14 DAY TRIAL // Transmitting data from one device to another is one of the things our current society is dependent on, which means that any improvement in this field is welcomed with open arms.
In fact, when a new method of transmitting data is found, the media is bound to pay more attention than usual, like researchers at the Fraunhofer Henrich Hertz Institute (HHI) in Germany found out.
Then again, transmitting data via light is not a new concept, just one that hasn't gone anywhere yet because it depends on line of sight.
Nevertheless, scientists are doing their best to make it work, since it can help a lot to transmit data at light speed. The concept is called VLC (visible light communication), or LiFi.
Sadly, Fraunhofer decided to withhold most of the details about what was achieved and how, only letting slip the part where 3 Gbps transfers were accomplished in the lab, and that real-world tests allowed for 500 Mbps.
Not a bad showing for a mediatized test, and one that suggests the time of Visible light Communications might come sooner than others think.
For anyone who needs technical details, VLS acts as Wi-Fi but uses terahertz radiation (light) instead of microwaves.
Unlike incandescent and fluorescent bulbs, LEDs are solid-state electronics, hence their ability to be switched at high speeds.
VLC oscillates an LED bulb, thus sending info to a photodetector (Wi-Fi uses antennas for the same thing).
It should be noted, however, that Fraunhofer used a black box (with an LED and photodetector on the front) and an Ethernet jack on the back to connect it to the rest of the network, not an LED bulb.
Previously, Fraunhover revealed a system that transmitted 500 Mbps over 4 meters, or 120 Mbps over 20 meters.
The reason 3 Gbps was possible this time is the use of several different-color LEDs instead of just one, each with 180 MHz bandwidth. The reasons real world tests drop to 500 Mbps are atmospheric: air isn't as clear, motionless or bereft of other radio and light waves.