Patent ID: 7015458

Claim:
A fiber optic control system comprising: an illumination source for producing a light beam; a plurality of optical fibers, each fiber arranged to receive a respective portion of the light beam at a coupling end and to conduct the respective portion of the light beam to an illumination end; a planar light switch comprising a plurality of light attenuating pixels, the light switch positioned between the illumination source and the optical fiber coupling ends, each of the pixels being electronically controllable for selectively coupling portions of the light beam to respective coupling ends of the optical fibers; and a plurality of optically operated devices for converting received optical signals to corresponding electrical signals, each optically operated device optically coupled to the respective illumination end of the optical fiber and responsive to the respective portion of the light beam radiated from the respective illumination end for providing an electrical control signal corresponding to the respective portion of the light beam received by the optically operated device for controlling a remotely located device in communication with the optically operated device.