Wireless data transmission is history; now it is time to transmit through light. By making use of white LEDs (light-emitting diodes), a Siemens research project has broken the record for transmitting data wirelessly. Going past the previous record speed of 200 Mbps and obliterating current Wi-Fi standards, ‘VLC’ (Visible Light Communication) was able to transmit data at 500Mbps. VLC data transfer is more secure than radio signals, since the receiving end must have a photo-detector and a simple curtain is enough to stop potential eavesdroppers.

Early last year, Australian scientists had developed a method for transmitting data with light that could lead to the development of teleportation technology and super-fast quantum computers. Free Space Optics (FSO) is a line-of-sight technology that uses invisible beams of light to provide optical bandwidth connections that can send and receive voice, video, and data information. Today, FSO technology has enabled the development of a new category of outdoor wireless products that can transmit voice, data, and video at bandwidths up to 1.25 Gbps.

Computer chips that transmit data using light instead of electricity are not new. The significance of this design is it removes a major bottleneck in computer design by getting rid of wires.

The popularity of LEDs comes from the fact that they are more efficient and less polluting than compact fluorescent light bulbs. Since LEDs can cycle on and off millions of times per second, they can become wireless routers for information transport. As long as your device is in a well-lit area, it will automatically have high-speed Internet streaming into it. LED bulbs consume less energy by cycling off a portion of the time and the quality of the light does not change much.