There are all manner of technologies available today for wirelessly transferring data to and from your mobile pohne. Wi-Fi, WiMAX, Bluetooth, Infra-Red, and of course 3G and HSDPA, the list goes on and on. Now Matushita of Japan have demonstrated an entirely new way of transferring data: visible light. Yes, not the invisible Infra-Red type, but normal everyday visible light.

The new Visible Light Communications (VLC) technology can act as a standard light, doing what standard lights do (you know – illuminating and stuff!). But stand underneath it with a suitably-equipped gadget, such as a PDA, mobile phone or MP3 player, and you can transfer data straight to your gadget at speeds approaching that of fiber.

Better still, VLC doesn’t interfere with sensitive electronics, such as medical equipment, so can be used in hospitals and airports, and can easily be seen, unlike Wi-Fi hotspots.

Of course, the downside of this new technology is its range – stand outside of the light, and your downloads will end (cue 1,000 geeky jokes about stepping into the dark side!).

But at least it’s obvious where the hotspot (lightspot?) is, so there’s no more roaming uselessly around the house trying to pick up a signal.

Plans for this technology include using it:

• at exhibitions where you can stand underneath a VLC lamp and download info from the display.
• in cameras and camera phones, with the optics from the camera lens being used to receive the data.
• in electronic advertising signs, letting you download data about the product being advertised
• in cars, where your car’s headlights can communicate with traffic lights
• in your home gadgets as a new form of ultra-fast remote control
• in the office, with a VLC-equipped desk-lamp being used as a modem for your laptop
• pretty much anywhere you currently use Wi-Fi

In short, with VLC, data can be transferred wherever there is visible light (and a suitably-equipped VLC light source, of course), but at super-sonic speeds. This is brand new technology, and so still in the development stage, but with its huge speeds, it has the potential to be the next generation of mobile data transfer techology after Wi-Fi and Wi-MAX have run their course.

[Source: Visible Light Communications Consortium, via GearFuse]