Background
Li-Fi is similar to Wifi in that it is a high speed, wireless communication technology. However, it differs from Wifi because it uses light from light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to deliver the network connection, whereas Wifi uses radio waves. This is a form of visible light communication. Li-Fi uses light from LEDs by switching the current to the light on and off at a rate that is too fast to be detected by the human eye, and the signals are picked up by a photo detector and then it is processed. The use of visible light communication to transmit information has actually been around since the 1880’s, but the term “Li-Fi” was created by Harald Haas during a TED Talk in 2011. Haas is the Chairman of Mobile Communications at the University of Edinburgh and is the cofounder of pureLIFI, which is the company that released the first commercially available Li-Fi system.
Pros and Cons
Li-Fi has many beneficial characteristics. For example, Li-Fi can actually be much faster and has a much higher capacity than Wifi. This is because the visible light spectrum that Li-Fi uses “is 10,000 times larger than the entire radio frequency spectrum” (Li-Fi, 2017). Li-Fi has been used to reach data rates of 224 gigabits per second, and the record setting Wifi speed is “at 100 Gigabits per second” (Limer, 2013). Another positive aspect is that “Li-Fi is expected to be ten times cheaper than Wi-Fi” (Li-Fi, 2017).
One Li-Fi characteristic that is both a pro and con is that because light waves are unable to travel through walls, Li-Fi is more secure than Wifi in regards to being hacked, however this also means that capable LED lights will need to be installed throughout the area where a connection is desired, meaning there is a high initial cost. Going along with this, the lights must be on in order to provide a connection, so lights would have to be left on at all times when a connection is wanted.
References
Li-Fi. (2017, March 25). Retrieved March 27, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li-Fi
Limer, E. (2013, October 14). The World's Fastest Wi-Fi Makes Google Fiber Look Like Dial-Up. Retrieved March 27, 2017, from http://gizmodo.com/the-worlds-fastest-wi-fi-makes-google-fiber-look-like-d-1444857507
Good work explaining what Li-Fi is and how much faster it is than conventional Wi-Fi. It sounds like Li-Fi would work great in open floor plans where there are no walls separating rooms. Hopefully the process of Li-Fi can be improved so that all buildings can utilize it.
ReplyDeleteSuper interesting presentation. I feel like i've heard of Li-Fi but didn't know what it involved. Using LEDs to transmit the network connection is super cool, and hopefully can be implemented soon because it does seem to be a lot safer in terms of cybersecurity. Plus it's a lot faster which we humans are obsessed with speed. Always love learning something new, so great job.
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