LI-FI: A NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT TRANSFERS DATA 100 TIMES FASTER THAN WIFI

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The next big thing in wireless connectivity could rely on something as fragile as a light bulb. It's a technology called Li-Fi.

Li-Fi (Light-Fidelity), also known as Visible Light Communication (VLC) technology is a bidirectional, high speed, and fully
networked wireless communications technology that is similar to Wi-Fi, but much faster. In fact, Li-Fi is now said to be a likely successor to Wi-Fi.

The term Li-fi was coined and introduced by a physicist and professor at the University of Edinburgh, Harald Haas, at the TED conference in Edinburgh back in 2011, and since then a lot of development which is spearheaded by PureLifi,a company founded by Haas, has gone into the technology.

How does Li-Fi work?
This technology uses light emitting diodes(LEDs) for data transmission. Now, think of all the several LEDs flashing together from a point on the wall or ceiling in your home or office,building a huge data to transmit. The transmission can be at the rate of 1GB/s with a lot of improvement envisioned since in theory the speed could get to 224GB/s.

A company by the name of Velmenni has produced a lightbulb that works with Li-Fi technology on a small scale. They are not the first to prove that the technology works but are the first to carry out a real-world test. Their demonstration have shown data transfer speed of around 100-times faster than the average Wi-Fi data speed.

Also check out the video below courtesy of CNET.

                 

Li-Fi is also very efficient. The same bulb that provides light in your home/offices can be used as data transmitter at no extra energy costs. You do not even have to keep the bulbs on, as it can be reduced to a point where it appears to be off  and yet transmit data.

There is no doubt about the availability of Li-Fi because everywhere you see a light bulb you are seeing a potential source for a very high-speed data transmission.

Downside of Li-fi

Just like every other thing in the universe Li-Fi has limitations also. For instance, light cannot pass through walls, so it's only those who are in the same room the light source is located that can enjoy the service, although this may also serve as access restrictions which is an advantage.

Li-Fi's biggest drawback is inability to provide uninterrupted Internet outdoor since sunlight can interfer with its signal.