New LED-based system could boost WiFi 10 times

23 Apr 2015

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A new LED-based system has been shown to boost WiFi transmission bandwidth 10 times.

According to researchers at the Oregon State University who invented the new technology, it could be integrated with present-day WiFi systems, and help alleviate bandwidth issues encountered in congested locations - public access areas and offices for example - where a multitude of devices were online concurrently.

The advance comes from recent developments in the ability to modulate LED light - the process of rapidly switching the light off and on to conform with the data signal being transmitted.

The technology being light-based, works in free-space systems where the transmitting and receiving stations were within line of sight of each other.

According to Tinh Nguyen, an OSU associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, in addition to improving the experience for users, the two big advantages of this system were that it used inexpensive components, and it integrated with existing WiFi systems.

Thanks to recent advances in LED technology, LED light can be modulated more rapidly, opening the possibility of using light for wireless transmission in a "free space" optical communication system.

Nguyen believes the system could be easily transformed into a marketable product, and the researchers were currently looking for a company that was interested in further developing and licensing the technology.

The prototype, called WiFO, uses LEDs that are beyond the visual spectrum for humans. It creates an invisible cone of light about one meter square in which the data could be received.

To enable use in small areas, the researchers created a hybrid system that could switch between several LED transmitters installed on a ceiling, and the existing WiFi system.

The system could potentially send data at up to 100 megabits per second and though some WiFi systems had similar bandwidth, but it had to be divided by the number of devices connected, so each user might be receiving just 5 to 10 megabits per second.

According to the researchers, the hybrid system could deliver 50-100 megabits to each user.

(Read  more: OSU innovation boosts Wi-Fi bandwidth tenfold)

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