The good folks at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, N.Y, are doing some amazing things with light emitting diodes (LEDs). Since LEDs can flash faster than humans can discern, they may provide a wide range of future uses, such as:
-brake lights that tell a closely following car to stop, even if the driver doesn't notice.
-headlights that tell a red stop light to turn green, if it's safe.
-road signs that communicate warnings to specific cars.
-room lights that link your computer to the Internet, avoiding Wi-Fi signals that can be pirated.
-room lights that transmit messages to devices worn by only certain people, like particular doctors or nurses in a hospital, rather than speakers that spew announcements for everybody to hear.
While there are other technologies, like fiber optic cable, that already can perform many of these functions, light emitting diodes are a much cheaper alternative.
Click here for more information about the LED research taking place at RPI.
Light bulbs
