Fujitsu: Integrate data into LED light sources and use mobile phones to obtain object information through light

LED billboards may soon transmit invisible data that your smartphone can identify. Fujitsu Laboratories has developed a technology that can embed ID data into LED light sources. Therefore, pointing a smartphone at a luminous object allows the phone to read the corresponding information from the cloud server. This technology can be used to capture product data from ads, and users can even complete purchases directly through mobile payment systems. According to Fujitsu, the technology could be used in retail, museums, galleries or trade shows.

Fujitsu uses color modulation technology to change the composition of red, green and blue (RGB) in LED light sources. By continuously modifying the color intensity of each color channel, ID data is encoded and embedded into the light source without changing the visibility characteristics of the light source itself.

At a press conference held in Tokyo on the 17th, Fujitsu employees demonstrated the technology. The demonstrator pointed the camera of the smartphone at a plastic fashion model illuminated by an LED light source and a traditional Japanese woodblock print. The phone processed the image data and obtained the ID, and then immediately displayed the product information on the plastic model and the historical information of the woodblock print on the screen.

"Now, the concept of the Internet of Things is becoming increasingly important, but I don't think anything can be connected to the Internet," said Akira Nakagawa, director of the Image Systems Division at Fujitsu Laboratories. "But this system allows objects to be connected virtually. That's what we developed this technology for."

This method does not require the use of a camera to capture an actual image of the object, and can be used with any form of light source, as long as the light source meets the requirements of separately modulated RGB channels, including light sources emitted from projectors. Through color modulators, the technology can work with any LED rig. These devices are now quite common and cheap, Nakagawa said.

This technology of implanting ID is in some ways similar to QR codes, NFC tags and visible light communication (VLC). VLC is also a data communication method that can be triggered by LED light sources. Although the data rate transmitted through LED is only a relatively low 10bps, in this way, objects for display no longer need to be attached with labels, which may interfere with the display or appearance of the object. Nakagawa further added that another attractive feature of the technology is that LEDs are now everywhere.

No matter what the light source is, as long as it is reflected into the camera lens, it can trigger the download of information. Therefore, the system can be used in a wide range of applications, including museum collections and displays, buildings, and even people themselves can initiate data transmission.

For example, a performer can walk onto the stage, hold up an LED light source, and the audience can point their smartphones at the performer and download the song they are singing. Another example involves embedding ID codes in light sources that reflect the museum's collections, triggering the display of text in the visitor's native language.

Fujitsu is testing this technology in different application areas in order to improve its accuracy. They hope to officially commercialize it within the 2015 fiscal year (ends on March 31, 2016).

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Fujitsu: Integrate data into LED light sources and use mobile phones to obtain object information through light

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