Windows are quickly evolving into futuristic gateways.
The development of electricity-generating windows that might power our
homes and technology is already underway thanks to Swiss scientists. But
now, scientists in Saudi Arabia have created a technique that allows a
wireless Internet signal to pass through specialized glass while being
fueled by the Sun.
Professor Osama Amin, the project's chief researcher at the King Abdullah
University of Science and Technology, told Euronews Next, "I believe that
[in the future] smart contemporary office buildings with enormous glass
windows would work with the Internet based on this technology."
The scientific team claims that they will be able to do "anything" if they
are successful in achieving a high data rate.
With a broadband bandwidth of just 15–16 Kbps, their technique for using
windows for Internet data transport is still in its infancy.
Since sensors need a modest data rate, he said, "the objective is to
enhance that number dramatically, but for now, it can already be utilized
for IoT applications."
"We're headed towards the smart home. And this should help any kind of
sensor ".
Binary ones and zeros were created from sunlight.
So how does it function? Amin suggests thinking of a glass window as a
modem.
The Saudi invention makes use of dual-cell liquid crystal shutters, which
are components of smart glass, to transmit data utilizing the polarization
of sunlight (DLS).
One of the characteristics of electromagnetic waves, like light, is
electromagnetic polarization.
For instance, polarized sunglasses employ electromagnetic polarization to
filter light. They reduce eyestrain and glare to enable vision that is safe
and pleasant for the eyes by blocking reflected light and letting only
needed light through.
Unpolarized light has many directions, but polarization organizes the
directions such that some light may travel and others cannot, according to
Amin.
How does this, however, apply to the Internet?
According to him, polarization enables the organization of sunlight into "a
type of one-and-zero language, which is dictated by the original data
entering via a LAN connection linked to the edge of the smart glass."
"We may get this WiFi signal after connecting a LAN wire to the router. In
our method, the land cable will be linked to the glass' edge, acting as a
transmitter for the land cable. To spread the signal, sunlight will be used
in place of electricity ".
The wireless Internet data is sent to the devices in the room by the
variation of light, which is invisible to the human eye.
"In essence, what we've created is a little gadget with a number of layers.
Additionally, by simulating the transparency of the glass, these layers may
alter the polarity of the light. And if you quickly alter the opacity, a
flood of data results, "said PhD candidate Sahar Ammar, who took part in the
study.
Are our gadgets equipped to connect to the Internet via glass?
Most wireless communication methods are based on either radio frequency
communication or optical communication, which needs costly active light
sources like lasers and light-emitting diodes that use a lot of energy
(LEDs).
The Saudi system uses modulated LED light to transmit information, much
like any other visible light communication (VLC) system.
The team's method, however, is novel since it also modifies the brightness
of the sun while encoding Internet data in it via the opacity of glass,
which can then be detected and decoded by devices in the room.
The devices that may profit from the solar-powered data transmission method
must be specifically built to be able to recognize the polarized data.
However, makers of smartphone cameras are already working on creating
gadgets that can interpret data provided in this manner.
The objective, he said, is to use sustainable sunlight as a green
alternative for cellular communications.
In October, the study was published in the journal IEEE Photonic.
