Light-based wireless network delivers speeds up to 224 Gbps, says Oxford researchers
Researchers at Oxford University are working on a system that uses light fidelity (LiFi) to transmit data to a device across a room at speeds up to 224 gigabits per second (Gbps). LiFi is an experimental and faster alternative to Wi-Fi, which currently maxes out at 7 Gbps.
Transmitting data via light is nothing new and has been used in fiber optics for some time now. Light in a fiber optic connection is contained and transmitted using internal reflection. Using uncontained light beamed across a room is more challenging.
The team, led by Dominic O’Brien, a photonics engineer at Oxford, has devised a system that makes use of a fixed base station that sends and receives light signals from a computer. Both the transmitter and receiver are fitted with holographic beam steering technology that uses an array of liquid crystals to create a programmable diffraction grating that reflects the light in the correct direction.
The best data transfer speed is achieved when the base station has a wide field of view. At 60-degrees the base station is able to transmit six different wavelengths and the team managed an aggregated bandwidth of 224 Gbps. At a narrower field of view, only 36-degrees, just three wavelengths are available and speeds drop to 112 Gbps.
The system is limited in that both the base station and the receiving device have to be in fixed positions and have a direct line of sight. O’Brien says the next step is to develop a tracking and location system that will allow a user to place a laptop in any random spot and have the base station locate it and create a connection.
O’Brien is also a member of the Ultra-Parallel Visible Light Communications project and a team working toward using visible light that is already illuminating a room to transmit data. This is LiFi in its purest form, says O’Brien as it usually refers to schemes based on visible wavelengths of light whereas this system relies on infrared light, which is used in telecommunications.
This is not the only effort being made to bring LiFi to market. Earlier this year Scottish startup pureLiFi raised £1.5 million (approximately $2.26 million) in funding for their Li-Flame technology that transforms LED light bulbs into high-speed data transmitters.
photo credit: WIL_0018 via photopin (license)
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