There has been testing and research done on this technology for a few years now but recently German researchers successfully took regular white LED bulbs and converted them into optical wireless local area networks. They were able to transfer data, 4 HD quality videos to 4 different laptops simultaneously, at a rate of 100 megabits per second over 10 square meters of area (that's over 100 square feet). In previous tests by the Fraunhofer researchers, they sent data at the rate of 800 megabits per second in a lab by using a commercial bulb.
This technology works by flickering the light rapidly with a simple modulator, too quickly for the human eye to detect any change. Light is converted by a receiver that detects small changes in the light's amplitude into an electronic signal. Traditional light bulbs and fluorescent bulbs can't work because they don't have a semi-conductor in their designs - but LED bulbs do.
A professor of engineering at Edinburgh University, Harold Haas, streamed a video from a desk lamp at a conference in July 2011. He says this technology is significant because we are running out of radio frequency spectrum from our appetite for wireless communication. It can be used alone or you can piggy-back existing wireless services with the lighting equipment. In addition to a virtually free high speed internet, this technology provides advantages like convenience and privacy.
The convenience factor is in that light bulbs are everywhere. It is especially beneficial for places that restrict radio waves - airports, airplanes, and hospitals. It's just the matter of having people catch on and switch to LED light bulbs.
Light is also more secure than radio waves since light cannot penetrate walls - thus it is more difficult to hack information or calls from a light wave than a radio wave.
Haas hopes to microchip every lighting device from street lamps, traffic lights, and overhead lights on planes.
There is room for improvement for this technology, for sure - but it is the future for wireless data transmission - and more of a reason to make a switch to LED bulbs and be part of the "smart lighting" revolution!
