Today, wireless connection via WiFi is the law. We use it in all types of situations and with a multitude of devices and we are even waiting for the arrival of the next generation. But, while that is happening, a group of scientists has just invented a new Internet connection that they claim is 100 times faster than WiFi.
The future of wireless connections could lie in a new type of VLC connectivity (Visible Light Communication, not to be confused with the program that uses those acronyms). They have just created it and it uses light energy to carry out data transmission and communication.
Neither WiFi nor LiFi, it's VLC
Visible Light Communication (VLC) is not something new. What scientists have done has been to invent a new type within what already existed. They believed that there was room for improvement that would allow this type of communication to become useful, given that VLC as we know it has too many problems to become a massively used tool.
Thus, the most complicated thing with the VLC connection is that, due to its nature, it cannot be used outside the home, nor does it provide a high level of stability. However, with the creation of these scientists everything changes, ensuring that they have devised a new system that solves the previous problems. To achieve this, what scientists have done is to create a VLC technology that uses a tricolor system. But how exactly does it work?
The beginning of a new era
This tricolor system, which uses blue, red and green light, is accompanied by an OLED matrix that is responsible for light emission. In this way they have managed to solve the problem of generating the light necessary for the connection to work, while, in parallel, they have also worked to eliminate the communication and instability problems attributed to VLC systems. In addition to this, they have created a new organic photodiode receiver, used to receive light.
The research of these scientists and their work comes from South Korea, which is why it is not surprising that they have turned to OLED systems given how common it is among South Korean television manufacturers. It is a type of technology that is becoming more and more widespread and that provides an important series of advantages over alternatives such as LCD.
In the tests they have carried out, yes, in an environment where they have prepared everything to minimize interference problems, they have verified that the sender and receiver managed the sending of data with a high level of precision and speed. It's still early for us to consider this type of connectivity a reality in a real-world environment, but the scientists leading the project have said that the next phase of the research includes testing their system in a real-world environment. They are going to eliminate the additions they made to facilitate the first experiment and gradually incorporate adverse elements that will allow us to see if this system ends up being defended in a practical way.
So, for example, they want to see if data transmission through the use of light works when there are factors that affect performance, such as other lighting sources or dust. Another test they will do will be to change the receiving system, since, for now, they have only tested it with a static model. In this way, what they want to see is whether the receiver can also be moving or not, something they hope to achieve sooner or later. To do this, they have several ideas. One of them is to use near-infrared spectroscopy to increase performance and break down the barriers that this connectivity currently faces.
Therefore, it is possible that in the future this type of VLC wireless connectivity will end up taking the place of WiFi networks, but it is clear that it is not going to happen exactly anytime soon. So, today, let's continue thinking about WiFi 6, WiFi 7, and what's possibly coming next.