Google develops chip to provide Internet through light

Imagine a future where high-speed Internet access is transmitted via beams of light. That's the goal of the secretive Google X lab with a project codenamed Taara.

In a blog post, Mahesh Krishnaswamy, Taara's director, said the chip has been in testing for seven years and can now transmit internet at speeds comparable to fiber optics, but their ambition is for the chip to transmit data at the speed of light.

The Taara chip helps provide Internet access to areas where it is too expensive or geographically difficult to deploy traditional connections.

Google says the first-generation Taara moved light through a system of mirrors, sensors, and hardware, while the latest generation uses software to control, track, and calibrate the light beam, eliminating the need for bulky moving parts. This reduces the complexity and cost of manufacturing the chip.

Additionally, the Taara Lightbridge's main function is to shrink from the size of a traffic light to the size of a fingernail - a major breakthrough that helps bring the product from concept to reality.

Each chip has hundreds of light sources, and software is used to control the direction of the light to ensure it goes where it needs to go and works correctly. When two beams of light lock onto each other, they create a secure link for data transmission.

“In tests at our Moonshot Factory lab, we successfully transmitted data at 10 Gbps over a distance of one kilometer outdoors using two Taara chips. We believe this is the first time silicon photonic chips have transmitted such high data capacity outdoors at this distance. And this is just the beginning. We plan to expand both the range and capacity of the chip by creating a version with thousands of transmitters,” said Krishnaswamy.

According to PhoneArena, one of the reasons Taara is so anticipated is that it only takes a few hours to install the system, instead of days, months, or even years to install fiber optic cables. Google also believes that using light to transmit data will save on the cost of connecting the Internet to remote areas with difficult terrain. This technology can also be applied to self-driving cars for faster communication.

“Taara's potential is as limitless as light itself,” says Krishnaswamy.

Google says the Taara chip will be available in 2026, and the company is inviting researchers to explore new applications for its light transmission technology.