Bye bye wi-fi, Welcome Li-fi: Accessing data through lightbulbs

New research by Chinese researchers claimed to transmit data through 'Li-Fi' LED bulbs


Li-fi, a new invention in network and technology field. With the help of this concept, we will soon find our night bulb, street lamp post, vehicle light and other man-made light sources playing a vital role in connecting our network enabled device to high speed internet.

It is the another milestone after wi-fi technology. It was first coined by Professor Harald Hass from University of Edinburgh in UK at Global Talk on visible light communication.
The system uses a 1-watt LED bulb equipped with a signal modulation chip that encodes information as a series of light pulses that take place faster than we are capable of perceiving. With a specially-designed receiving station, the PCs were able to connect to the LED bulb. According to Chi Nan, a professor at Shanghai's Fudan University, ten Li-Fi kits will be on display next month at the China International Industry Fair, which begins on November 5.


Pros:-

• Wherever there is light, you get internet connectivity.
• In mobile devices, no separate network hardware will be used, its LED screen can be used as substitute
• Speed is expected to be near 4.7 GB/s.

Cons:-

• The energy utilization rate is only 5 percent.
• No light, no internet connectivity
• Costly and limited to high-end locations.

One glimmer of good news is that Li-Fi works even if the lights are dimmed to near-darkness. And the inability to pick up signals through buildings or walls could be a bonus for privacy-conscious web users. 

Now, days are not far when you will find people sitting under lamp post and downloading date faster than office and universities.

But with invention of this technology, a question arises"Do we really want to live in a world where household devices are connected to the 'net?"