Li-Fi Technology 100 Times Faster Than Wi-Fi

Li-Fi, a super-fast alternative to Wi-Fi, has been proven capable of sending data at up to 1GBps in real-world tests.

So what exactly is LiFi? It used light to beam information via air. The technology was first discovered by Professor Harald Haas in 2011 of the University of Edinburgh.  “While LiFi may not completely replace WiFi, the technologies could be used in parallel to create more efficient networks,” IBTimes UK reported.

Li-Fi transmits data using LED lights, which flicker on and off within nanoseconds, imperceptible to the human eye. It was invented in 2011, and in the lab, has been able to reach a mindblowing 224 Gbps.

Li-Fi was tested this week by Estonian start-up Velmenni, in Tallinn. Velmenni used a li-fi-enabled light bulb to transmit data at speeds of 1Gbps. Laboratory tests have shown theoretical speeds of up to 224Gbps. It was tested in an office, to allow workers to access the internet and in an industrial space, where it provided a smart lighting solution.

“All we need to do is fit a small microchip to every potential illumination device and this would then combine two basic functionalities: illumination and wireless data transmission,” Haas told IBTimes UK. “In the future we will not only have 14 billion light bulbs, we may have 14 billion Li-Fis deployed worldwide for a cleaner, greener and even brighter future,” he added.

You can watch the full video of Haas talk about the Li-Fi technology in 2011 here