Disney Research presents a means for enable gadgets to communicate with each other inside smart indoor environments-- the Linux Light Bulb, an LED flashing out data using visible light.
The technology, dubbed Visible Light Communication (VLC) is not actually new. What the Disney researchers add is an IP stack and other networking protocols inside a Linux-based VLC system-on-a-chip (SoC) one can integrate into existing LED lamps.
Such a means of communications bypasses other wireless channels used in the so-called Internet of Things (IoT), such as ZigBee, wifi or Bluetooth, and can be supported by any device able to switch an LED on and off.
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