We currently do not conceive of internet access without Wifi (Wireless Fidelity), the wireless connection that practically replaced cable networks and is the most widely used in the world. But what if there was another way to connect to the Internet? The technology LiFi, short for ‘Light Fidelity’it could be the new alternative to the current network and they even point it out as its ‘substitute’.
LiFi or ‘Li-Fi’ is a technology created by the German professor and researcher harald haas that seeks to use light as a means of transport for information. That is, it would allow access to the Internet through spotlights or light bulbs.
Haas presented its technology, baptized as Visual Light Communications (VLC)in a chat TED in 2011. After years of testing, LiFi just got its first standard approved by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). With the release of the standard, it is expected to speed up its adoption and deployment significantly in the coming months.
However, the central idea is not exactly new: it is a form of telecommunication that was raised by the scientist Nicholas Tesla more than a century ago. Around 1900, the Serbian inventor tried to create a system for transmitting high-frequency signals without the need for cables.
Said wireless network would be supported by a transmission tower (Tesla Tower) and “would be the basis for developing a new model of remote communications, as well as a method of distributing energy by air for the entire planet”, they explain from Wired.
How does the LiFi connection work?
The objective is not to depend only on radio waves to transmit information wirelessly, and to be able to connect through light. Yes, as poetic, spiritual and technologically disruptive as it sounds.
Taking Tesla’s idea, LiFi uses LED lamps to connect wirelessly to the Internet. It works something like this: Each bulb emits pulses of flickering light and transmits vast amounts of data by altering the frequency of that light. The signals, undetectable to the human eye, reach receptors that can detect photons and convert them back into information.
The main difference between both technologies is that WiFi works through radio frequency for internet connection, while Li-Fi is based on the modulation and intensity of light.
The German researcher is confident that LiFi could become the replacement for WiFi, since it could solve some problems with current connections regarding availability, security, and network saturation.
Among the advantages of the LiFi network, they mention that:
- Signals can be up to 100 times faster than current Wi-Fi or 5G networks. According to the BBC, as it is part of the electromagnetic spectrum, the bandwidth of LiFi could be 10,000 times greater than that of WiFi, which uses radio frequency.
- Greater availability and lower cost, since it can be installed anywhere there is an LED light source and the majority of the population already has electrical infrastructure.
- It promises lower latency and less interference with communications from other devices.
- A small blinking light consumes much less battery than current WiFi or 5G receivers.
- It would resolve clipping in the signal. The spotlights, being installed and illuminating a specific area, will allow the Internet connection to be equally focused and consistent in that same sector.
- Regarding security, since the lamps only illuminate a room and cannot penetrate the walls, neither can Li-Fi. Therefore, your connection will be safe and without third-party leaks.
Wi-Fi replacement? Not so fast…
Although the connection through bulbs promises many advantages and has already obtained its standard of operation, it still has many challenges to solve.
As we mentioned, the first problem is that the signal is interrupted by any physical obstacle, such as a wall or even cloth. On the other hand, no current device adapts to this technologysince it represents a radical change and requires a whole new infrastructure to function.
In addition, the transmitter and the receiver must be a maximum of 4 meters apart in open space, but not outdoors or during the day, because sunlight interferes too much with intermittent light sources, as explained by applesphere. So LiFi could only work indoors and with strategically placed devices.
Although there is still a long way to go before it can be widely implemented, perhaps in the future the Light Fidelity connection can be used as an alternative or complement to WiFi. Your opportunity could be in the Internet of Things (IoT)for example, to interconnect smart home appliances through lights with a more secure network.
Editorial Team The editorial team of EMPRENDEDOR.com, which for more than 27 years has worked to promote entrepreneurship.