Light reading: visible light communications

The human desire for light was one of the reasons that caveman became engineer. From the very first camp fires to the oil-filled lamp and electric torch, man-made light has led the development of the modern world.

The objective has always been a simple one: to provide illumination in areas that the Sun can’t reach. We’ve been extremely successful in this, with more and more places on Earth touched by artificial light each day. The technology has showcased our best innovations and given us the ability to see things that would otherwise be hidden.

But what if light could do more than just illuminate? What if it could also send streams of data? Traffic lights, television sets, car headlights, billboards and lamps might all suddenly become far more important in our daily lives. We could receive maps from a street light, get news alerts from lamps and download music from electronic posters.