I would like to demonstrate for the first time in public that it is possible to transmit a video from a standard off-the-shelf LED lamp to a solar cell with a laptop acting as a receiver. There is no Wi-Fi involved, it's just light.
Želio bih prvi puta u javnosti demonstrirati da je moguće poslati video sa standardne LED svjetiljke na solarnu ćeliju sa laptopom kao prijamnikom. Wi-Fi nije uključen, samo svjetlo.
And you may wonder, what's the point? And the point is this: There will be a massive extension of the Internet to close the digital divide, and also to allow for what we call "The Internet of Things" -- tens of billions of devices connected to the Internet.
Možda se pitate, koja je poanta? Poanta je ovo: Postojat će ogromni produžetak Interneta da premosti digitalnu podjelu, i da dopusti ono što nazivamo "Internet Stvari" -- deseci milijardi uređaja spojeni na Internet.
In my view, such an extension of the Internet can only work if it's almost energy-neutral. This means we need to use existing infrastructure as much as possible. And this is where the solar cell and the LED come in.
Po mom mišljenju, takav produžetak Interneta može raditi jedino ako je skoro energetski neutralan. To znači da moramo koristiti postojeću infrastrukturu što je više moguće. Tu u priču ulaze solarne ćelije i LED svjetla.
I demonstrated for the first time, at TED in 2011, Li-Fi, or Light Fidelity. Li-Fi uses off-the-shelf LEDs to transmit data incredibly fast, and also in a safe and secure manner. Data is transported by the light, encoded in subtle changes of the brightness. If we look around, we have many LEDs around us, so there's a rich infrastructure of Li-Fi transmitters around us. But so far, we have been using special devices -- small photo detectors, to receive the information encoded in the data. I wanted to find a way to also use existing infrastructure to receive data from our Li-Fi lights. And this is why I have been looking into solar cells and solar panels.
Demonstrirao sam prvi puta na TED-u 2011. godine, Li-Fi, ili Light Fidelity. Li-Fi koristi kupovne LED diode za veoma brz prijenos podataka, na siguran način. Podatak se prenosi putem svjetla, enkodiran u suptilnim promjenama svjetline. Ako pogledate oko sebe, vidjet ćete mnoštvo LED svjetiljki u okolini, prema tome postoji bogata infrastruktura LI-Fi odašiljača oko nas. No, dosad, smo koristili posebne uređaje -- male fotodetektore, za primanje informacija enkodiranih u podatke. Želio sam pronaći način da se iskoristiti postojeća infrastruktura za primanje podataka putem Li-Fi svjetla. I zato sam se počeo baviti solarnim ćelijama i solarnim panelima.
A solar cell absorbs light and converts it into electrical energy. This is why we can use a solar cell to charge our mobile phone. But now we need to remember that the data is encoded in subtle changes of the brightness of the LED, so if the incoming light fluctuates, so does the energy harvested from the solar cell. This means we have a principal mechanism in place to receive information from the light and by the solar cell, because the fluctuations of the energy harvested correspond to the data transmitted.
Solarna ćelija upija i pretvara svjetlost u električnu energiju. Zato možemo koristiti solarne ćelije za punjenje mobitela. Prisjetimo se da su podaci enkodirani u suptilnim promjenama svjetline LED diode, te ako je dolazno svjetlo promjenjivo, onda je promjenjiva i energija prikupljena u solarnoj ćeliji. To znači da imamo prinicipijelni mehanizam za primanje informacije iz svjetla pomoću solarne ćelije, jer fluktuacije prikupljene energije odgovaraju prenesenim podacima.
Of course the question is: can we receive very fast and subtle changes of the brightness, such as the ones transmitted by our LED lights? And the answer to that is yes, we can. We have shown in the lab that we can receive up to 50 megabytes per second from a standard, off-the-shelf solar cell. And this is faster than most broadband connections these days.
Naravno, pitanje je: možemo li primati veoma brze i suptilne promjene svjetline, poput one koje naše LED svjetlo odašilje? A odgovor na to pitanje je, da, možemo. Ispitivanje u laboratoriju je pokazalo da je moguće primati do 50 MB po sekundi pomoću standardne, kupovne solarne ćelije. Ovo je mnogo veća brzina od većine širokopojasnih veza.
Now let me show you in practice. In this box is a standard, off-the-shelf LED lamp. This is a standard, off-the-shelf solar cell; it is connected to the laptop. And also we have an instrument here to visualize the energy we harvest from the solar cell. And this instrument shows something at the moment. This is because the solar cell already harvests light from the ambient light.
Dopustite da vam demonstriram. U ovoj kutiji se nalazi standardna, kupovna LED svjetiljka. Ovo je standardna, kupovna solarna ćelija; spojena je na laptop. Također, ovdje imamo instrument koji vizualizira energiju prikupljenu pomoću solarne ćelije. Ovaj instrument trenutno pokazuje nešto. Zato što solarna ćelija već prikuplja svjetlo iz okoline.
