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First Ceiling Light Internet Systems Installed
An anonymous reader writes "We last heard about LVX's LED ceiling light optical communication system in December, and now news has broken that the company recently implemented the technology at several city offices in St. Cloud, Minnesota. The LVX/ceiling light system is capable of transmitting data at about three megabits per second, which is about as fast as a residential DSL line. It works by placing light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in a standard-sized light fixture. This then transmits coded binary messages to the special modems attached to computers, which also respond via light waves."
The return of the infra-red access point, even if its not infra red this time around same bad concept.
Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
From the summary:
This then transmits coded binary messages to the special modems attached to computers, which also respond via light waves."
"This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
My office's ceiling lights started flickering recently. Have they been upgraded with this system, too?
"Sir, are there three green lights on the modem?"
"Hang on, let me climb my ladder."
(crashing noise is heard in background)
First was IBM Zurich 30 or so years ago with IR on the ceiling as a connection method
Then there was the IR profile for WiFi. 802.11b at 1Mbit actually has an optical option. However as there is nobody doing it any more so there is no standards compliant kit out there.
Otherwise it is a very cool idea for a number of applications. There are places where you just do not want radio for a variety of reasons. Light is much less likely to cause interference and is much easier to keep "contained" so it is not eavesdropped on.
Baker's Law: Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it
http://www.sigsegv.cx/
Because RF can go through walls and the whole point of visible band communication is privacy.
Sigs are too short to say anything truly profound so read the above post instead.
User: My network won't work.... Tech: Move your ficus tree so it's not blocking the light again...
An I.T. motto in the hands of an idiot is a dangerous thing...
Light can go through windows.
Better to just add 7 more feet of wire.
the newly formed company Fee@Ces inc. announced a breakthrough in encoding binary data in output stools.
"This is great !", an employee of the Sewer City company announced proudly, "Now when I want to convey messages to my colleagues, I simply visit the bathroom and the technology takes care of the rest. And, using our technology of a series of pipes, we can even use this to work from home.".
Fee@Ces did mention that inputting data back to users is a bit harder, as a spokesman said: "Users will need to properly operate the machinery involved to read out the processed stool messages. Failure in doing so can give unexpected results.". It was unclear at the time of writing what the 'unexpected result' meant, as the spokesman had to quickly take care of an 'accident' he had at the bathroom himself.
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There are four lights!
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...can I see the Matrix?
"I love animals! Some are cute, others are tasty, what's not to like?" - Betsy Schroeder, Jeopardy contestant
So "Real enterprises" never use WiFi?
Real enterprises treat it as a second class network, but all desktops are generally still on a wired network.
They also generally have you use an encrypted VPN even if you're on an internal WiFi.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
And short of a small overlap near doors, each room won't interfere with the room next door or the hallways.
3Mbps might be slow, but then again if you're sharing an 802.11g network with a few folks who are busy anyways but elsewhere in the location, it's gonna be that slow too, or slower. Or if you're in an apartment and can see 30 accesspoints from your location...
Given the plethora of proven connectivity options out there, I can't envision a scenario where I would chose this implementation over others. From TFA they talk about saving energy with the LED lighting system, but couldn't you by a cheaper LED lighting control system without their "value added" data transmission tech added to the cost?
It's probably a wise precaution to install a firewall. Also known as a wall.
I'm supposed to be working right now.
I seem to recall when modems with lights were still in use, that a video tape of the flashing lights on the modem could be slowed down enough to read the stream of bits. Granted 3mb/s is a great deal faster than 56kb/s, but video technology is faster now, too.
I would presume there is encryption on both ends, but I see a small IR led "bug" left on top of a computer, cube wall, file cabinet, etc. serving as a middle man pickup of the stream while it is decoded on the other end.
It's easy to see that any system requiring special light fixtures and modems for each PC will be far more expensive than simply setting up a wireless access point or two for each floor of a building. This wouldn't even just be a one-time cost, but would apply as part of regular maintenance - which is easier, to swap out a router, or to bring in contractors to replace all of a company's light fixtures?
A system like this could really only be practical where conventional wireless can't be used for some reason. Perhaps in offices where security is the foremost consideration (CIA?), or a building right next to a high-powered radio broadcast tower.
Alphanos
You could even use this for inter-building communication. Stick and transceiver on an outside wall, with the opposite building doing the same. For improved reliability increase the intensity and use a laser instead.
As other people have mentioned the technology is not that novel, but the fact they are actually try to move the technology forward is of interest, since there are scenarios where a more limited signal transmitting solution actually has it uses. Security being one of them. Sure any device in the room could receive the signal, but as wi-fi implementations have shown there are solutions.
BTW in Europe I have seen stores using the fluorescent lighting with data modulated into them to update price tags on the shelves.
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
Vernacular uses "light" to mean "visible light". Please move along.
