Li-Fi Could And Should Be Tomorrow’s Technology

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Current technologies, advanced as they might be, are strained under the demand for Wi-Fi and transmissions of mass quantities of data.

With the predicted growth of mobile devices, by 2019 more than ten billion mobile devices will exchange 35 quintillion bytes of information each month. Add to that the traditional computers, big data servers, and Internet of Things devices, and the strain becomes even more of an issue.

Fortunately, scientists have now discovered a method of data transmission more than 100 times faster than traditional Wi-Fi, and it only requires that you turn on a light.

Li-Fi is a category of Visible Light Communication; a LED light flickers at speeds undetectable to the naked eye to transmit data – somewhat like a fast morse code that uses light. In fact, scientists have demonstrated in a lab that they can transmit information at as much as 224 gigabits per second, the equivalent of 18 movies of 1.5 GB each being downloaded every single second. In an office setting, they were able to achieve speeds up to 100 times faster than average WiFi speeds.

The LED lights require very little energy, and can be powered by a standard ethernet cord. Inventor Harald Haas has also suggested that the smart lights could be powered by solar cells charging batteries. In addition, Li-Fi does not create electromagnetic interference the way Wi-Fi does, meaning it could have important applications in sensitive locations.

This advancement is not without its drawbacks, however. In very bright daylight, the receivers wouldn’t be able to distinguish the signal. Another problem is that the Li-Fi signal cannot pass through walls.  These limitations could be overcome, however, with new technologies and further research.

With the right approach to resolving some matters which are fairly insignificant when faced with the big picture of having a platform that can support today’s huge amounts of data.