the new type of communication can work almost anywhere. But that's not all
Recently it became known that a team of Chinese scientists from Nanjing University has created a new type of communication. It is based on different spectra of light, transmitting information both in water and air, and in outer space. Development details are below the cut.
What kind of technology is this?
Authors of the development
“uninterrupted communication” because it can transmit information in almost any environment. “Wide-angle communications can be used, for example, in oceans and lakes, where sensors collect environmental data and communicate with surface buoys. The data could then be sent wirelessly across the surface of the water or via data links over long distances between cities. The network can also connect to the Internet via a modem, giving people who may be in a remote ocean location, for example, access to a backbone network to exchange information,”
Yunjin Wang's research group.
The scientists' publication states that the peculiarity of this type of communication is four different spectra for different types of environment. For example, visible light rays in the blue spectrum are used under water. On the surface – white, in the air – ultraviolet, in space – infrared lasers.
All this is designed to provide wireless or wired communications in the emerging Internet of Things industry. Since communication can work everywhere, it will be used in difficult conditions.
The peculiarity of the technology is that it is able to support connections both over the air and over wires, ensuring stable two-way data transfer. This is extremely important for providing different services to users. An example is also given – the collection of certain information (for example, about the characteristics of the aquatic environment – seas, rivers, etc.) by various sensors. Then the data is transmitted to the surface, and after that – via wireless communication somewhere far away.
Tests have shown that the optical communication network can broadcast video with a resolution of 2560×1440 pixels and a frequency of 22 frames per second. The maximum data packet loss rate was 5.8%, and transmission latency was less than 74 milliseconds. The key point is precisely in creating a unified data transmission mode with the integration of Ethernet switches. Such seamlessness, so to speak, ensures full duplex communication real-time and data transmission, including video, sensory data, images and audio files, both wired and wireless. This achieves a maximum packet loss of only 5.80% and a data transfer delay of less than 74 milliseconds.
So far, this technology has not been commercialized; the Chinese plan to develop it further, in order to then launch a large-scale project with practical implementation. In the near future, scientists are going to increase the network capacity. This will be achieved through wavelength division multiplexing, eliminating the challenges associated with LEDs and optimizing network efficiency and performance.
As for the study, its authors are scientists from Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications and Suzhou Lighting Chip Monolithic Optoelectronics Technology Co. Ltd. in China.
And “long-range” WiFi
Another interesting development presented by Morse Micro. She was able to achieve stable communication at a distance of approximately 3 km from the source. Here is a video of the testing.
The group of scientists who created this technology conducted several tests that confirmed success: the authors of the project were able to establish and maintain a connection between gadgets that are approximately 3 km away from each other.
The specialists managed to ensure the stability of the communication channel. The results are not bad – for example, at a distance of half a kilometer between paired devices, information was transmitted “over the air”, with a channel of 11 Mbit/s, which is about 1.4 megabytes per second. At maximum range, the speed dropped to 1 Mbit/s.
According to project representatives, Wi-Fi HaLow, as this technology is called, serves as a complement to conventional types of communication. It does not compete with anything, but serves as an opportunity to improve what already exists. By the way, Wi-Fi HaLow radio signals with a frequency of less than 1 GHz can pass through walls and other obstacles more easily than is possible using traditional Wi-Fi spectrum.
Another big advantage of the technology is its ability to support work with many devices at once. Thus, one Wi-Fi HaLow access point is capable of addressing up to 8,191 devices. This is about four times more than what a regular access point can do.
The security of the communication protocol is also excellent. The fact is that it supports modern Wi-Fi authentication requirements (WPA3) and AES encryption of wireless traffic (over-the-air, OTA) with data transfer rates that allow you to securely update OTA firmware.
It is also worth noting that the standard has existed for several years, but there are very few large-scale projects. Perhaps it is thanks to Morse Micro that the technology will begin to be used more widely.
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