LiFi – Here’s what you must know everything about it

What is LiFi?

First invented by Professor Harold Hass of the university of Edinburgh in 2011, uses visible light pulsed at very high frequency also known as VLC (visual light communication), to send & receive data at extremely high speed. This can be upto multiple times faster than the WiFi.

In lab experiments, this technology was able to transmit upto 100Gbps compared to only 7Gbps for WiFi. This technology is now being implemented in various real world applications.

Does human eye sees any difference in lighting system equipped with LiFi?

Since the lights are pulsed at very high frequencies, many times higher than the current electronic power supplies, it remains invisible to the human eye.

What are the ways to connect to LiFi?

This technology uses simple devices, much simpler than the WiFi to connect. The front camera of your smartphone or tablet is a good example which already have light sensing capabilities to enable functions such as dimming the screen.

What are the benefits of LiFi?

a) Speed

High transmission speeds can be achieved using LiFi due to low interference and high bandwidth of the visible light spectrum compared to RF spectrum which allows optimal users coverage irrespective of the number of users.

b) Security

Since light cannot penetrate the walls, LiFi signals can only be received in the illuminated ares. This provides a very controlled environment elimination the risks of data hacking remotely.

c) Connectivity

LiFi allows users to freely roam between lights and maintain a continuous stream.

d) Safety

The visible light spectrum is totally harmless to humans compared to much debated radio waves which is critical in environments such as hospitals, data centres, R&D labs and secured industrial installations

What are the applications of LiFi?

An exponential growth in the used of LED lighting fixtures provides immense opportunity for LiFi to be used in massive applications in varied environments such as:

a) Offices

LiFi can eliminate couples wiring and networking of computers & telecom in offices, reducing costs of the IT systems. This will make the offices more efficient as well as making data more secure.

b) Healthcare

LiFi does not emit any interference and hence does not interfere with any medical devices such as MRI equipment, OT systems etc. This makes it well suited to be used in medical applications such as hospitals and diagnostic centres.

c) Public Internet

Incorporation of LiFi in public areas such as railway stations, metro stations, airports, malls etc can open new avenues for content consumption and provide new experiences to the commuters and shoppers.

d) Vehicles and transportation

Since the street lights are being converted to LED sources from the conventional lamps and LEDs are being used for roadside signages as well as in car/bike headlamps, LiFi can provide Vehicle to roadside, vehicle to vehicle communication for numerous reasons like road safety, traffic management etc.

Many more applications are being thought of and implemented presently.

Visilink and pureLiFi are the two world leaders in this technology presently and are setting standards as well as technological benchmarks to make the safe, secure and efficient use of light as a medium for communication.