We’ve got something to celebrate: a few days ago some news of global interest reached us. Let’s set the scene.
Back in 2011, a scientist at the University of Edinburgh named Harold Haas realised that the light from a single LED could transmit more data than a phone mast.
From then until now, lab tests have achieved transfer speeds of up to 22 gigabits per second. To put it plainly: in the blink of an eye we could download around 12 films.
They’ve named it LiFi, and it’s the result of developing connections through direct light. It’s very likely the prelude to far more impressive things.
What’s curious is that this way of carrying data works through visible light and behaves like an advanced Morse code. So simply by fitting a modulator, any LED would be able to give light and transmit data at the same time.
That light would carry binary code by switching the device on and off millions of times per second, imperceptibly to the human eye.
So we can picture the electrical wiring of a home or office turned into one enormous router.
Current tests give us transmission speeds 100 times faster than today’s WiFi.
Now all that’s left is to see how long it takes for us in Barcelona, and at our graphic design studio, to get to enjoy this technology.
