THE FUTURE OF WIRELESS DATA IN A LIGHT BULB
Did you know that light bulbs can actually transmit
data? Yes, we are already moving towards the future of transmitting data just
by using a light bulb. What if every light bulb in the world could also
transmit data? A device that could do exactly that. By flickering the light
from a single LED, a change too quick for the human eye to detect, we can
transmit far more data than a cellular tower -- and do it in a way that's more
efficient, secure and widespread. Let me elaborate a little on that:
1. Today, we have 1.4 million cellular radio towers
deployed worldwide.
2. We have more than 5 billion mobile devices,
smartphones, tablets etc.
3. With these devices we transmit more than 600
Terabytes of data every month.
4. Capacity: the way we transmit wireless data using
electromagnetic waves, in particular radio waves. Radio waves a limited and
expensive and we only have a certain range of it.
5. Efficiency: These 1.4 million cellular radio base
stations consume a lot of energy. Most of the energy is not used for
transmitting radio waves but rather to cool the base stations / towers. And the
efficiency of such base station is only about 5% and that creates a big
problem.
6. Availability: Limitations to the availability
where you might have to switch off your phone on flight, hospitals, for
security issues.
7. Security: Radio waves can penetrate through
walls. Somebody else in the other room or building can make use your network if
he has bad intentions.
8. Do you realise that we have 14 billion of these
light bulbs? And light is a part of electromagnetic spectrum.
9. Electromagnetic spectrum consist of Gamma Rays,
X-rays, Ultraviolet, Infrared, Radiowaves, and Visible rays (which is also
known as light).
10. When compare the frequency of radiowaves to the
visible light spectrum, we get 10,000 times more of that spectrum, which is
there for us to use.
11. 1.4 million of expensive and inefficient
cellular radio towers multiply by the 10,000 times more of that spectrum, you
will end up with 14 billion. 14 billion are the number of light bulbs installed
already. Means we already have the infrastructure for transmitting data or
communications using just light bulbs.
12. How? We need to replace these inefficient
incondecent flourescent light bulbs or any other light bulbs with LED.
13. LEDs are semiconductor electronic device. It has
a very nice property and its intensity can be modulated at high-speed.
14. For example, a remote control for your TV has an
iinfrared LED that transmits low-speed data stream in 10,000 bps. If we replace
the single LED of a remote control to an LED light bulb, we can transmit
thousands of data streams parallel, and even at higher speed. This technology
is called Subcarrier-Index Modulation (SIM) OFDM.
15. Yes, you do need the light to be on all the time
to transmit data, but you can always dim the light to lower the transmission of
data and have full control over it.
16. This is also known as Data Through Illumination.
This technology of data transmitting comes for free. Highly energy efficient. A
light doesn't penetrate through walls. In this case, if you have the light and
the receiver in your room, no one outside will have access to your network
since they don't get the light from your room and there is only data when there
is light.
17. For me, the applications for it are beyond
imagination for the moment but where there is light, there is potential to
transmit data.
18. All we need to do is fit a microchip to every
potential illumination device.
19. The symbiosis of this, I believe, could solve
the 4 essential problems (capacity, efficiency, availability and security) of
today's wireless communications.
20. In the future, we might have 14 billion LiFi's
(no longer WiFi) deployed worldwide for cleaner, greener, and even a brighter
future.
Master Freddy
[Science and Technology]
Master Freddy
[Science and Technology]
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