How to use light to transfer data?
Li-Fi Technology explained...
Changes call for innovation, and innovation leads to progress. - Li Keqiang
Greetings, fellow Bohron!
Li-Fi or light fidelity, invented by German professor Harald Haas, is a wireless technology that makes use of visible light instead of radio waves to transmit data at terabits per second speeds - more than 100 times the speed of Wi-Fi.
Physics of Li-Fi
Li-Fi is a visible light communication(VLC) system. This means that it accommodates a photodetector to receive light signals and a signal processing element to convert the data into streamable content. It runs on visible light.
The data is fed into an LED light bulb with signal processing technology. It then sends data(embedded in its beam) at rapid speeds to the photodetector. The tiny changes in rapid dimming of LED bulbs are then converted by the receiver into electrical signals. The signal is then converted back into a binary data stream that the user would recognise as a web, video and audio application that run on internet-enabled devices.
Advantages
This technology has a variety of advantages. It could make a huge impact on the internet of things, with data transfer at much higher levels with even more devices able to connect to one another.
It helps to overcome the challenges of Wi-Fi by providing heavy data communication in short ranges, Because of the shorter range, Li-Fi is more secure than Wi-Fi.
Since it does not pollute, it can be called green technology for the device to device communication in the internet of things(IoT).
Li-Fi systems consume less power.
Due to security reasons, Li-Fi wins over Wi-Fi as it can not pass through opaque objects so data stays inside the room and can’t be used by other outside sources.
It can be used in almost all places where wi-fi connectivity is not possible.
It is cheaper to implement.
Applications
Li-Fi can be used in home automation using IOT works on Li-Fi and IOT and is connected with the user’s phone through Bluetooth connectivity.
It can be used in a smart irrigation system to control soil moisture and uses a DC pump to regulate water supply.
It can be used in robotics where coordination is required to complete a particular task.
It can also be used in smart buildings in energy conservation. The system will collect data on users and turn the light on/off in a room accordingly.
Future Applications
Various potential applications are:
Li-Fi can be used in street and traffic lights. Traffic lights can communicate to vehicles and with each other. Through the use of Li-Fi, traffic control can be made intelligent and real-time adaptable.
It can also be used in aircraft, where most of the control communication is through radio waves.
Li-Fi can also easily work underwater, where Wi-Fi fails completely, thereby throwing open endless opportunities.
Li-Fi can be used in automated street lights which will result in no more wastage of electricity. When the sublight gets dimmer, it will switch on and when the sun shines, the lights will go off.
Limitations
The visual light can not pass through opaque objects and needs a line of light for communication, its range will remain very restricted to start with.
Li-Fi requires that the light bulb is ‘ON’ at all times to provide connectivity, meaning that the lights will need to be ‘ON’ during the day.
Li-Fi may get obstructed by other external light sources such as sunlight and bulbs and hence may cause interruptions in communication.
Also, initially, there will be a high installation cost of the visual light communication system.
Challenges
There are various challenges associated with the technology.
The main challenge is to create a Li-Fi ecosystem, which will require the conversion of existing smartphones into Li-Fi enabled devices by using a connector/adaptor.
An integrated chip that has both lights to electrical conversion and data processing capability (Wi-Fi/Bluetooth) combined into one needs to be developed and manufactured in the millions.
The future of Li-Fi will undoubtedly transform the world of internet connectivity, but it seems unlikely that its rise would necessarily mean the death of Wi-Fi since Wi-Fi is deeply embedded in the lifestyle of billions of people. In future, we will have more technologies at our disposal and we’ll be free to choose the appropriate one. Nevertheless, this breakthrough technology has the potential to create a ‘New World’ i.e. a smarter and a more intelligent one.
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super
Excellent tech and well-written post.