If you’ve ever used a mobile handheld device, chances are you may have run into a bad WiFi signal. The process of fixing that WiFi has signal has been set down in stone for a millenia: get up, walk around, stand awkwardly in a spot for 20 minutes as you get a faint signal and send a picture of your cat to your friend, go and sit down again while pondering about life. WiFi is one of those pieces of technology that we can’t do without, but we all wish was infinitely more better (batteries are another example).
Enter a new hero: LiFi. There’s a tongue twister to go along with it: so why LiFI? LiFi is a new method of transferring data but unlike WiFi, which uses radio waves, it uses the visible light spectrum. What does this mean? Potentially, shining a flashlight into your friends face might actually boost their WiFi signal, lower their ping and increase their K/D ration in Counter Strike: Global Offensive. Theoretically it can deliver speeds upto a 100 times faster than traditional WiFi, needing only a light source, a photodetector and an existing internet connection. As for the light source, it can be as banal as a normal LED lightbulb.
LiFi entered the testing stage of its career at the offices of Estonian start-up Velmenni, in Tallinn, where Velmenni used a LiFi enabled light bulb to transmit data at speeds of 1 Gbps, though laboratory tests have shown theoretical speeds of 224 Gbps. the LiFi was tested in an office, to allow workers to access the internet and in an industrial space, where it provided a smart lighting solution.
Speaking to the International Business Times, chief executive Deepak Solanki said that the technology could reach consumers “within three to four years”.
One of the big advantages of li-fi is the fact that, unlike wi-fi, it does not interfere with other radio signals, so could be utilised on aircraft and in other places where interference is an issue. While the spectrum for radio waves relatively small, the visible light spectrum is 10,000 times larger, meaning it is unlikely to run out wavelengths any time soon.
But the technology also has its drawbacks;for instance it cannot be deployed outdoors in direct sunlight because that would interfere with its signal. Neither can the technology travel through walls so initial use is likely to be limited to places where it can be used to supplement Wi-Fi networks, such as in congested urban areas or places where Wi-Fi is not safe, such as hospitals.
