Buzz
LiFi, also known as 'light-based wireless communications', holds promise in addressing the speed and bandwidth limitations of the current most widespread wireless internet transmission solution, WiFi, which relies on radio waves. IEEE, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, is currently standardizing this technology, with the 802.11bb connectivity standard.
In environments with numerous obstacles, the radio waves of WiFi standards, such as the latest 802.11be, or familiarly known as WiFi 7, remain an ideal solution. However, in unobstructed conditions, light transmitted directly from the LiFi router to light-sensitive antennas on devices can theoretically achieve data transmission speeds of up to 224 GB/s.
Achieving such speeds is made possible by the fact that the visible light spectrum, which the human eye can perceive, is over 1000 times wider than the entire 300 GHz range of radio waves, microwaves, and mmWave currently used for 5G technology. Naturally, the brighter the signal source, the higher the network signal quality.
Due to the nature of light operation, LiFi is now only proposed as a complementary solution to WiFi, rather than a complete replacement. In some cases, such as areas with signal interference or radio restrictions due to security reasons, LED light bulbs emitting LiFi signals could serve as an alternative to the familiar wireless technology.
And because it operates using light transmission, even the light bulb indoors can become an antenna connecting to the access point transmitting internet signals to devices.
Fraunhofer HHI, one of the entities developing the 802.11bb standard, presents potential solutions for LiFi, including “classrooms, hospital operating rooms, or industrial environments.” A significant advantage of LiFi is its lack of limitations imposed by radio frequency bands, instead utilizing light wavelengths.Dominic Schultz, chief engineer of the LiFi development team at Fraunhofer HHI, stated that this solution “ensures connection reliability, reduces latency in transmitting data packets between devices.” Additionally, due to the absence of radio frequency bands, network signals are less susceptible to interference, tampering, or surveillance.At present, there are already products implementing LiFi technology. For instance, a system comprising a wired network access point for transmission and a series of light-sensitive dongles named LiFiMax Flex from France, priced at over 2 thousand USD for the complete set. This product suite is compatible with all operating systems: Windows 7, 8, 10, 11, Linux, Android.
It's worth noting that this product suite only ensures download speeds of 150 Mbps, upload speeds of 140 Mbps, significantly lower compared to the theoretical speed of LiFi. On the other hand, PireLiFi Light Antenna One, a type of component designed for mobile devices, is capable of transmitting data at speeds over 1 Gbps. The potential of LiFi is immense, but the initial products appearing on the market are not faster than current WiFi technologies, and may even lag behind WiFi 7:
In the case of using indoor light bulbs as internet signal antennas, the drawback is that the lights cannot be completely turned off, but the advantage is that the signal remains stable even when the room light conditions reach only 10%, about 60 lux. The rapid wavelength changes during LiFi data transmission are too fast for the human eye to keep track of the bulb's flashing status.
According to ArsTechnica
