By: Jenna Beresheim News Editor
Li-Fi, the bigger and faster brother to Wi-Fi, has recently garnered a lot of public attention despite the fact that it has existed for years.
Light Fidelity, or Li-Fi, is said to be over one hundred times faster than what Wi-Fi is currently capable of in terms of transmitting data to devices.
The difference is in how the data is accessed – through light bulbs.
The concept is a visual form of Morse code, where visible light communication transmits messages through binary code using household light bulbs.
Harold Haas, German physicist and professor at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, is the creator of this concept, and has been working for years to test the idea in labs.
But now testing has begun to move into French hospitals and other high-traffic public areas for a true test of its capabilities.
In his TEDGlobal presentation in 2011, Haas said, “The way we transmit wireless data is by using electromagnetic waves, in particular, radio waves. And radio waves are limited, they are scarce, they are expensive, and we only have a certain range of it.”
Haas later founded pureLifi, a company focused on nurturing his invention to full market readiness.
The company’s vision statement as reported by Inc.com reads, “To be the world leader in Visible Light Communications technology enabling ubiquitous, high-speed, secure data networks wherever there is illumination.”
Currently, Li-Fi boasts features such as efficiency through use of light bulbs rather than other delivery methods like routers, ability to place sources everywhere, and security.
The last of these three means that light, which cannot travel through walls, allows transferred data to be much more secure from potential hackers.
There are also a few fundamental drawbacks which keep Li-Fi from being available for general use quite yet.
Once outdoors, Li-Fi is unavailable. Haas hopes to link outdoor lights, such as street lamps and traffic signals, to Li-Fi sometime in the future.
This movement towards Li-Fi would also increase light pollution, as lights would have to be on to be able to use the product, inconveniencing users if they do not wish to have lights on at all, or not turned on enough to stream Li-Fi.
These limitations mean that Haas’ product would do well in highly populated or trafficked areas and buildings, such as hospitals, airplane cabins, and offices.
At the moment, there is no move to usurp the big brother Wi-Fi, but rather to work in tandem with Li-Fi.
Many companies are already looking into retrofitting their products to be compatible for both means of data usage.
For a full breakdown of Haas’ invention, his 13 minute presentation at TEDGlobal can be found here: http://bit.ly/1bJ1yJ2
