Chinese scientists developed a cheaper way of getting connected, Li-Fi
Chinese scientists at Fudan University in Shanghai have successfully developed a new way to connect to the internet by turning every light bulb into a high speed wireless network. It is a cheaper way of getting connected by sending the signals through light bulbs instead of radio frequencies as in Wi-Fi. “Wherever there is an LED light bulb, there is an internet signal,” said Chi Nan, an information technology professor with Shanghai’s Fudan University.
Faster connection than traditional Wi-Fi of up to 10 times
Light is an electromagnetic wave. It has 100,000 times the frequency of a Wi-Fi signal. Li-Fi light bulbs are equipped with a microchip that sends and receives signals by making its brightness flicker very rapidly and accurately, similar to how Wi-Fi works with radio signals.
Li-Fi or Light Fidelity operates by flicking the light-emitting diodes on and off up to billions of times per second, which makes the light source appear to be continuous, and much faster than the human eye can detect. According to Chinese news Xinhua, the Fudan University team have successfully created Li-Fi network that can deliver data as fast as 150 megabit per second, in which four PCs were all connected to the same light bulb.
Limitations of Li-Fi
In order to be connected, your device need to be within sight of the light bulb. That would also mean that, the network cannot penetrate walls, and the connection would be within the room itself. “If the light is blocked, then the signal will be cut off,” Chi said. Because of its limitations, Li-Fi won’t do away with traditional Wi-Fi yet.
The researchers will feature sample Li-Fi kits at the China International Industry Fair on 5 November 2013 in Shanghai.
