Li-Fi (Light Fidelity) is a bidirectional, high speed and fully networked wireless communication technology similar to Wi-Fi.
University of Edinburgh Professor Harald Hass first demonstrated Li-Fi as a part of the D-light project at the school’s Institute for Digital Communications back in 2010. He gave a 2012 TED Global talk about it.
Li-fi can deliver internet access 100 times faster than traditional wi-fi, offering speeds of up to 1Gbps (gigabit per second).
It requires a light source, such as a standard LED bulb, an internet connection and a photo detector.
Like Wi-Fi, Li-Fi is wireless and uses similar 802.11 protocols; but it uses visible light communication (instead of radio frequency waves), which has much wider bandwidth.
One of the big advantages of li-fi is the fact that, unlike wi-fi, it does not interfere with other radio signals, so could be utilised on aircraft and in other places where interference is an issue.
Li-Fi technology uses light instead of radio waves, it won’t be able to pass through walls, which means that its range is in some ways more limited.
Li-Fi won’t work well outdoors, as sunlight could disrupt its signal.
