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Very Low-Cost Sensing and Communication Using Bidirectional LEDs

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UbiComp 2003: Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp 2003)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 2864))

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Abstract

A novel microprocessor interface circuit is described which can alternately emit and detect light using only an LED, two digital I/O pins and a single current limiting resistor. This technique is first applied to create a smart illumination system that uses a single LED as both light source and sensor. We then present several devices that use an LED as a generic wireless serial data port. An important implication of this work is that every LED connected to a microprocessor can be thought of as a wireless two-way communication port. We present this technology as a solution to the “last centimeter problem”, because it permits disparate devices to communicate with each other simply and cheaply with minimal design modification.

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© 2003 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Dietz, P., Yerazunis, W., Leigh, D. (2003). Very Low-Cost Sensing and Communication Using Bidirectional LEDs. In: Dey, A.K., Schmidt, A., McCarthy, J.F. (eds) UbiComp 2003: Ubiquitous Computing. UbiComp 2003. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 2864. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-39653-6_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-39653-6_14

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-20301-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-39653-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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