U Edinburgh Develops Solar Cell-Based Wireless Communication
Researchers at the Edinburgh Research &
Innovation (ERI), the commercialization arm of the University of Edinburgh, has developed new
solar-based wireless networking technology that has the potential to deliver
almost energy-neutral broadband Internet access anywhere.
The technology uses light to transmit data, while solar panels act as both a
power source and broadband receiver for the so-called Light Fidelity, or Li-Fi,
communications.
A team of researchers from the University of Edinburgh's Li-Fi Centre developed a prototype of
the technology in collaboration with pureLiFi, a company that originated at the
University of Edinburgh. Harald Haas, a professor at the university and the
project's leader, demonstrated the technology at the TED
Global 2015 event held in London this year.
"The data is encoded in subtle changes in the brightness of the [light],"
said Haas in his TED Talk. The light is received by a solar panel, "so if the
incoming light fluctuates, so does the energy harvested from the solar cell"
and "the fluctuations of the energy harvested correspond to the data
transmitted." The Li-Fi signals could be transmitted from a tower on a hill to
solar panels on the roof of a building.
Haas anticipates that the technology will be ready to go to market "within
the next two to three years," he said in the TED Talk. Eventually, it could be
used to deliver broadband wireless Internet access to rural areas and parts of
the developing world that currently do not have the required power and
communications infrastructure to deliver broadband Internet access. It could
also be integrated into urban infrastructure and the Internet of things
(IoT).
"ERI is now looking for industrial partners to work with the
University's Li-Fi R&D Centre to develop the technology for
commercial use," stated a report in Renewable Energy Focus.
The demonstration by Harald Haas can be found on the TED
site.
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].