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Nowadays, the internet has become a major demand among people as every person is dependent on the internet in a direct and indirect way. It is impossible to think about life without the internet now. People are using the internet for sharing of data which has become a crucial part of everyone's day to day life. However, the current wireless network which connects us with the internet works very slowly when connected with multiple devices. In addition, the fixed range of bandwidth leads to difficulty in enjoying a high rate of data transmission and insecure network connectivity.
The radiofrequency range is just a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum which is available for data transfer. It is unable to meet the growing demand of wireless accessibility. Thus, to overcome this problem, the term Li-Fi was coined in the year 2011 by professor Harald Hans. Li-Fi is an acronym of light fidelity and it is defined as a new and emerging wireless technology that uses illumination for the transmission of information ("Li-Fi: A Full-Fledged Wireless Communication Technology", 2016).
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It is also known as a faster, economical, and reliable version of Wi-Fi as it operates in a similar manner as Wi-Fi. Li-Fi has received a much wider spectrum for data transmission in comparison to conservative approaches of wireless communications that depend on radio waves. This essay will explain the Li-Fi technology and its applications. Besides this, the focus will also be given on comparing Li-Fi with Wi-Fi which will be followed by some of the limitations of Li-Fi.
This essay argues that despite some limitations, Li-Fi is full-fledged wireless communication technology.
Li-Fi operates on the basic principle of visible light communication. Nevertheless, the reason for choosing the visible light was quite logical. The Gamma rays cannot be used because these rays are very dangerous. X-rays create serious health issues among people and Ultraviolet rays are only good at those places which are not associated with the presence of a human. Infrared rays can only be used at low power due to safety regulation of eyes while radio waves are much expensive and less secure. Hence, the choice, which left is only visible light that is no harmful for human and have larger bandwidth. The heart of the VLC based Li-Fi technology is LED's of high brightness. LED can be switched on and off very fast (in less than 1 microsecond and not visible to the human eye) by providing the opportunity of fast transmission of data. The product of Li-Fi has four sub-assemblies; those are a bulb, PCB, RF power amplifier circuit, and enclosure (Shetty, 2016). The procedure of transmitting data is very simple with the usage of LED bulbs, if the LED is ON, then digital signal 1 is transmitted else 0 is transmitted on Off LED. For a reliable transmission of data, Li-Fi needs a transmitter as well as the receiver, both of these use semiconductor diodes and light sensors. The input data from the source is converted into bits (0 and 1). Depending upon this data stream, the On-Off function of an LED bulb is monitored with the help of the driver circuit. The extremely flickered LED light is passed to the nearby source, which is known as the receiver. Then, the receiver amplifies this weak received signal by using an RF power amplifier and converts this signal to a binary signal for retrieving information.
Li-Fi works in a similar manner as Wi-Fi but in this research, I found that Li-Fi is quite different from Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is known as wireless fidelity which is normally used to connect devices with each other, with the internet and to a wired network. It uses the IEEE 802.11xx standard where a single access point can support up to 30 users and can work within a range of 100-150 feet indoor and up to 300 feet outdoors. It transmits data with the help of radio waves by using a Wi-Fi router. On the other hand, Li-Fi is a VLC technology that uses the illumination of LED bulbs for data transmission at very high speed (according to the current assumption, it is greater than 10Gbps rather than 150-600Mbps for Wi-Fi). The IEEE standard which is used by Li-Fi is IEEE 802.15xx. On the receiver part of Li-Fi based system there is photodiode while in case of Wi-Fi, there is the antenna. Besides, the signal of Wi-Fi can penetrate through walls, which makes it possible for indoor and outdoor access whereas Li-Fi is completely opposite to it. The spectrum range of Li-Fi is 1000 times greater than Wi-Fi. It is also cheaper than Wi-Fi because it comes under a free band that does not need any license. However, both the technologies use point to point topology. Wi-Fi operates at the frequency of 2.4GHz and 5GHz in contrast to Li-Fi with an operating frequency of 100 of THz. Light is easily accessible as compared to Wi-Fi even in rural and remote areas. Li-Fi is more secure as compared to Wi-Fi because the penetration of signals through walls in case of Wi-Fi can make it prone to breach the protocol of security. In simple words, it can be said that Li-Fi can be used in those places where it is difficult to access information with Wi-Fi.
