What’s Li-fi?

Li-fi is a way of transmitting data – including the internet – to devices such as smart phones using  LED lighting units pulsating at a high frequency. Li-fi is bi-directional, unlike so-called visual light communication, or VLC, in which information is broadcast in one direction to devices. Examples of the latter are indoor-location services.

Is LiFi a completely new technology?

The principle has been around for decades . Lifi s similar to your remote control that you use for your TV . The TV remote uses invisible infrared light, and, at the other end of the scale, lasers send vast amounts of data down fiber optic cables to provide telecoms and broadband services. The LED lighting units which can be switched on and off instantaneously, has enabled this approach to be expanded onto LED lighting fixtures.

How fast is Li-fi?

LiFi has been factory tested to perform  100 times faster than Wi-fi, which would mean you could download the entire set of Star Wars movies in around one second.

Would I notice a difference in my lighting system equipped with Li-fi?

LiFi lighting units pulsate at extremely high frequencies which is undetectable to the human eye.

How do devices download information using Li-fi?

The components required to deploy this technology are much simpler than Wi-fi or Bluetooth. Option one is to use the forward-facing camera on your LiFi enabled smart phone or laptop. Option 2 is to use a plug-in dongle with built-in photoreceptor which receives the information.

How do devices upload information?

To send and receive data currently devices requires a plug-in dongle which has an integral infra-red transmitter to send information back to the LiFi Lighting unit. Although you tend to receive much more data than you upload, the LiFi Dongle is used to transmit data back. The LiFi dongle also includes a photo-receptor to download information. LiFi is currently gaining more and more traction in the market, so companies such as Apple and Phillips are starting to make smart phone and laptops incorporated with the necessary sensors and software, obviating the need for a separate dongle.

How does data get in to the lighting system?

The LiFi Lighting Units are connected to the internet or network by the use of Cat 5 or Cat 6 cable with Power Over Ethernet to supply power and data for LED Fixtures that are 30 watts and below higher watt units use both POE Cable and your standard 12 gage wire installation.

What are the advantages over Wi-fi?

The amount of data which can be transmitted over Wi-fi is limited; the more users or devices which are trying to communicate, the slower it becomes. Ever tried to connect to wi-fi in a busy exhibition hall or airport departure lounge?

Is Li-fi safe?
In many situations Li-fi is safer than Wi-fi. The radio frequencies used in Wi-fi can interfere with sensitive electronic equipment, for example in medical equipment or hazardous locations found in chemical plants.

What about security?

Light can be made very directional, and obviously can’t travel through walls, so to eavesdrop or hack a system you need to be able to see the light.

Can lights still be dimmed when using Li-fi?

In theory, lights can be dimmed to levels undetectable by the human eye and still perform. However, range or network speed may be compromised. The minimum light level for Li-fi to work is around 60 lux.

What are the applications?
These are the sectors where it gets really exciting:

A) Hospital / Health Care LiFi – LiFi is safe to use in Hospitals and the Health Care Industry due to its use of visible and infrared light this avoids the use potentially harmful radio waves. LiFi’ s use of light beams means it doesn’t interfere with any other electronic devices. ( LiFi transmits at 269 millivolts per meter which is far below the World Health Organizations minimum standards of allowable electrical magnetic waves) This allows Doctors to be mobile with their computers to access their patients files.

B) Museum/ Convention Center LiFi – With the use of Geo LiFi with Analytics technology this will act as your in door GPS system leading you to the exhibits that interest you the most. Lifi can also let you know how crowded the exhibit is through the use of heat maps . This way you can move on to your next exhibit and come back when the area is not as crowded.

C) Display Advertising LiFi – If you see an advertisement that interests you, simply place your mobile phone in front of the display advertisement and receive instant information on that product along with coupons and information about related products.

D) Parking Garage LiFi – Never Drive around aimlessly looking for a parking spot or looking for your vehicle again. By using Geo LiFi you will be directed through LiFi where there is an available parking spot, and then back to your car.

E) Retail LiFi – By using the Geo LiFi along with Analytics technology you are able to make your customer’s experience much more enhanced. Not only will it lead them directly to product they wish to purchase via LiFi connected directly to their Mobil phone the lifi will also stream coupons and advertisements for related items … Using that combines with the Analytics program you will know exactly which areas get the most traffic and the most time spent in them to strategize product location.

F) Data Security LiFi – Cyber Attacks and Hacking are now a thing of the past thanks to LiFi Lighting. LiFi is trusted by banks , hospitals, and government agencies. They use Data Security LiFi as their primary source of communication and data transmission. Data Security LiFi is the most secure way to transfer critical data. The only way to hack into LiFi is to have the hacker in the same room with you. Since LiFi uses light to transfer data and light does not go through walls you don’t have to worry about your data leaving the room or that our data may be intercepted by a Third Party requesting a ransom.

G) Office LiFi – In the average office with a Wi-Fi system having a standard 100 Mbps Router if 15 employee’s are using the internet speed can go down to 4 Mbps slowing down production in areas like large document down loads, presentations ,and video conferencing , This ultimately cuts into your profit. With LiFi Lighting this is no longer an issue as all computers will run at well over 50Mbps due to use of bidirectional light waves to transfer internet data.

H) Home LiFi – If you are a Gamer easily defeat your online competition by having faster data transfer times . If you like to down load movies down load as many as 5 movies in a mater of seconds.

I) Airplane / Water Craft / Vehicle LiFi – LiFi has a abundant amount of applications for Airplanes , Water Crafts , and Automobiles. With Airlines now delivering movies, games, and other content to passenger screens, which typically use large amounts of wiring. Not only is the initial installation of such wiring expensive, it also adds weight to aircraft, which has impacted fuel economy and flight range for years. LiFi Lighting can address this by reducing the planes overall weight while providing faster transmission speeds, less wiring and equipment, and also improve safety by avoiding the use of potentially disruptive RF interference on critical aircraft control systems.
LiFi Lighting utilizes Visible Light Communications to connect vehicles to vehicle communication. Which in being used by large corporations to automate vehicles. In addition to providing connectivity between vehicles , LiFi can be deployed within vehicles to eliminate wiring, which reduces manufacturing costs and reduces the weight of a vehicle, thus reducing fuel consumption of gasoline and diesel vehicles, and increasing range .Which makes LiFi great for the environment.

J) Machine to Machine LiFi -LiFi is ideal for many applications requiring devices to communicate with each other, such as in manufacturing facilities. Factories with robots or mobile, Automatic Guided Carts (AGC), can use LiFi devices to communicate reliably and without radio frequency/spectrum congestion, or interference.
LiFi Lighting’s Communications technology can be deployed in environments in which the location of equipment is essential to the communication required and timing (e.g., motion control and industrial automation). LiFi Lighting can customize solutions for your Machine to Machine LiFi communications.