WHEN PHOTONS PROVIDE INTERNET!!
LiFi Technology!
Light Fidelity, abbreviated as LiFi is the future of information super-highway, commonly known as the internet. Wi-Fi came out for people in 1997, since then till now we are very familiar with Wi-Fi. Charles Darwin quotes “Evolution is the key to success”. And when we are a part of an era where ‘Data’ is the supreme power, then evolution in the process of data transmission is a must. The need for evolution in data transmission was first noticed by Harald Haas, who introduced the term LiFi during a TEDGlobal Talk in 2011. He proposed the use of LED lights as a way to provide high-speed data transmission. His aim was to provide internet access to people all around the globe who live in areas that cannot support data transmission with its existing infrastructure.
Technically, LiFi is a high-speed wireless communication system that utilizes light to transmit data at high speed over the visible light spectrum. Instead of using fibre-optic cables for data transmission, LiFi aims to use overhead lighting as a medium of transport. In order to transmit data with the help of light, LiFi uses Visible Light Communications (VLC) system.
VLC works on two pillars:
I. A device containing a photodiode
II. A light source equipped with a signal processing unit
Working of LiFi:
In a Visible Light Communications (VLC) system, Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs are the most efficient source of light. The current applied to the light source is varied slowly. The optical output is modulated at extremely high speeds, which makes it detectable by the photodiode. The photodiode converts it back into an electric current. Once these signals are received and demodulated, they can now be converted into a stream of binary data that contains video, image, audio, etc. which are readily consumable on any internet-enabled device.
LiFi over Wi-Fi:
· Data transmission speed:
Wi-Fi uses radio waves for the transmission of data which comes under the RF spectrum with a frequency of about 300 GHz. The data transmission speed for Wi-Fi limits to a maximum of 100 Mbps. In the case of LiFi, tests have revealed that it produces a speed of over 100 Gbps. This difference in speed of data transmission is due to the fact that LiFi uses the Visible Light spectrum which is 1000 times larger than the RF spectrum.
· Energy efficiency:
For Wi-Fi, the transmission of data requires two radios in order to transmit radio waves. The radios continuously communicate with each other during the transmission of data which takes up a lot of energy. Whereas, LiFi uses just a source of light in order to transfer data, where the amount of energy consumed is very low.
· Coverage:
As Wi-Fi uses radio waves, it covers a wide range up to 32 meters. This is possible because radio waves can penetrate through the walls. In the case of LiFi, visible light cannot penetrate through the walls, thus its coverage is limited.
· Security:
As Wi-Fi covers a wide range of up to 32 meters and can also penetrate through walls, it can be said that data breach is easily possible. In the case of LiFi, as the coverage is limited, the chances of a data breach are also very low.
Akrund and Navanagar villages of Gujarat have become India’s first smart villages with LiFi-based internet connectivity. LiFi still has a scope to evolve in every possible aspect. With a wide range of applications LiFi will surely change the pace of ‘Tech-World’ by enhancing the power of data.
