“Any sufficiently advanced technology is impervious to magic.”
With regard to wireless technology, people are yet to win over the allure of 5G, and experts have developed another wireless technology known as 6G.
The global deployment of 5G wireless technology has just begun, and experts have already announced the creation of 6G technology. Previous wireless systems transferred signals using waves as antennas. However, according to current research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, 6G may someday employ individuals as antennas for signal transmission.
When the 6G standard is finalized, it may include Visible Light Communication (VLC), which could serve as a wireless alternative to fiber optics. When discussing data transmission methods that employ fiber optics, you would be surprised to learn that fiber optics use tiny or fragile wires and send data over flashes of light using fragile glass or strands.
Fiber optics is a vast technology that transmits data traffic via light pulses through microscopic optical fibers. When it comes to size, these optical fibers have a diameter similar to that of a human hair. They are generally made of pure silica. The cladding prevents these photons from exiting and traveling down the core of the fibers.
The UMass Amherst team working on this project claims to have created a new, cost-effective way to capture VLC waste energy that uses the body as an antenna. wearable electronic devices and more widespread electronics
At UMass Amherst, a professor who teaches information and computer science, known as Ji Xiong, claimed that “VLC is quite simple and intriguing, instead of using radio signals to deliver information wirelessly, It uses light from LEDs that can be switched on and off, a million times per second”.
The development teams found that Visible Light Communication (VLC) systems often suffered from energy leakage because the LED lights generated radio waves or even side channel RF signals.
The researchers have worked with wires of various thicknesses and surfaces. Minho Cui, the author, attempted to wrap the coil around the human body after laying it against something like plastic, cardboard or even turning a mobile phone on and off. And the findings revealed that the human body is the most effective medium for enhancing the coil’s ability to leak RF energy. When we use an open wave, we collect less energy than when we connect the locks to the human body, which collects ten times more power.
These findings inspired researchers to create the Bracelet+. This low-cost wearable device is highly successful in gathering power and can even reach microwatts, which is more than enough for monitoring on-body health sensors.
So, in the end, Xiong decided that in order to fuel the technologies of the future, we should collect waste energy from various sources.