Patent ID: 8014681

Claim:
A device, comprising: a housing, wherein at least a portion of the housing is transparent to light; a first light emitter disposed in the housing and configured to, when directed by a first electrical signal comprising a plurality of bits, emit light having a first value of a first characteristic as a first modulated light signal representing at least a first bit of the first electrical signal, wherein the device is configured to conduct the first modulated light signal through at least the portion of the housing that is transparent to light, and wherein the first characteristic is at least one of a first wavelength, a first polarization, and a first intensity; a second light emitter disposed in the housing and configured to, when directed by the first electrical signal, emit light having a second value of the first characteristic as a second modulated light signal representing at least a second bit of the first electrical signal, wherein the device is configured to conduct the second modulated light signal through at least the portion of the housing that is transparent to light; a first light receiver disposed in the housing and configured to receive at least a first portion of the first modulated light signal and at least a second portion of the second modulated light signal from the housing and convert at least the received first and second portions into at least first and second bits, respectively, of a second electrical signal; a first electronic component disposed in the housing and configured to provide the first electrical signal to the first light emitter; and a second electronic component disposed in the housing and configured to receive the second electrical signal from the first light receiver.