Smart Lighting Can Turn LED Lights into WiFi Hotspots
by Jaymi Heimbuch, Central Coast, California on 10. 9.08
Images via Boston University
Everyone is a smarty pants. A research team at Boston University is developing a whole new way to use LEDs for more than just energy-efficient lighting. They’re creating Smart Lighting, which would enable wireless communication through visibile light.
Ditching radio frequency, the prototype from BU uses light instead to connect. Each light would essentially be a Wi-Fi hotspot with 1 to 10 megabits per second networking speeds. Data transmission would be done over existing electrical wiring.
“Imagine if your computer, iPhone, TV, radio and thermostat could all communicate with you when you walked in a room just by flipping the wall light switch and without the usual cluster of wires,” said BU Engineering Professor Thomas Little.
I like imagining that.
The Smart Lighting Engineering Research Center is part of an $18.5 million, multi-year NSF program awarded to Boston University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of New Mexico. Their task is to develop this awesome way to use lighting as a method of wireless communication over the next 10 years.
The possibility of using LED rather than radio waves boosts the potential for energy efficiency. Another interesting point brought up is that since light doesn’t go through walls, wireless evesdropping is limited.
Even cooler, it can potentially be used in the transportation industry. Imagine – Smart cars with Smart lights. Clever.
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Umm.... WiFi is two way communication. This is pretty spiffy for one way communication, but that is a tiny set of consumers.
Their press release has lots of words about WiFi and ubiquitous computing, but there is nothing in there that suggests the devices can send data back.
What if I want to work, or game without the lights. Do I lose , my connection?
"which would enable wireless communication through visible light", and a graphic indicates modulated light. 2 way communications are possible if the device is required to send data. Don't discount one way data transmissions, the average consumer transmits them throughout they day and has been for several decades. TV remotes garage door openers, auto door locks, to begin a listing. Really no new ideas here, other than another way of doing what is being done, and been going on. Akin to fiber replacing copper in the telephone, and CATV systems. Shoot electronic hobbyists have been using light for wireless telephony, for 50 years by now. Wake me up when mankind figures out how to use a natural phenomena, that's markedly faster then light. ;)
Message to Jim S.
Jim I am part of the research team at BU and we already built transceivers (so two way commuication) for your info