Infrared Networking: Seeing Infrared

Wireless data connections have sparked lingering security questions/a>. While most discussions focus on 802.11b or other radio wireless LAN (WLAN) technologies, researchers say optical infrared is a cheaper, more secure option.

A new antenna was designed by a team led by Roger Green, professor of electronic communication systems in the School of Engineering at the University of Warwick, England. The optical antenna is a type of optical concentrator that captures infrared radiation at angles up to 90 degrees, blocking the effects of ambient lighting.

Infrared signals can bounce off walls and ceilings, creating the same effect as an 802.11b or Wi-Fi WLAN access point. The optical concentrator also makes wireless networks more secure. Infrared beams are easier to control than radio signals and prevent data from leaking to external spies.

Furthermore, infrared offers up to 10GHz of bandwidth, as opposed to the 2.4GHz band of the popular 802.11b standard, and does not interfere with any radio frequency infrastructure, he says.

According to Green, infrared is a viable solution for companies interested in secure communications over longer distances. It provides secure data transmissions between buildings, point-and-pay systems, and to connect optical infrared devices like laptops, cell phones and PDAs.

The optical antenna devised by Green and his team is being built into the first product prototypes by several companies. And Green suggests that the final products may even be easy on the CSO’s budget. Because infrared does not require bandwidth licensing fees, the optical antenna products should be cheaper than radio frequency products.