Free-space optical communication
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Free-space optical communication (FSO) is an optical communication technology that uses light propagating in free space to wirelessly transmit data for telecommunications or computer networking. "Free space" means air, outer space, vacuum, or something similar. This contrasts with using solids such as optical fiber cable.
An 8-beam free-space optics laser link, rated for 1 Gbit/s. The receptor is the large lens in the middle, the transmitters the smaller ones. At the top right corner is a monocular for assisting the alignment of the two heads.
A photophone receiver and headset, one half of Bell and Tainter's optical telecommunication system of 1880
WW I German Blinkgerät
DARPA ORCA official concept art created c. 2008
Optical communication
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Optical communication, also known as optical telecommunication, is communication at a distance using light to carry information. It can be performed visually or by using electronic devices. The earliest basic forms of optical communication date back several millennia, while the earliest electrical device created to do so was the photophone, invented in 1880.
A naval signal lamp, a form of optical communication that uses shutters and is typically employed with Morse code (2002)
A replica of a Chappe telegraph tower (18th century)
An air traffic controller holding a signal light gun that can be used to direct aircraft experiencing a radio failure (2007).