Transmission of data by LED light

Your light bulb idea is the weak link, the rest of the technology exists and is already in use as far as how you could get data over power lines. Essentially you are wanting to know about data being transferred over power lines and how it could be received by a computer?

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US FCC

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On 14 October 2004, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission adopted rules to facilitate the deployment of "Access BPL", the marketing term for Internet access service over power lines. The technical rules are more liberal than those advanced by the US national amateur radio organization, the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), and other spectrum users, but include provisions that require BPL providers to investigate and correct any interference they cause. These rules may be subject to future litigation.[citation needed] One service was announced in 2004 for Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.[17]

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On 3 August 2006 FCC adopted a memorandum opinion and an order on broadband over power lines, giving the go-ahead to promote broadband service to all Americans.[18] The order rejected calls from aviation, business, commercial, amateur radio and other sectors of spectrum users to limit or prohibit deployment until further study was completed. FCC chief Kevin Martin said that BPL "holds great promise as a ubiquitous broadband solution that would offer a viable alternative to cable, digital subscriber line, fiber, and wireless broadband solutions

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Full articleThere are much better ways to get data to and from power lines as is shown in the wiki article.

I am a communications enthusiast and an amateur operator and remember some of the arguments against using power lines for data, interference and security mostly. That's the only reason I knew about this. I am all for it though.If a simple microprocessor was used then I am sure that it would be easy to incorporate infrared LEDs and also infrared photo detectors in a light-bulb package that could also still work as a source or light independent of it's other use as a channel for data transfer. There would be a few things to overcome...specialized lampshades... an industry standard...ect Edited by fearandloathing, : No reason given.

That would work, you could carry it with you anywhere that is in the network, rather bulky. A smaller wireless interface between a plug and socket seems like a better alternative it leaves the complicated bulb out of it and uses off the shelf technology.My question is why use light at all? Edited by fearandloathing, : No reason given.

Is security an issue? Economically I would say that this wouldn't be a good selling point. There are many things you can do to achieve secure comms other ways that don't rely on new tech. If you were looking for secure data transfer then lasers would be where I would look. I think DARPA has already been down this road with using lasers for comms with subs.It is a novel idea, nothing more. One I am sure others have thought of...but I am not up to a patent search.

It will be more limited by the transmission system prior to it being turned into light. It is a moot point with power lines being the main route of data transfer, you can't exceed their usable bandwidth.

Here is a little more on the subject. Seems there is a lot more interest in this technology than I thought, many or them would have to do with not wanting RF in certain places, planes, operating rooms...

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LED light fixtures transmit digital data at 800 Mbit/s

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Berlin, Germany--By simply modulating the LEDs in an LED lighting fixture, it can become a digital transmitter for an optical wireless local-area network (WLAN). Researchers at Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI), Siemens, and France Telecom Orange Labs are working to make this concept practical, which would allow simultaneous transmission of multiple video to photodiode-equipped computers and mobile phones.

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By the end of May this year, the scientists were able to demonstrate the transfer ot data at a rate of 100 Mbit/s without losses, using ceiling LEDs in the ceiling that illuminate ten square meters or more. The receiver can be placed anywhere within this area. This means that we transferred four videos in HD quality to four different laptops at the same time, says Anagnostis Paraskevopoulos from the HHI.

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The scientists are working on higher bit rates. Using red-blue-green-white light LEDs, we were able to transmit 800 Mbit/s in the lab, said Klaus-Dieter Langer. That is a world record for the visible-light-communication (VLC) method. The HHI scientists will showcase how videos are transmitted by light in Hall 11.1, Booth 8 at the International Telecommunications Fair IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung IFA) in Berlin from September 2-7, 2011.

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Use include VLAN in hospitals, for example, where radio transmissions are not allowed. Despite this fact, high data rates must be transmitted without losses. If communication occured via light in the surgical room, it would be possible to control wireless surgical robots or transmit x-ray images. In airplanes, each passenger could view his own entertainment program on a display, saving aircraft manufacturers miles of cables. Another possible venue for the application of this technology are production facilities, where radio transmissions often interfere with industrial processes.

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One disadvantage is that as soon as something gets between the light and the photodiode (for example, when someone holds a hand over the diode) the transfer is impaired.

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The scientists emphasize that VLC is not intended to replace regular WLAN, PowerLAN or UMTS. It is best suited as an additional option for data transfer where radio transmission networks are not desired or not possible--without requiring new cables or equipment. Combinations are also possible, such as optical WLAN in one direction and PowerLAN for the return channel.

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Posted by John Wallace

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From here...The weak link seems to be currently it would have to use some other type of connection for the up-link. That could be overcome with a purpose built bulb that would incorporate a photo-detector I am sure.It seems like this would be best suited to power companies who provide BPL service, as far as consumer use goes.

CFS? I can't find any link between Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and light or better yet modulated light.

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Chronic fatigue syndrome has generated significant debate and controversy in the medical community. It remains a poorly understood and potentially debilitating illness. Scientists believe chronic fatigue syndrome is not contagious and that multiple factors including immunological, genetic, environmental ones working in combination cause the development of chronic fatigue syndrome. Laboratory tests (blood, urine, etc.) are of little value in diagnosing the syndrome.

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From here...It seems they don't know much about it, yet you suggest a new, relatively untested technology may cause/contribute to CFS?I would suggest that it more likely to cause seizures in people who have epilepsy, we know modulated light can do this already.

Just WiFi?As a radio enthusiast I find that hard to believe. Microwave ovens, some cordless phones, baby monitors, amateur radio, Bluetooth....the list goes on...all use the 2.4GHz band. Your friend would have a perpetual headache if this were true.Most people never stop to consider how much RF you are exposed to all day. If you had access to a RF spectrum analyzer you might be shocked at the amount of RF you are currently sitting in, especially if you live in an urban area.

LOL, ThanksThat makes much more sense, I am a moron more often than not. (probably from exposure to high levels of RF) I can see it maybe screwing with your blood pressure and causing headache, I try to avoid salt and msg in food I buy.Edited by fearandloathing, : No reason given.