Now what I would like to do first is switch on the light, and I'll simply, only switch on the light, for a moment, and what you'll notice is that the instrument jumps to the right. So the solar cell, for a moment, is harvesting energy from this artificial light source. If I turn it off, we see it drops. I turn it on ... So we harvest energy with the solar cell.
Prvo bih htio uključiti svjetlo, tako da ću prvo samo uključiti svjetlo, na trenutak, i primjetit ćete da instrument skače udesno. Solarna ćelija, trenutno, prikuplja energiju iz ovog umjetnog izvora svjetlosti. Ako ga isključim, vidimo da opada. Uključim ga... Prema tome, prikupljamo energiju pomoću solarne ćelije.
But next I would like to activate the streaming of the video. And I've done this by pressing this button. So now this LED lamp here is streaming a video by changing the brightness of the LED in a very subtle way, and in a way that you can't recognize with your eye, because the changes are too fast to recognize. But in order to prove the point, I can block the light of the solar cell. So first you notice the energy harvesting drops and the video stops as well. If I remove the blockage, the video will restart.
Sljedeće bih želio pokrenuti prijenos videa. To ću napraviti pritiskanjem ove tipke. Ova LED svjetiljka sada prenosi video promjenom svjetline LED diode na veoma suptilan način, na način na koji ne možete primjetiti golim okom, jer su promjene prebrze da bi ih primjetili. Da bih vam dokazao, mogu blokirati svjetlo solarne ćelije. Prvo primjećujete pad prikupljene energije i video staje, također. Kad uklonim prepreku, video počinje ponovno.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)
And I can repeat that. So we stop the transmission of the video and energy harvesting stops as well. So that is to show that the solar cell acts as a receiver.
I može se ponoviti. Prekinemo prijenos videa i prikupljanje energije prestaje, također. To pokazuje da se solarna ćelija ponaša kao prijamnik.
But now imagine that this LED lamp is a street light, and there's fog. And so I want to simulate fog, and that's why I brought a handkerchief with me.
Zamislite da je LED svjetiljka ulično svjetlo, i magla je. Želim simulirati maglu, zato sam ponio maramicu sa sobom.
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
And let me put the handkerchief over the solar cell. First you notice the energy harvested drops, as expected, but now the video still continues. This means, despite the blockage, there's sufficient light coming through the handkerchief to the solar cell, so that the solar cell is able to decode and stream that information, in this case, a high-definition video.
Stavimo maramicu preko solarne ćelije. Prvo primjetite da prikupljanje energije opada, kao što je i očekivano, ali video ipak nastavlja. Ovo znači, usprkos blokadi, dovoljna količina svjetlosti dopire kroz maramicu do solarne ćelije, da bi solarna ćelija dekodirala i prenijela tu informaciju, u ovom slučaju, video visoke razlučivosti.
What's really important here is that a solar cell has become a receiver for high-speed wireless signals encoded in light, while it maintains its primary function as an energy-harvesting device. That's why it is possible to use existing solar cells on the roof of a hut to act as a broadband receiver from a laser station on a close by hill, or indeed, lamp post.
Ono što je zaista bitno ovdje je da solarna ćelija postaje prijamnik za bežične signale visoke brzine enkodirane u svjetlu, dok zadržava svoju prvotnu funkciju uređaja za prikupljanje energije. Zato je moguće koristiti postojeće solarne ćelije na krovu nastambe kao širokopojasne prijemnike od laserske stanice na obližnjem brdu, ili stub za uličnu rasvjetu.
And It really doesn't matter where the beam hits the solar cell. And the same is true for translucent solar cells integrated into windows, solar cells integrated into street furniture, or indeed, solar cells integrated into these billions of devices that will form the Internet of Things. Because simply, we don't want to charge these devices regularly, or worse, replace the batteries every few months.
Zaista nije bitno gdje zraka pogodi solarnu ćeliju. Isto vrijedi i za prozirne solarne ćelije integrirane u prozorima, solarne ćelije integrirane u ulične elemente, ili solarne ćelije intregrirane u ove milijarde uređaja koji će tvoriti Internet Stvari. Jer, jednostavno, ne želimo puniti ove uređaje redovno, ili još gore, mijenjati baterije svakih par mjeseci.
As I said to you, this is the first time I've shown this in public. It's very much a lab demonstration, a prototype. But my team and I are confident that we can take this to market within the next two to three years. And we hope we will be able to contribute to closing the digital divide, and also contribute to connecting all these billions of devices to the Internet. And all of this without causing a massive explosion of energy consumption -- because of the solar cells, quite the opposite.
Kao što sam rekao, ovo je prvi puta da je ovo prikazano u javnosti. Ovo je laboratorijska demonstracija, prototip. No, moj tim i ja smo uvjereni da možemo izaći na tržište sa ovim u sljedeće dvije do tri godine. Nadamo se ćemo moći doprinijeti premoštavanju digitalne podjele, i također, doprinijeti spajanju svih ovih milijardi uređaja na Internet. I sve to bez uzrokovanja masivne eksplozije potrošnje energije -- zbog solarnih ćelija, upravo suprotno.
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)