2 weeks Ago By Bob
Nobody noticed it, but high above Eindhoven, researchers at university of technology, have managed to do something extraordinary. Scientists have managed to use (invisible) infrared light to send data wirelessly at a record speed over a distance of about five kilometres. According to scientists, this has never been seen before, especially in a busy environment.
Citizens and businesses will not be able to benefit from it for the time being, but one day they should, TU/e reveals hopefully. The new technology would allow, among other things, new 5G/6G antennas to be wirelessly linked to existing networks. “We need new ways to meet the growing demand for fast and reliable connections”, Vincent van Vliet, a researcher at TU/e and involved in the project, said.
According to him, this new technique enables unprecedented growth in wireless network capacity. The trial used special optical antennas located on two high roofs. One was on of a building of TU/e itself, the other on a building of High Tech Campus (HTC), on the outskirts of Eindhoven, along A2 freeway.
With this, the researchers wanted to demonstrate that sending data is possible in an urban environment, without affecting this transport from outside. They succeeded in using infrared light to transmit data at “an astonishing speed” of 5.7 terrabits per second.
The amount of data is compared to 1.9 million Netflix series streamed in HD. Such a feat had not been achieved before, according to TU/e.
This was the fastest wireless data transmission over such a long distance ever in an urban environment, scientists concluded. The distance between the two antennas is 4.6 kilometres.
Those test setups will remain there, as the researchers are far from finished. The future must show to what extent companies or citizens will benefit. The technology tested already exists in fiber optic networks.
If data can be sent wirelessly, via infrared, so quickly, this will open up many new possibilities. For example, in areas where fiber optics is too expensive or impractical. Transporting data by air would then be a more than reasonable alternative anywhere in the world.
Infrared rays can be warm to the touch (think infrared sauna) and you shouldn’t look directly into them. According to the university, that is not an issue in this experiment because of the narrow and barely visible beam but also because the antennas are so high. The TU/e researchers are collaborating in the test with Aircision, which is based at HTC.
This company produces ultra-high-capacity systems and is a derivative of research institute TNO. Instead of cables or radio signals, Aircision uses infrared light to transmit data. The research results were presented earlier this month at Optical Fiber Communications (OFC) Conference 2025 in the U.
S. city of San Francisco. Source: Studio040 Translated by: Bob Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
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