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800Mbps Wireless Network Made With LED Light Bulbs

Mark.JUK writes "German scientists working at Berlin's Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications have set a new world record for Visible Light Communication technology after they succeeded in using regular red, blue, green and white LED light bulbs as the basis for building a new 800Mbps capable ultrafast Wireless Local Area Network. Dr. Anagnostis Paraskevopoulos explained: 'With the aid of a special component, the modulator, we turn the LEDs off and on in very rapid succession and transfer the information as ones and zeros. The modulation of the light is imperceptible to the human eye. A simple photo diode on the laptop acts as a receiver. The diode catches the light, electronics decode the information and translate it into electrical impulses, meaning the language of the computer.' The solution, which could be installed on ceilings and would cover approximately 10 square meters, would be ideal for HD video streaming and inside Hospitals or Aircraft where traditional Wi-Fi is often banned. However visible light signals can easily be blocked, such as when a hand is passed in front of the transmitter."

20 of 175 comments (clear)

  1. Summary designed for idiots... by snowgirl · · Score: 3, Informative

    Seriously, does anyone here on Slashdot need their summary dumbed down that far?

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    1. Re:Summary designed for idiots... by bloodhawk · · Score: 4, Funny

      Have you read some of the comments on stories lately? I fear it may not be simplified enough.

    2. Re:Summary designed for idiots... by scorp1us · · Score: 5, Funny

      What do you mean?

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    3. Re:Summary designed for idiots... by ZackSchil · · Score: 4, Insightful

      At least it's technically accurate and well-written in addition to being dumbed down. I'll take that over your average mystery summary, which is misleading (either in the name of sensationalism or promotion), contains several typos, and at least one meaningless buzzword.

    4. Re:Summary designed for idiots... by JustinOpinion · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Okay. But then the question becomes: "Why is such a dumbed-down article being posted to a technology site?"

      I read TFA. It is terrible. It includes gems such as:

      ... have succeeded in developing an 800Mbps (Megabits per second) capable wireless network (WLAN - Wireless Local Area Network) by using nothing more than normal red, blue, green and white LED (Light-Emitting Diode) light bulbs. It apparently only takes "a few additional components" to turn regular LEDs ... into an affordable ultrafast wireless network.

      Emphasis is added, to emphasize how these two sentences directly contradict each other. Did the author even read what they wrote?

      More importantly, the article nowhere actually mentions what is new or different about this technology/process (or what the "additional components" might be). There is no way to discern if this is a breakthrough/innovation, or simply a standard configuration of off-the-shelf components. No indication about why tech-geeks should care. They claim a world record on data transfer, but don't provide any explanation, graphs, technical details... or, you know, evidence.

      I'm not normally the Slashdotter who complains about this site going down the tubes. As far as I'm concerned this site has always had a mix of good and bad posts, and continues to have both good and bad posts. This particular article is ... terrible.

    5. Re:Summary designed for idiots... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      You're reading it with IE6. Opera users get full schematics in the original German.

    6. Re:Summary designed for idiots... by AchilleTalon · · Score: 2

      No contradiction. The first sentence emphasize the fact they are using readily available LEDs without any modification to them. Making sure the reader doesn't think they are using a new type of LEDs. The second sentence state beside the LEDs themselves, you need something to modulate the signal and link to the wired network and/or computer. The second sentence would have been sufficient to explain that entirely, but I guess they were so often asked it they were using new, special, specific purpose LEDs they decided to emphasize they weren't.

      And I suppose the redundancy LED lights is simply to emphasize this could be the office lights if they are LED based.

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  2. Signal-blocking by airconswitch · · Score: 2

    It could just as easily be seen as a security feature. Drawing the shades is easier than encasing your room in Faraday cage. And while I'm at it, since when do hospitals ban Wi-Fi? The ones I've been around (Tufts Medical Center, Children's Hospital Boston & St. Elizabeth's) have all offered it for patient and visitor use.

  3. Re:Tropical Storm Emily May Pass Florida Coast Sat by kanweg · · Score: 3, Funny

    The storm has LED some to believe that it is one bit of a self-propelled message that is transferred over thousands of miles. While working on solar energy, transfer of this information goes on during the night, preventing the thread to be derailed by Slashdot's nuclear proponents.

