Let’s Understand: The Li-Fi Technology: After the discussion on the current wireless technology being used for exploring & sharing the internet through Wi-Fi, now it’s time for some update with the upcoming technology i.e. Li-Fi. Many of you might not have thought above the Wi-Fi technology till date, however, some of us are already aware of the Modern terminology. In this article, I will try to make you understand about the so called Li-Fi Technology & how it is different from the Wi-Fi Technology in different aspects. So get prepared for another addition of a modular terminology in the small sized but a genius organ commonly called as brain by common people.
Let’s Understand: The Li-Fi Technology:
Li-Fi Technology is about another medium for faster internet sharing & usage but here the whole situation gets changed when compared with the Wi-Fi. Those who have read & understood the earlier post on Wi-Fi Technology The Li-Fi technology uses common household Light emitting diodes (LEDs) as a medium to deliver networked, mobile, high-speed communication in a similar manner to Wi-Fi. Li-Fi & Wi-Fi both are wireless i.e they transmit data electromagnetically & uses similar 802.11 protocols but Li-Fi is a Visible Light Communications system.
Li-Fi: The Terminology:
Light Fidelity or Li-Fi is a bidirectional, high speed & fully networked wireless communication technology which is similar to Wi-Fi. The term Li-Fi was coined by University of Edinburgh, Professor Harald Haas during a TED Talk in 2011. Li-Fi uses Visible Light Communication instead of using Radio frequency waves, which has much wider bandwidth & a subset of optical wireless communications (OWC). It could be a complement to RF Communication or even a replacement in contexts of data broadcasting.
It is a wire & UV-visible light communication or infrared & near ultraviolet instead of radio frequency spectrum i.e. Part of optical wireless communications technology that carries much more information.
Li-Fi: The Working Phenomenon:
As we know the Li-Fi is a VLC system which itself means that it accommodates a photodetector to receive light signals & a signal processing element to convert the data into streamable content. The use of LED light bulb is though done as it is a semiconductor light source which means that the constant current of electricity supplied to a LED can be dipped & dimmed up & down at extremely high speeds, without being visible to the human eye.
These light waves cannot penetrate walls which makes a much shorter range & being more secure from hacking as related to Wi-Fi. Another unique feature of Li-Fi is that direct line of sight is not necessary for this technology to transmit a signal & the light reflected off the walls can achieve 70 Mbps.
Being its base a visible light communication system it can be used in electromagnetically sensitive areas like hospitals, in the aircraft & also in the nuclear power plants without any precautions. As the visible light spectrum being 10,000 times larger than the entire radio frequency spectrum, it has no limitations on the capacity, unlike Wi-Fi.
For a better understanding of the technology let us take an example, If some data is fed into a LED light bulb having signal processing technology, it then sends the data at rapid speeds to the photodetector which is embedded in its beam. The slight changes in the rapid dimming of LED bulbs are then converted by the receiver into an electrical signal, which is then converted back into a binary data stream that is recognized as a web, video & audio applications that are run on the internet enabled devices.
Li-Fi: Wider Application Opportunities:
With huge benefits whether in terms of speeds or its add-on for precaution-less use in electromagnetically sensitive areas, it can be widely used in different sectors for daily human benefits. Let’s take them one by one:
- Use in Hospitals: Nowadays most of the major treatments involve multiple individuals being within a specific periphery and Li-Fi system could be a much better system to transmit communication about the information related to the patients or any type of instant data required for the reference purposes. As Li-Fi provides a higher speed, light waves also have little effect on Medical Instruments & Human bodies without creating any interference with them.
- Use in Vehicles: Road Safety is a very big concern in the current scenario as the current communication system that is being used may not be a proper system for quick responses. The Li-Fi system could be a better channel for communicating with one another during driving on the roads via using Front & back lights for enhanced road safety. The street lamps & traffic signals may also be involved in providing sufficient information related to the road situations very quickly without any hindrance.
- Use for Security Purposes: As the Li-Fi technology uses Visible light communication systems in place of RF signals for data transmission which enables the later one in providing higher & stringent security. As the lights cannot penetrate through the walls & doors, with some prevention on the transparent materials like curtains & windows, the security within a specific location like a living room or any safe room can be stringently constrained.
- Use in Underwater Applications: The Li-Fi tech may also be used for most remotely underwater operated vehicles that use cables to transmit commands. As the length of the cables currently limits the area of communication that these vehicles can detect, the use of Li-Fi will provide greater coverage area as the light wave could travel through water to larger distances it can be useful for the suitable vehicles.
Li-Fi: The Future Of The Tech:
At present, the Li-Fi already have two products in the market i.e Li-Flame Ceiling Unit to connect to a LED light fixture & Li-Flame Desktop Unit which connects to a device via USB, both of wich are aimed at providing light & connectivity in one device. This faster connectivity & data transmission has also an interesting space for businesses too.
Li-Fi, reportedly being tested in Dubai, through a UAE based telecommunications provider. Many more countries are also in the queue to switch over to Li-Fi for a better & faster connectivity across different sectors. A country that will be switching over to Li-Fi will be definitely going to develop far better than the other countries at a rapid rate & the benefits will show up to everyone very soon.
