[Curiosities] light talks

[Draeno]

 

This strange device works with light. This is the so-called Infraphone, an intercom system that was authorized by the United States Federal Post Office without the need for a license for use in industry, on construction sites, and inland navigation. The image shows a man and a woman holding two of the new gadgets facing each other.

The peculiarity of the infraphone, invented by Douglas Reddan around 1960, is that it used infrared light to allow people to communicate wirelessly over distances of several hundred meters. For it to work, you had to point between two of these devices simultaneously, which was achieved by looking through a peephole on the top of the device. You could then speak to the device, just as if you were using a phone or a Walkie-Talkie.

 

https://www.nationalgeographic.com.es/fotografia/foto-del-dia/infrafono-alternativa-fallida-telefono_19746