Li-Fi could take over Wi-Fi and change our lives forever.
Li-Fi is similar to Wi-Fi except that it uses light waves to transmit data rather than radio technology. The reasoning behind this technology is quite simple. The radio spectrum is not as vast as the light spectrum and has every chance of being overloaded in the future. With the light spectrum, the possibilities are endless and the spectrum is larger than the radio spectrum can even hope to be.
So why is Li-Fi better than Wi-Fi?
The capacity of the light spectrum is nearly 10,000 times greater than the available radio spectrum, which means that there is scope for faster internet, better connectivity, and is more reliable than compared to 4G, LTE, and Wi-Fi. But this doesn’t mean that the coming of Li-Fi will render these technologies obsolete; Li-Fi strives to work with them to make them better than they currently are. Since Li-Fi uses light to deliver internet connectivity, it surpasses the limitations of the radio spectrum and can be used in aricrafts, hospitals, and harmful environments. The very fact that you can use light for your internet needs rather than search for the Wi-Fi signal is reason to cheer.
So does it work in real time?
Recently researches have conducted the first live test for Li-Fi and have discovered that it transmits data at a speed of 1GB per second! Yes, it is per second. Imagine your internet being as lightning fast as that. Does this mean that we have uproot all our Wi-Fi technology and upgrade to Li-Fi with newer devices? That’s where the beauty of technology lies. Researchers are working to integrate Li-Fi and Wi-Fi in a way that it gives you the optimum result you need with just a few adjustments here and there.
Li-Fi works with the flickering of LED lights. Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean you have to be in an environment where the lights keep flickering; researchers are working on the flicker that cannot be seen by the naked eye. Also, the usage of LED lights everywhere means that a more environment-friendly future is seen with the possibility of extreme internet speeds. We may not plant a tree to save a life but for fast internet speeds, there is nothing that we would stop at to make it happen.
Watch the TED talk that talks about Li-Fi.
