New Li-Fi Technology developed by Chinese researchers

October 21, 2013

Researchers from Fudan University, Shanghai have developed a new cheaper way of getting connected to the internet through light bulbs instead of radio frequencies. The new technology is dubbed as Li-Fi (Light Fidelity) and an alternative to currently popular Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity).

What is Li-Fi Technology and how does it work?

Screenshot_10 The term Li-Fi was coined by by Harald Haas from the University of Edinburgh in the UK and refers to a type of visible light communication technology that delivers a networked, mobile, high-speed communication solution in a similar manner as Wi-Fi.
Light is also an electromagnetic wave just like radio waves. The researchers used LEDs (Light-Emitting Diodes) which are switched ON and OFF so rapidly that the eye can not detect making the light source appear continuous. The ON-OFF of the LED is controlled with a microchip and modulated into binary code 0 (OFF) and 1 (ON) in a manner similar as Wi-Fi.