Twisted Lasers Beam Data Across Vienna

In an interesting example of wireless data transmission, researchers in Vienna delivered digital data over 2 miles via twisted laser beams.

Using a technique known as “orbital angular momentum” (OAM) the scientists twisted a green laser beam into 16 patterns, successfully delivering data through what they call “turbulent air”. Each of the pulses delivered in the beam correlated to pixels from images which were then put back together and displayed at the other end.

The images were only greyscale and it wasn’t exactly a speedy transmission, but the researchers believe this method of data transmission could prove useful in the future, most notably in sending data many miles into space.

Source: Engadget