But what about the people who say that fluorescent tube lights flicker at a frequency that gives them headaches etc? Oh boy there will be office workers complain these lights give them migraines, cancer, the lot.
Plus the occasional crazy telling us that the lights were speaking to him....
In the summary, hiding in plain sight!
I see what they did there... >_>
This post contains no rudeness or derision of any kind. All arguments are friendly. Terms and exclusions may apply.
Is there any risk of epilepsy? I'm guessing there isn't (since it's way too fast), but the right combination of bits might be able to do it, though probably only if intentionally rigged. The point is that this technology makes that possible, perhaps also untraceable.
Use my userscript to add story images to Slashdot. There's no going back.
Just don't tell them about it. They'll be fine.
Why, without your clothes, you're naked, Miss Dudley!
But infra-red is light that's not normally visible... which makes me wonder if we had a proper capture device to convert radio to visual, could we actually see radio waves like we do with iR? If you put in a fog machine, will that let you see the edges of the broadcast wave?
I somehow doubt these systems use visible light or the headaches and epileptic shock rates will skyrocket from all the blinking.
Every time I start to have faith in humanity, I ruin it by driving to work between 7 and 8 am.
Well if it is transmiting 3mbs then it must be modulated at no less then 6 mhz. Nobody can see a 6 mhz flicker so it should be a none issue.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
Consider me wrong, the article says it's visible, but it's at a refresh that human eye's cannot detect. Serves me right for not reading either article. ;)
Every time I start to have faith in humanity, I ruin it by driving to work between 7 and 8 am.
Ethernet is just one more thing that gets in the way. Wireless connections are unobtrusive. They could even use an infrared band that doesn't travel through windows very well.
Sigs are too short to say anything truly profound so read the above post instead.
So... each room is served via lights, and the ground line is used for each circuit in the building? Then you just need a switch at the fuse box that connects to the internet and/or company network....
They are also unreliable and prone too all kinds of issues. Ethernet is far better for anything that will be in one location on a regular basis.
It should be but the loonies will claim it hurts them somehow. These are the same folks that claim Wifi gives them cancer or whatever.
"It is better than traditional wireless communication since systems such as WI-FI, 3G Networks and Bluetooth all require magnetic radio waves."
Oh, so that's the difference between light and other parts of the EM spectrum. Here I always thought it was just wave length...
I'm glad that science reporter was there to help educate the public. >:/
Im not here now... Im out KILLING pepperoni
I could be mistaken here, but I think that's probably an urban legend. Even assuming that you were using a 300-baud modem that could show a nibble at a time on 4 parallel LEDs and that the LEDs were updated on every single bit, that would still be a potential flicker rate of 75Hz. That would be impossible to catch on any consumer-grade camera, although some specialized equipment could capture it. At 14.4kbps, it would be completely impossible with any video equipment that I'm aware of. At 56kbps forget about it.
Depending on directionality, one could certainly plant an IR bug if desired. However, that's not any different than wifi now.
---- I'll take you in a Hunt deathmatch any day.
There's some truth to the fluorescent light complainers... old magnetic ballasts run the light at 60Hz, which can create noticeable flickering (you can see it easier if you look with the side of your vision).
Modern electronic ballasts run at very high (30khz+) frequencies and so don't have this problem.
I thought I had 3mbps DSL but it was losing sync three times per day. I opened a support call and they derated my line to 1.5mpbs so that now it only goes down three times in a week!!! Now in canada they get to charge me extra for heavy down loading -- if only the piece of crap line works long enough for that. 3 mbps DSL? What planet?
And you thought Pikachu was hard on epileptics.
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
Now wait for the first instance of a hacker hypnotizing an entire office to act like chickens, via the light fitting internet system...
Try sticking 20 of your $50 access points in an office and see how much bandwidth per client you end up with. Alot less than 3MBit!
Don't know about you people, but I'm going to have to start lining my hats with aluminum foil again. The voices... the voices....
Now you don't need to worry about the foil - you can just wear a normal hat!
If one looks at technology, the transmitted information below light frequencies allows for using off-the-shelf devices to tune into a network and snoop or even interpose oneself as a man-in-the-middle to capture lots of confidential data. By using modulated Leds, wireless frequency radiation is gone, to where a single cable can bring the signal to the overhead light fixture, and where, using light modulation, no signal inadvertently leaves the room. So, unless the toilet light fixture is wired, you will not be able to bring your laptop there to work while you are busy on the throne.
Leslie Satenstein Montreal Quebec Canada
Have these been tested for it?
If my lights are doing the mambo constantly, especially bright lights, thats almost a guaranteed nasty headache after awhile.
9696... inb4 shitstorm
ics
old magnetic ballasts run the light at 60Hz
If things are working properly (e.g. nothing in the system is having a diode like affect) they should flicker at 120Hz* which is out of most but not all peoples limit of perception.
note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register