Wi-Fi for Tomorrow

There is a new wireless technology being developed and currently tested in Estonia. It is called LiFi and was originally discussed by German physicist Harold Haas in 2011. It is similar to WiFi but instead uses Visible Light Communication. The data is transmitted by LED lights that flicker at an incredibly high rate to send data. This new technology can transmit data at speeds up to 1GBps. The future of this technology could mean having every light bulb made with a microchip that would allow it to transmit data.

Many people have some concerns about the practical use of this type of technology. Because this method relies on visible light, transmissions cannot pass through walls. This is a serious issue for home or office use, and could make the technology much less viable short term.

Another issue is the requirement to always be running lights in order to maintain the network. This would be a potential burden on any business or personal network that might want to use it. Falling asleep to tv in bed could get much more difficult soon.

Joshua James


News Week Li-Fi

India Times