Invisible beams of light above Eindhoven provide super-fast wireless data transfer

Researchers from TU/e have transmitted information between the TU/e campus and the Excessive Tech Campus over a 4.6 km distance utilizing infrared gentle. This occurred on the astonishing fee of 5.7 terabits per second, the equal of streaming 1.9 million Netflix reveals in HD concurrently. That is the quickest wi-fi information transmission ever demonstrated over this massive a distance in an city setting.

The record-breaking connection was established between TU/e within the north and the Excessive Tech Campus (HTC) within the south of Eindhoven utilizing superior optical antennas from Aircision, a spin-off of TNO that develops merchandise for ultra-high capability optical wi-fi techniques. The corporate is positioned on the HTC.

Their antennas transmit information by way of invisible infrared beams as a substitute of cables or radio indicators. This method, referred to as free-space optical (FSO) communication, permits ultra-fast, interference-free information transmission.

“We want new methods to satisfy the growing demand for quick and dependable connectivity,” says Vincent van Vliet, a TU/e Ph.D. researcher concerned within the challenge.

Breaking boundaries in wi-fi velocity

“Infrared wi-fi communication combines the excessive information speeds recognized from optical fibers with the flexibleness of wi-fi communication techniques. By complementing current wi-fi and fiber-optic applied sciences, we are able to construct the densely interconnected networks required to convey high-speed information connectivity to each nook of the planet.”

To realize this breakthrough, the group used the Reid Photonloop testbed. The TU/e has launched this everlasting set-up to experiment with high-speed wi-fi communication. It makes use of cutting-edge expertise that mixes a number of wavelengths in a single transmission. This method, generally utilized in fiber optics, has now for the primary time been efficiently utilized at this scale in wi-fi free-space optical communication.

“As a result of the transmitted infrared gentle is very centered, an virtually limitless variety of communication hyperlinks can exist side-by-side with out interference, permitting wi-fi community capability progress at an unprecedented scale,” Van Vliet explains.

A everlasting check facility for next-gen networks

One finish of the Reid Photonloop is positioned on the highest of the Flux constructing of the TU/e campus, which homes the departments of Electrical Engineering and Utilized Physics and Science Schooling. The opposite finish of the check mattress, 4.6 kilometers away on the opposite aspect of town of Eindhoven, sits on the high of constructing 37 on the Excessive Tech Campus.

The findings had been introduced on the Optical Fiber Communications (OFC) Convention 2025 in San Francisco earlier this month, and the analysis is available on the arXiv preprint server.

Chigo Okonkwo, Affiliate Professor and head of TU/e’s Excessive-Capability Optical Transmission Lab, emphasizes the significance of the testbed. “This facility will enable us to refine high-speed wi-fi communication and optimize its reliability and availability in all climate circumstances,” he says.

Actual-life deployments

Aircision is already how this expertise can be utilized in real-world purposes, corresponding to wirelessly connecting new 5G/6G antennas for backhauling the prevailing community to convey high-speed web entry to areas the place laying fiber is impractical or too pricey.

Luis Oliveira, co-founder of Aircision, is optimistic: “We’re redefining how information is transmitted over the air. This record-breaking achievement proves that our expertise is able to make high-speed web accessible to tens of millions of individuals sooner than ever earlier than.”

The Reid Photonloop testbed is called after the late Aircision co-founder John Reid, who was a driving power behind the event of the check mattress however handed away earlier than it was realized.