Philips Lighting announced the commercial launch of a technology known as Light Fidelity or LiFi. This technology enables high-speed broadband internet connectivity through light waves. Philips Lighting is the first global lighting company to offer LiFi-enabled luminaires from its existing office lighting portfolio. In addition, Li-Fi uses light waves for data communications, as opposed to Wi-Fi, which uses microwave radio and it has 10,000 times Wi-Fi radio’s RF spectrum. However, Philips is the first company to roll out LiFi commercially but it’s about time LiFi will become mainstream. If you are wondering about LiFi, here is a simple explanation.
What iS Li-Fi?
Li-Fi stands for Light-Fidelity and it is a two-way high-speed wireless technology similar to WiFi but uses light waves instead of radio waves to transmit data. It uses LED light bulbs similar to those currently in use in many energy-conscious homes and offices.
Furthermore, the light sends data through really fast flickering that the human eye can’t detect. A special dongle will help laptops and other devices to detect Li-Fi. Though in future light sensor and infrared transmitter will do the job Li-Fi-receiving components in our smartphones or laptops.
Philips Li-Fi Broadband
Philips says that it can provide broadband connections with speeds of up to 30 Mbps without compromising on lighting quality. Though 30 Mbps may not seem such a huge speed, it will be enough to stream Full HD videos without buffering.
Olivia Qiu, Chief Innovation Officer, Philips Lighting said:
“LiFi has enormous potential for today’s digital age and as the world’s leading lighting company we are proud to pioneer new and innovative services for our customers. While radio frequencies are becoming congested, the visible light spectrum is an untapped resource with a large bandwidth suitable for the stable simultaneous connection of a vast array of the Internet of Things (IoT) devices.”
Most noteworthy, French real estate investment company, is piloting the LiFi technology in its smart office in La Defense, Paris. The possibility with Li-Fi technology is endless and we believe it will be proven more powerful than Wi-Fi technology.
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