    There is currently discussion whether the storm is a one (as seen from the side) or a zero (seen from top).

    Hey, I tried to keep bring it back on topic.

    Bert

  4. Re:It's not a bug, it's a feature! by houstonbofh · · Score: 3, Funny

    Eventually, someone will figure out an even more private method, like some kind of wire.

  5. If only we had this Modulation tech 50+yrs ago! by uncledrax · · Score: 4, Funny

    'With the aid of a special component, the modulator, we turn the LEDs off and on in very rapid succession and transfer the information as ones and zeros.

    I bet they had something to read the modulator signals on the other side.. an Anti-Modulator perhaps?
    They could come up with some cool acronym for this system.. MOAMO ? noo.. i'm sure there's something better..

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    1. Re:If only we had this Modulation tech 50+yrs ago! by GuldKalle · · Score: 2

      Wow, you are good at remembering words. By the way, what's that sound when something passes really close by your ear? Swosh? Wiih?

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  6. Re:A good technology for air planes by mushroommunk · · Score: 2

    Its not a matter of feeling or not. Wi-fi has been proven to interfere with emergancy landing equipment. Don't believe me? Read for yourself. http://www.zdnet.com.au/wi-fi-proven-to-interfere-with-aircraft-339311113.htm http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/03/10/354179/wi-fi-interference-with-honeywell-avionics-prompts-boeing.html

  7. Re:Upstream? by Loether · · Score: 2

    Not sure if you are trolling but, No, LEDs are not capable of receiving data or acting as inputs. In the summary they used the example of streaming video where of course the monitor doesn't need to send and data back. The summary said they use a simple photo diode to receive. Light Emitting Diodes and Photo Diodes are 2 separate distinct things.

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  8. LED's as photo-detectors by Ozoner · · Score: 2

    LED's are frequently used as photo-detectors. They aren't wildly efficient, but they do work.

    www.parallax.com/Portals/0/.../LEDLightEmitterandDetector7-31-07.pdf

    It makes the optics so much simpler if you can use just one device for TX and RX.

  9. Movies by RivenAleem · · Score: 2

    How do I watch a movie in the dark then?

    1. Re:Movies by w_dragon · · Score: 2

      Just do what we do with any annoying lights on our electronics, put some electrical tape over it. Now you can watch your movies in complete darkness!

  10. Re:A good technology for air planes by pz · · Score: 2

    Most of us feel pretty strongly that WiFi on planes is not dangerous and that it should be allowed as-is. But since there are some extremely stubborn and inflexible people involved in policy making.

    How many of you have done actual impact studies and considered things like out-of-spec transmitters, poorly repaired or perhaps modified wifi cards, etc?

    Anecdotes are not data, but I had one particular laptop that, when the wifi was (inadvertently) turned on, prevented any PA announcements on one particular flight. And it was a bone-stock laptop with a bone-stock wifi card. After that discovery, the laptop was quickly retired, taken apart for the limited salvage value, and replaced with a new one.

    It may well be that 200 properly functioning wifi transmitters all in close proximity of avionics will not interfere, but that presupposes that all 200 transmitters are working correctly, and for every single flight. It's easy to imagine a malfunctioning wifi card spewing power all over the spectrum, so presupposing that every card that will operate on every flight is correctly functioning is a losing supposition. My Ph.D. research included making recordings in electrically ultra-quiet environments and you would be surprised at the crap that even properly functioning equipment transmits.

    It also may well be that 200 properly functioning wifi transmitters will interfere with reception of ground signals by overloading the input amplifiers on on-board radio receivers. Given what I know about radio receivers from my EE degrees, and my research experience, I'd put reasonable odds on that happening.

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  11. Correction by argStyopa · · Score: 2

    "However visible light signals can easily be blocked, such as when a hand is passed in front of the transmitter."*

    *depending on the power of the light, and the translucence of the object. Visible light signals cannot be easily blocked, for example, if they are emitted by say an 80-million candlepower searchlight. For example, this would not be stopped by a hand, nor eyelids. Such might prove to complicate use on-board an airplane in other ways, however.

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    1. Re:Correction by sunderland56 · · Score: 2

      Radio signals can also be blocked by a hand. Just ask any iPhone4 user.