updated 02:55 pm EDT, Tue October 7, 2008 Smart LED Lighting
Boston University says that it has developed the basics of a new
wireless data method that would allow computers and other
devices to communicate in a room without the traditional
weaknesses of Wi-Fi. Instead of using radio waves, the new
approach would use an optical wireless system that would
translate very rapid pulses in LED lighting into data signals.
Each light would be capable of as much as 10Mbps and would
effectively serve as an access point for a central network node
by broadcasting to network devices with a line of sight. The
method would take care of many of the range issues of Wi-Fi by
putting hotspots in one or more areas for a given room and would
also be inherently more secure and stable by preventing the
signal from filtering through walls. Lights would need to remain
on for the wireless signal to work, but the inherent low-power
nature of LEDs makes them more power-efficient compared to both
incandescent light bulbs and to radio-ba