Li-Fi i.e. Light Fidelity is a revolutionary wireless optical networking technology. It uses light-emitting diodes for data transmission. The LED light bulbs that have a chip that modulates light imperceptibly for optical data transmission. Data is transmitted by LED bulbs which is then received by photoreceptors. It is much more efficient & secure than typical wireless technologies.

The term LI-Fi was coined by Harald Hass, a professor from University Of Edinburgh during a TED talk in 2011. The primary difference between Wi-Fi and Li-Fi is that the former runs on radio waves whereas the latter uses light waves.

How Does It Work?

The intensity of light is modulated either by dimming it, turning it on and off at a very high speed to transmit data over Li-Fi. These changes are generally imperceptible to the human eye.

An LED with signal processing technology is fitted over an overhead lamp. The data which is embedded in its beam is streamed to the photo detector. The data is demodulated in electronic form by a dongle at the receiver’s node. It is then converted back into a data stream and transmitted to a computer or mobile device. 

Li-Fi is 100 times faster than normal wireless technologies with a speed of 224 gigabytes per second under lab conditions.

Benefits Of Li-Fi

• Due to high speed, the data transfer rate for internet application is high.
• As light cannot pass through the walls & opaque surfaces, sending data through Li-Fi signal is highly secure. This is because Li-Fi internet is available to users within a room which thus prevents its unwanted access.
• It is highly efficient technology which consumes very less energy.
• Li-Fi devices consume very little power.
• Completely safe & has no health concerns associated with it as it operates on optical bands.
• Helps in avoiding neighboring network interference.

Applications Of Li-Fi

• Military – Li-Fi is highly secure even though it is confined to a small range which makes it ideal for military use in remote areas. It is does not require much physical infrastructure because all it needs is light.
• Underwater Communications – Radio waves cannot travel through water whereas light can. So it can be used by underwater vehicles & divers to communicate with each other under water.
• Augmented Reality – It is generally used in museums & galleries. Through this people can download or view information regarding the object being viewed from the light on their phone or camera.
• Safety Environment – Li-Fi can be extremely helpful to transfer data in explosion hazard environments where other electrical equipment’s are restricted.
• Intelligent Transportation Systems – LED lights are widely being used in car headlights these days. It is being used in traffic lights and also to develop anti-collision systems. It enables your car system to get real time information from the network.

So, the technology is based on visible light communication. With speed as much as 100 times faster in testing than other wireless technologies, it is a perfect fit for data requirements of future.

For more information, contact Centex Technologies at (972) 375 - 9654.