Towards Energy Neutral Wireless Communications: Photovoltaic Cells to Connect Remote Areas

Sovan Das, Enrique Poves, John Fakidis, Adrian Sparks, Stefan Videv and Harald Haas
Additional contact information
Sovan Das: LiFi Research & Development Centre, Institute of Digital Communications, The University of Edinburgh, JCMB, King’s Building, Edinburgh EH9 3FD, UK
Enrique Poves: LiFi Research & Development Centre, Institute of Digital Communications, The University of Edinburgh, JCMB, King’s Building, Edinburgh EH9 3FD, UK
John Fakidis: LiFi Research & Development Centre, Institute of Digital Communications, The University of Edinburgh, JCMB, King’s Building, Edinburgh EH9 3FD, UK
Adrian Sparks: LiFi Research & Development Centre, Institute of Digital Communications, The University of Edinburgh, JCMB, King’s Building, Edinburgh EH9 3FD, UK
Stefan Videv: LiFi Research & Development Centre, Institute of Digital Communications, The University of Edinburgh, JCMB, King’s Building, Edinburgh EH9 3FD, UK
Harald Haas: LiFi Research & Development Centre, Institute of Digital Communications, The University of Edinburgh, JCMB, King’s Building, Edinburgh EH9 3FD, UK

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 19, 1-19

Abstract: In this work, we have designed, developed and deployed the world’s first optical wireless communication (OWC) system using off-the-shelf lasers and solar photovoltaics. Four bidirectional OWC prototypes have been installed on the Orkney Islands of Scotland at a 30 m link distance for the provision of high-speed internet access to two residential properties. The silicon-made solar panels can harvest power up to 5 W from sunlight and they offer data rates as high as 8 Mb/s. Using additional analogue processing, data rates higher than the existing landline broadband connection are achieved. This breakthrough opens the development path to low cost, self-powered and plug-and-play free-space optical (FSO) systems.

Keywords: solar energy; energy harvesting; communication systems; optical wireless communications; free-space optical communication; light communication (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/19/3772/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/19/3772/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:19:p:3772-:d:273284

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().