As mentioned above Li-Fi is better than Wi-Fi in many terms and at many places, thus the Li-Fi system can be used in a variety of applications from access to the internet using street lamps to auto-pilot cars which use headlights to communicate (Hase, Bhanushali, Vora, Goswami & Kerawalla, 2016). In some areas when Wi-Fi cannot be used, Li-Fi is an alternative. The main applications of Li-Fi are as follows. Firstly, due to apprehension over radiation, Wi-Fi is not allowed in operation rooms and interferences from Wi-Fi-based devices can restrict signals from medical and monitoring apparatus or tools. However, Li-Fi has solved this issue. Light is a crucial part of the operating room so Li-Fi can be used for recent medical equipment. Moreover, this modern technology does not create electromagnetic interference with medical equipment or instruments such as an MRI scanner. Secondly, Wi-Fi is prohibited in aircraft as it may interfere with the navigation system of pilots. Since aircraft contain multiple lights, thus Li-Fi can be found suitable for data transmission. Thirdly, Li-Fi can be used in a power plant to deliver safe connectivity because power plants need a fast and interconnected system for controlling and monitor grid temperature, intensity, and demand. Fourthly, Li-Fi can also be used in the management of traffic by creating communication between the LED's light of automobiles which would lead to safety on the roads by preventing accidents. Adding more, Li-Fi can also be used in IoT by providing cheaper and fast service of the internet. According to the statics of world internet usage and population, 2019, it has been proposed that millions of people are still living without access of internet. With Li-Fi, this count is expected to fall sharply, especially in rural and inaccessible areas. Also, it is impractical to use radio frequency in underwater exploration and communication due to strong signal absorption, in that case, Li-Fi can prove itself a better solution (Harshitha, Chaithra, Poojitha & Raghavendra Rao, 2016). In other words, it can be said that Li-Fi can be used as an alternative for a situation where hypersensitivity to radiofrequency can be an issue and radio waves cannot be used for sharing of information.
Besides this, there are some other applications where Li-Fi can prove itself best such as hidden communication; Li-Fi is very useful in the application of hidden communication where it provides security to the information. This form of application is used by troops and defense forces to protect sensitive information. Next to this, the Li-Fi system can be utilized to monitor oil and gas pipelines against the actions of criminals by embedding human presence detection mechanisms. Smart classes can also adopt this technology to show 2D and 3D animation on a screen. With the help of these animations, colors, and effects of sound, the teachers can create the full interest of pupils in their studies. This can also be done by using wired LAN technology. However, wired LAN can create many difficulties such as drilling of holes, running cables in garrets, fitting of switches and sockets, and many others while Li-Fi can solve all these issues. Additionally, Li-Fi can also be utilized in Green information technology. It is believed that in the future, a large proportion of recent glowing lamps will be swapped by LED bulbs and this will be helpful in declining negative impacts on the environment and climate. Lots of energy can also be saved in this way.
Every coin has two sides; if Li-Fi provides enormous benefits in various applications then it also comes with some limitations on its negative side. The first and foremost limitation of VLC is that light cannot pass through the object, if the receiver gets blocked by chance, then the signal will get cut off immediately. If the signal in form of light will get blocked then one could shift himself/herself back to radio wave communication. Network coverage is also the main issue of this technology. Interference from external sources of light such as sunlight, normal bulbs etcetera can affect its reliability. One of the shortcomings of this technology is that it only works in line of sight. The coverage distance of Li-Fi is just 10m according to recent research which is very small as compared to Wi-Fi. No doubt it is cheaper than Wi-Fi but the installation cost of Li-Fi is very high. In the case of Li-Fi, it is impossible to provide data to an object which is moving at high speed and in remote areas where there are many obstacles such as walls, trees etcetera. Another disadvantage of this technology is that to operate the system based on Li-Fi, LED bulbs need to be switched ON every time even during the day. The cost of keeping the bulbs every time ON is very high. However, researchers are working hard to remove its limitations in the future and to make it a complete solution for wireless communication.
From the above analysis, it can be concluded that despite having some limitations, Li-Fi is a very useful technology because of its capability to bestow relatively easier, secure, faster, and cheaper communication. As there is a large ongoing increment in a number of cellular networks, this modern technology has proven to be a big achievement in the process of communication. With the elimination of limited access to Wi-Fi, Li-Fi can be considered as a technology that has given wireless communication a broad edge over wired communication. In other words, Li-Fi is a full-fledged wireless technology that gives users with no room for any excuse to resort to the out-dating wired communication. Li-Fi technology provides umpteen benefits but there are certain hurdles in its use that need to resolve first before it becomes a vital part of everyone's life.
Li-Fi: A Fully Fledged Wireless Technology. (2019, Nov 23). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/li-fi-a-fully-fledged-wireless-technology-essay
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