What if every light bulb in the world could also transmit data?
Yes it is possible with Li-Fi.
What is Li-Fi?
Li-Fi(Light Fidelity) is a light base Wi-Fi that uses the light instead of radio waves to transmit information. Li-Fi is bidirectional, high speed and fully networked wireless communication technology similar to Wi-Fi. It is so far measured to be about 100 times faster than Wi-Fi, reaching speeds of 224 gigabits per second.
How does Li-Fi Work?
Li-Fi mainly consists of two parts that is transmitter and receiver.
Transmitter part modulates the input signal with the required time period and transmits the data in the form of 0’s and 1’s using led bulbs.
These 0’s and 1’s are flashes of light bulb.
The receiver part catches these flashes using photodiode and amplifies the signal and presents the output.
As shown in the diagram the transmitter part consists of the input, timer circuit,LED bulb.
The input can be any type of data that you wish to transmit, for example voice, text etc. The timer circuit is used to provide the required time intervals between each bit. These bits i.e. 1’s and 0’s are transmitted in the form of flashes of the LED bulb
The receiver consists of the photodiode and amplifier.
The flashes of the bulb are received by the photodiode. The photodiode then converts the light energy into electrical signals. Next these electrical signals are amplified and the output is presented.
Block Diagram of Li-Fi system
Li-Fi Products:
1) Li-Fi 1 st – first Li-Fi product
2) Li-Fi Flame Desktop unit
3) Li-Fi Flame ceiling unit
Comparison of Li-Fi with Wi-Fi:
Advantages of Li-Fi:
Speed:
Li-Fi has high speed .You can download and watch the videos in no time.
Security:
Li-Fi light does not pass through the walls hence it is more secured. It cannot be hacked.
Harmless:
Li-Fi uses light rays these rays are harmless.
Reliable:
The data transfer is much more secured.
Limitations and challenges of Li-Fi:
-Light cannot pass through the objects.
-High installation cost.
-Interferences from external sources like sun ,lights, normal bulbs, opaque materials .
-Major challenge faced by Li-Fi is that how the receiving data will be transmit back to transmitter.
Applications of Li-Fi:
Although Li-Fi is under development ,there are some area wherein it will be perfectly applicable are:
-In the places where radio frequencies cannot be used such as petrochemical plants.
-Airlines
-Street lights as free access points
-In Hospitals
-On ocean beds
Reference links:
1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li-Fi
2] https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=video&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjEn63KjObMAhWmJaYKHVlVAmIQtwIIITAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fsciencetech%2Farticle-3460711%2FForget-Wi-Fi-ready-Li-Fi-Ultrafast-new-technology-100-times-faster-current-systems-using-LIGHTS.html&usg=AFQjCNEjYDKe5t5vNo0NRARkiMC0eoEluQ