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Wednesday, October 13, 2004

LEDs As Comunication Devices
Propellar Hats Dept: Two Japanese professors have developed a theory that LEDs can be used to not only light our signsand digital clocks, but to also transmits data. According to the Inquirer: "These include an LED traffic signal communication system which can send information to cars and pedestrians; Illumination ID, supported by Keio University, NEC and Matsushita Electric which sends ID info from LEDs to mobile phones and terminals; and a system from Cyber Solution Labs and Nippon Telegraph which can use mobile phone displays to transmit info to large screens."

Alice and Bill Alert: the technology is being developed by a 15 company consortium. Gulp. In our dictionary that means: Consortium + good idea = 10 years at least. Case is point" Anyone seen WiMax yet? 3G?
# Permalink Posted at 6:05 AM 6 comments Email this Link

Comments on this Item:

Um, excuse me: I know what you meant, but I still feel the need to correct you. I realize that in many ways this makes me a bad person, but I'm going to do it anyway, on the theory that it in some ways makes me a good person.

When have LEDs done something other then communicate information? The LEDs in clocks give information about what time it is. The LEDs in trafic lights give information to cars and pedestrians: "It's safe to cross now". You're talking about them giving /more/ information, presumably by blinking very, very fast, faster then the eye can see, and thus talking about sending information to devices carried by pedisterians, not to pedestrians themselves.

Of course, it would have been useful to link to the actual article so that I could verify my guess.

# posted by James Mastros (theorbtwo) 10:12 AM

Sorry James, I did link to the article. The click-albe title firled on our Blog should take you directly to the actual article we are refererring to, or if it is unlinked, then we place something in the body of the piece. I will try and place it both places.

And yes, I meant LEDS being used to be more than clocks but to functions as utlra fast data transmission devices. --A

# posted by Alice 7:38 PM

Hey Alice... Do you think Dark Emitting Diodes (DEDs) would work better during the day?

-O'B.

# posted by Bill 11:33 PM

This has been done before - LED's have been used in surveillance devices (bugs) to avoid revealing themselves to RF-detectors - you have to focus a telescope on the device though.

Someone has also used fluorescent room lights to transmit information - useful for navigating a building if you have impaired sight, perhaps?

# posted by Anonymous 2:31 AM

Sorry, Alice, should have looked more carefully for the link. It's an interesting idea. Unfortunately, it's also one with huge chicken-and-egg problems. What's the point of installing a smart traffic light if nobody has the equipment to read it? What's the point of installing a smart traffic light reader if there aren't any smart traffic lights? Well, if both happen, then we end up with cars that don't have to rely on being able to "hear" GPS satalites to know where they are, and possibly even always have perfectly up-to-date maps.

That's what industry consortia should be good at -- figuring out how to get all the players to actually agree on a standard. Sure, some guy in his basement could produce a standard with at least as nice features -- but it's not very helpful unless you can get the relevant people to implement the standard, which is easier if the relevant people wrote the standard in the first place, and did all of the behind-closed-doors style manuvering neccessary to make it in everybody's best interest.

If the auto industry and the government end up with binding contracts that say they'll make smart traffic light readers and smart traffic lights, then we end up with smarter cars. If only one party ends up doing it, then we end up with something expensive and useless.

# posted by James Mastros (theorbtwo) 6:57 AM

Point well taken. The chicken and egg problem plauges everything in tech. But remember, I said it involved a 15 company consortium, which in my book equals instant kiss of death.

Interesting concept + consortium = no product for decades.

# posted by Alice 9:03 AM

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