Researchers from the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) have presented the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, encoded to 5D data storage to UNESCO, at the International Year of Light (IYL) closing ceremony in Mexico.
The gift was presented to Dr Jean-Paul Ngome Abiaga on behalf of the Natural Sciences Sector of UNESCO by Professor Sir David Payne, ORC Director, and Professor John Dudley, President of the European Physical Society and Chairman of the IYL Steering Committee.
Professor Payne explained the motivation behind the presentation:
“UNESCO’s International Year of Light has increased global public and political understanding of the central role of light in enhancing the human experience. We felt the gift document, encoded into a technology that is the epitome of the messaging for the IYL, promoting sustainable development, education and communication is a unique way to enshrine the Declaration.”
The pioneering research into 5D data storage, led by researchers from the ORC, has created a way to store immense quantities of data for millennia, and perhaps virtually forever, using glass nanostructured with ultrashort light pulses.
5D storage technology has the capability of storing up to 360 terabytes of data on a single disc; more than 7,000 times more than today’s 50-gigabyte double-layer Blu-ray capacity.
The technology has the potential to transform the way organisations, such as museums and universities, store and archive their material.
More information can be found on the ORC website.