could potentially be watching these very sets long after SED units actually go mainstream (ahem). Nevertheless, both lineups are heading out the door as we speak, and prices will range from $1,699.95 for the 720p PT-56LCX70 to $2,199.95 for the 1080p PT-61LCZ70.
Panasonic's 2007 HDTV lineup unveiled
Panasonic announced updates to several of its HDTV models here at CES, and revealed an all new 42-inch 1080p plasma (above). We asked about possiblities for big LCDs and related technology but Panasonic reps made things clear, its future in large TVs is currently in plasma and it doesn't believe LCD measures up. For your viewing pleasure today is the 61-inch LIFI RPTV which, for the uninitiated, contains a HID lamp that lasts so long you might never need to change it. Also there is the 1080p 58-inch TH-58PZ700 plasma we've been waiting to see on this side of the Pacific without springing for a 103-inch model, and the TC-32LX700 LCD. The TC-32LX700 has the new hotness 120Hz refresh rate Panasonic has called Motion Picture Pro and Alpha IPS technology to widen the viewing angle. Read - Panasonic Unveils Three New Models In Its 2007 Line Of LCD Flat Panel High-Definition Televisions Read - Panasonic Unveils World's First LIFI HDTV Read - Panasonic Debuts Next Generation Big Screen 1080p High Definition Plasma TV's And Shows Prototype 42-Inch 1080p
Panasonic's RPTV LIFI bulb lasts so long, it might never need changing
As much as we love the value of rear projections TVs they are not without their issues, most notably is the eventual replacement of the bulb. While some manufactures are using LEDs to solve this problem, these can be more expensive so Panasonic has taken another approach in an attempt to keep costs down. They are using converted HID (High Intensity Discharge) lamps to create a new light engine that they are calling LIFI. They are claiming that this lamp lasts so long you may never need to change it. The brightness will never fade and has a very wide spectrum of light which helps the set produce a wide range of colors. The other great thing about LIFI is the boot times are greatly reduced because the bulb size is considerably smaller, they are claiming it display an image about 6 times faster. LIFI TVs will be available in 50", 56" and 61" sizes, all are available in your choice of 720p or the latest craze 1080p and 3,000:1 contrast ratio. There aren't any prices yet, but look for them in the 2nd quarter of 2007.
