You could soon be getting your internet at the speed of light! Well, not literally, but one company is divising a system that uses LED ceiling lights to transmit data (namely the internet) to computers equipped with special sensors. What this means is that light waves could potentially replace radio waves as  a method of transmitting data, since lights can ‘flick’ data faster than the eye can see. The company, LVX Systems, has already implemented the technology at several city offices in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

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LVX Systems’ Visible Light with Embedded Communication is described as “a form of high-speed, very secure wireless data communication using visible light.” It is better than traditional wireless communication since systems such as WI-FI, 3G Networks and Bluetooth all require magnetic radio waves.

According to the LVX Systems, “Visible Light with Embedded Communication is comprised of light photons and can be seen by the human eye. Its related equipment is what looks like a standard lamp that generates its light from LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes or solid state lighting) rather than hot filaments or hot gasses like those used in today’s lamps. The difference is that the solid state LEDs ‘modulate’ so fast, that though the human eye can’t see this modulation, data information can be carried within this modulated signal, all while lighting your occupied area as traditional lights always have.

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 St. Cloud city government saw the system’s potential due to the energy efficiency and savings offered by the LED lighting technology. According to LVX, the system’s smart lighting “can be managed by computers in ways that will save lamp energy from 30-80%. Our solid state lighting offers an intelligent lighting solution that can automatically illuminate areas when they become occupied and reduce lighting in areas that are unoccupied.”

So light can now transmit data. What next, air conditioning units that work on our spreadsheets for us?

+ LVX Systems

Via Smart Planet

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