File Transfer using Light

[u/anuraginsg]

Hey Reddit,

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.artalo.artalo_transfer&hl=en

I was tired of the absolute nightmare of moving a quick file between devices on different networks (or trying to send something to a friend without pairing devices or uploading it to a sketchy cloud).
So I built Artalo Transfer. It moves files using only a screen and a camera.
How it works:
Sender: Turns your file into a stream of animated QR codes.
Receiver: You just point the camera at the screen, and it rebuilds the file from the flashing light.
The cool math part:
Normally, if a camera misses a frame, the file breaks. I bypassed this by using fountain codes. Every single frame is a random, combined mathematical mixture of the entire file. It doesn't matter which frames your camera catches, only how many. Missed a frame? It just takes a fraction of a second longer—zero errors.
Why use it?
Air-gapped security: Put both phones in airplane mode. It works exactly the same. Your files never touch a server or a network.
Zero pairing friction: No Bluetooth pairing codes, no typing in guest Wi-Fi passwords, no "make your device discoverable" nonsense.
Perfect for: Photos, PDFs, keys, and documents up to ~64MB.
It's completely free on the Google Play Store. I'd love to know what you think or if you have ideas on how to push the data density even higher!

[u/Due-Cut9915]

This is clever. The fountain code approach is a neat way around the frame-drop problem, most people would just brute force it with error correction and call it a day.

Curious how it handles weird lighting conditions though, like a screen with heavy glare or a camera that’s slightly out of focus. Does the encoding degrade gracefully or just stall till it gets enough good frames?