You all know about the concept of Wi-Fi. Most of you are probably connected to a Wi-Fi network while you’re reading this right now. However, some of you might not be familiar with a revolutionary concept in the connectivity industry called Li-Fi.
Without us noticing, the air around us is filled with huge amounts of data. Radio towers, phone masts, computers, mobile phones, and many more spread data daily. We’re at a point now where we are so interconnected, that it becomes extremely difficult to imagine life without all these daily connections. However, as the demand for big data continues to rise, we could one day run out of room to broadcast all our data. This concept is known as the spectrum crunch, which has been talked about since the early 2000s. The reason for this is that the radio spectrum, over which we are transmitting most of our data now, is a finite resource. It only allows a certain number of broadcasts, before it runs out of available frequencies. This is where Li-Fi comes in.
Li-Fi transmits data not through the radio spectrum, but through the visible light spectrum, making use of LED lightbulbs that are fitted with a custom chip. To make this work requires only two key components: a photodiode and a light source. The photodiode is a type of transceiver that receives light signals and in turn transmits them back. The light source transmits data by using light. In many ways Li-Fi is superior to Wi-Fi. Speed tests have reached speeds of over 200 Gbps, which is around 100 times faster when compared to Wi-Fi. Additionally, when it comes to the size of the spectrum, the visible light spectrum is about 10.000 times larger than the radio spectrum.
There are many benefits to the use of Li-Fi over Wi-Fi. The key selling points being the aforementioned speed and size of the spectrum. Additionally, the production of LED lamps is very inexpensive, making it a cheap alternative, as well as a good incentive to adopt the more environmentally friendly LED lights over traditional lamps.
Of course, there are some limitations. Two main disadvantages of Li-Fi are for example the limited range it offers, as well as it being susceptible to light interference. Light can’t travel through walls, while radio signals can, giving Wi-Fi a wider, longer range and thus making that the more preferred option in many public places. Li-Fi signals could also be disrupted when other sources of light, such as sunlight, are present.
Looking back at this very brief overview I am extremely intrigued into this new type of technology. It still has its flaws, but there surely are a lot of potentials to be found as well. What do you think? Will you be connected to the internet through the lamp on our desk in the future? Or do you think Wi-Fi will prevail?
Sources:
https://www.signify.com/global/innovation/trulifi
Interesting White Paper (only available in Dutch):
https://www.lifi.nl/white-paper/
