What if you could leave those clunky routers behind and distribute Wi-Fi connectivity throughout the building using your existing lighting system? A team of researchers at the Universiti Teknologi MARA in Malaysia has developed an antenna that can do it affordably.
Created by enclosing ionized argon and mercury gas in a common fluorescent tube, the device becomes functional when the lighting element is turned on, changing the gasses to a plasma. A coupling sleeve is used to store the electrical charge, making the resulting plasma column highly conductive and useful as a smart antenna for 3G/3.75G/4G Wi-Fi to be transmitted and received.
The tube is powered by a 240 V current from any AC power supply and provides a stronger, more stable signal than other antennas. It can also transmit Wi-Fi signals into other rooms using only one router with a splitter cable. By combining the functionalities of lighting and wireless access, the device can save costs by eliminating the need for additional antennas and can reduce the amount of building space occupied by IT equipment.
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