In the “new world” your average neon sign, store front lighting or lamp post won’t just be there to illuminate. They will peddle digital information as well as offer high speed access to the Internet. This is the dawn of the “Lifi Age” and it is all being made possible by Visible Light Communications System.
It is interesting to note that information transmission via visible light spectrum actually predates that over radio waves. Alexander bell in 1880 actually demonstrated the transmission of speech over modulated sunlight using what he called the Photophone. So far today, visible light communication has already achieved 500Mbits/s and this can only get better.The Visible Light Communications Consortium initiated in 2004, has a lot of role to play in the coming years to facilitate the growth of this promising alternative in data and information dissemination.
The technology works by using specially designed Photo-diodes to receive signals transmitted from fluorescent lamps, LED lamps or even from smartphone screens. A pioneer in this field and a member of the VLC Consortium Casio Computer Co., LTD has actually released a prototype smartphone with capabilities to tap into this technology (see its official news release). Likewise other companies are blazing new trails in the potentials derivable from lighting as a network tool, a key example is LVX Systems, delivering LED lighting solutions that save energy spending while yet serving as communication channel for linking workstations to the Internet. With the near saturation Wifi and Radio based access, Lifi might be the new frontier in fast data access, because its channels is just ubiquitos.
What do you see of this future, we will like to know? Share your thoughts, experience and fears in the comment box. Get your friends in on the discussion by sharing this article.
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