Infrared Data Association

thumb|An IrDA data transfer in action between two laptops (transmitter on the right, receiver on the left), captured using an Thermography|infrared camera IrDA is a wireless standard designed for data transmission using infrared (IR). Infrared ports for this purpose have been implemented in portable electronic devices such as mobile telephones, laptops, cameras, printers, and medical devices. The main characteristics of this kind of wireless optical communication are short-range, physically secure and bidirectional data transfer, at serial cable speeds, with a line-of-sight using point-and-shoot principles. IrDA has been made dormant by newer improved technologies like Bluetooth.

==History== {| class="wikitable floatright mw-datatable" |+IrDA-Data versions (up to 1.4) ! rowspan="2" | ! colspan="2" |Communication distance |- ! (20 cm low power option) ! |- |SIR (Serial/Slow/Standard IR): 115 kbit/s |IrDA 1.2 |IrDA 1.0 |- |MIR (Medium Speed IR): 1 Mbit/s | rowspan="2" |IrDA 1.3 | rowspan="2" |IrDA 1.1 |- |FIR (Fast IR): 4 Mbit/s |- |VFIR (Very Fast IR): 16 Mbit/s | - |IrDA 1.4 |} The protocols and specifications of the standard were developed by the Infrared Data Association (abbreviated IrDA, giving the name to the standard itself), an industry-driven interest group that was founded in 1993 by around 50 companies. Before IrDA, a number of proprietary standards existed for data exchange using infrared beams but the new association aimed to create an industry standard. The IrDA specifications were published in June 1994. In November 1995, Microsoft announced that it will support in Windows 95. The majority of PCs shipped in 1996 included an infrared port to utilize IrDA connectivity and the same year the first digital camera (Sony's DSC-F1) was released for infrared connectivity with a PC or printer.