LI-FI: where the Internet travels at the speed of light

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The recognized Wi-Fi technology has become old for the "LI-FI" technology, which appeared in 2011, was invented by the scientist and professor "Halworld Haas" at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, where he worked there as an assistant professor in the Department of Wireless Communications, and since then this technology is developed to this day to be one of the largest and most important communication technologies around the world, as the "LI-FI" technology is characterized by speed, accuracy and security, so it is already used in many Sensitive fields such as medical and industrial fields.

Show key points

  • LI-FI technology, invented in 2011 by Professor Harald Haas at the University of Edinburgh, is a wireless communication method that uses visible light instead of radio waves to transmit data.
  • Unlike Wi-Fi, which relies on radio frequency signals, LI-FI transmits data through light particles, using sources like LED lamps for communication.
  • LI-FI offers significantly faster data transfer speeds than traditional Wi-Fi, reaching gigabytes per second and greatly enhancing transmission efficiency.
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  • In terms of security, LI-FI is more secure than Wi-Fi since light-based communication is harder to intercept or jam compared to radio frequencies.
  • Due to its high speed and security, LI-FI is ideal for sensitive environments like medical facilities, laboratories, and government departments, while Wi-Fi remains more practical for general household use.
  • Major challenges hindering LI-FI’s widespread adoption include dependency on constant light availability, high infrastructure costs, and potential interference from other light sources.
  • Although LI-FI has not yet reached commercial ubiquity like Wi-Fi, ongoing scientific efforts aim to overcome current limitations and expand its global application.

What is LI-FI

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If we want to define LI-FI, it is a wireless communication technology used to transmit data through visible light particles, developed and discovered in Scotland in 2011. LI-FI technology works in the same way as Wi-Fi technology in connecting two devices in a wireless way, but Wi-Fi technology relies on radio signals in the connection between two devices, where there is a radio signal transmitter and a radio signal receiver that converts these signals into a wireless connection between two devices.

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As for the "LI-FI" technology, instead of radio signals, light particles are used, where signals are sent by light molecules and received in the same way, and these particles are not required to be sunlight, but also suitable for the light of ordinary lamps, such as LED lamps or any ordinary searchlight. Therefore, LI-FI technology is a new generation of wireless communication technology and is now under development, and it has not yet been widely used because there are many challenges facing the spread of this technology, but scientists are working on a daily basis to develop it and make it applicable around the world.

What are the most important differences between Wi-Fi and LI-FI?

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As we mentioned before, each technology depends on a different basis in terms of transmission and reception, Wi-Fi technology depends on radio waves and "LI-FI" technology depends on light molecules. But this is not the only difference between the two technologies, there are many other differences, the most important of which are:

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Data transfer speed

As for the speed of data transfer in Wi-Fi technology, it is developed from year to year, but despite that, this development did not guarantee the absolute speed of the connection, as the speed of data transfer has become more than several gigabytes per second, and this is a large number by the way, but the most widespread in the world is Wi-Fi, which transmits several megabytes, which is medium or normal speed.

As for the "LI-FI" technology, the data transfer speed is its biggest advantage ever, as the data transfer speed reaches a large number of gigabytes per ethnicity, and this provides a standard wireless connection speed that Wi-Fi technology can never reach.

Security rate in connection

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With regard to the security rate in communication, of course the "LI-FI" technology is superior, so Wi-Fi technology will not depend on radio frequency communication, between two frequencies from 2.4 MHz to 5 MHz, and through many modern technologies and devices, it has become easy to penetrate these frequencies and jam them.

As for the "LI-FI" technology, it relies on light particles that are difficult to penetrate directly, and this made communication via "LI-FI" technology more secure and data-saving.

Applied fields for each

As for the "LI-FI" technology, it is characterized by a very strong connection speed and security, and this made it suitable in areas that require high connection speeds such as companies, medical centers and laboratories, it is also suitable for places that require a high percentage of information security such as books and government departments. While Wi-Fi technology is very suitable for home communication, it is more prevalent and serves the purpose, and is common.

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The most important challenges facing the spread of "Li-FI" technology - LI-FI

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Some believe that the "LI-FI" technology has not yet been launched, but this information is not accurate, because the "LI-FI" technology has already been launched in many projects around the world, but the basic idea in the challenges facing the spread of this technology around the world at the commercial level to become like Wi-Fi technology, here are the most important of these challenges:

Environmental impact:

One of the most important challenges faced by life technology is that it requires a permanent light source, and this thing is not always available, especially in open spaces, because lighting can be controlled inside institutions and buildings, but it is very difficult in the streets, when night comes, it is difficult for this technology to transmit signals effectively in the streets, and therefore it is more suitable for indoor places, where light can be permanently controlled, knowing that this compresses electricity bills and leads to consume more power.

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Infrastructure Cost:

LI-FI technology also requires special updates regarding the optical infrastructure of the place where it is used, and this is very expensive, whether to provide lighting continuously or by planting solar cells, these costs can be afforded in the small range, but in large areas they become very expensive.

Interference of light rays:

Another challenge facing the technology of "LI-FI" where the visible light interferes with the light produced from other light sources such as colored searchlights or lamps that give various lights, and this makes the process of communication of light signals between devices confused.

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LI-FI technology is a new technology, and it is still under development and has great advantages such as the maximum speed of data transfer because it uses very fast light particles, so it transmits data faster than the frequency of Wi-Fi devices that rely on radio vibrations in a specific and specific range, but it also has disadvantages such as high cost and environmental impact, but scientists are working to develop these negatives to be applied at the commercial level around the world.

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