Li-fi technology, history of lifi, how lifi technology works, difference between lifi and wifi, advantages and disadvantages of lifi
LI-FI TECHNOLOGY - IS THE FUTURE OF WIRELESS NETWORKS?
Li-Fi has been a buzzword for a few years now. What is Li-Fi technology? We all know Wi-Fi is a wireless technology that uses radio signals for data transmissions. Light-Fidelity (Li-Fi) is a bi-directional, high-speed, and fully networked wireless communication technology like Wi-Fi. The Li-fi uses LED bulbs for data transmission and is received by a photoreceptor which in terms was coined by Harald Haas. So who doesn’t like LEDs? They are bright, colorful, and elegant. Li-Fi is designed to use LED light bulbs for data transmission.
The History of Li-Fi
Li-Fi was invented by Professor Harald Haas from the University of Edinburgh, UK. He has widely been recognized as a founder of li-fi which is a pureLiFi. He started a company to market li-fi technology in 2011. In 2011 he started to build and create an industry of groups from the li-fi constitution which is to promote the high-speed optical wireless system.
How Li-Fi technology works in the real world?
Li-fi technology has been tested in office and industrial environments in Tallinn, Estonia. Li-fi is new wireless that can hit a speed of 224 gigabits per second in the lab. It has the potential to revolutionize the internet's usage. Li-fi uses visible LED light between 400 to 800 terahertz and transmits data in binary code.
These are the situations that we can see on how li-fi works. So li-fi is being started by turning on the LED light. If the LED is on, it will transmit a digital one meanwhile if we turn it off it will transmit at zero.
This diagram shows how li-fi
works. Li-Fi
is Visible Light Communications (VLC) system. The data from the internet which is the cloud and
the local network server (LAN server) are used to modulate the intensity of the
LED light source after a user turns on the LED light. Next, the cloud
and the LAN server being modulate the intensity of led light will go to the
photo-detector. The detector will receive the signal which is converted back
into a data stream to the client. After it is received, modulate the intensity
from the LED light source the photo-detector will receive the signal, and then
the client can communicate through its led output or over the existing network
which is from each receiver from their devices. Unlike Wi-Fi which uses radio waves,
Li-Fi runs on visible light. In whatever form the signal is receiving it has to
convert ones and zeros and devices understand all the data in ones and zeros. The most important component is LED. In the
case of the LED, the bulb on is up, and off is down. So the LED bulbs will be up and
down at extremely high-speed without being visible to the human eye.
What are the differences between Wi-Fi and Li-Fi?
There are six terms
stated here: Operations, Device Compliance, data transfer speed, frequency,
coverage, and the components.
Operations
Wi-Fi - It transmits
data using radio waves using a router or a modem and also the access point.
Li-Fi - It transmits data
using light signals using led bulbs.
Devices Compliance
Wi-Fi - The devices that
can use Wi-Fi are devices that can have this standard which is WLAN (Wireless Local
Area Network) 802.11.
Li-Fi - The infrared
data associations IrDA compliant device which uses communication that is inexpensive
but secure and fast.
Data Transfer
Wi-Fi – The transfer
speed range is from 150 megabit seconds to 200 gigabits per second.
Li-Fi - the transfer speed
is about one gigabit per second.
Frequency
Wi-Fi - The frequencies
that can be supported is from 2.4 gigahertzes to 5 gigahertzes.
Li-Fi - The frequency that can be supported is 10,000 times the radio frequency spectrum and for the coverage terms.
Coverage
Wi-Fi - Coverage area is
up to 32 meters.
Li-Fi - Coverage area is
about 10 meters.
Component
Wi-Fi - The component
that is needed to connect to Wi-Fi is a router modem and also an access point.
Li-Fi - The component needed is a led bulb, led driver, and also a photodetector.
Applications of Li-Fi Technology
Few applications use li-fi technology as their network capability. The airline, undersea explorations, dense urban environment, cellular communication, augmented reality, virtual reality, industrial automation, hospital, military, retail, car-to-car communications, intelligence transporting system, indoor navigation, and security.
Advantages of Li-fi Technology
· Transmission speed - The li-fi would be much
higher than the Wi-Fi transmission. It will be transferred into a range of 10 Gbps to
20 Gigabit per second and even more because there is some test using li-fi
energy that reached 224 gigabits per second.
· It can be able to use in certain sensitive places to radio-frequency or light frequency such as an airplane or a
hospital without causing any interference.
· Li-fi is 10,000 times greater than Wi-Fi. The
frequency that can be used is greater than a Wi-Fi frequency.
· Li-Fi photo energy continues to operate in a non-visible
way.
· The li-fi technology is cheap to implement and
the maintenance costs are even cheaper than Wi-Fi.
· It provides li-fi energy provides privacy and security that Wi-Fi cannot.
Disadvantages of Li-fi Technology
· The range limitation - the lightweight are not
able to pass a wall. But this problem can be defeated by a sensor in addition a
direct line of sight is not necessary. The light can be reflected on the walls although
through this route the transmission speed will drop significantly.
· It does not availably for a long-range i.e. the
light beams do not have a long-range which is either about 5 to 10 meters. As
in this case of overcoming these obstacles, the sensor could help increase the distances.
· The high installation cost of the VLC system.
Wrap Up
Numerous possibilities can be investigated further using li-fi technology. Therefore, if this technology is put into practice, every light bulb can be used as a Wi-Fi hotspot that can help to transmit wireless data and we will be on our way to a cleaner, greener, securer, and brighter future.
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