The Bright Side Of Li-Fi

Harald Haas was in Seoul recently, as one might have expected doing some Li-Fi evangelism.

pureLiFi's moto?
"Light becomes data"
(which also reads
"data becomes light")
 website: purelifi.co.uk

Li-Fi is a W-LAN technology transferring data through light (VLC or Visible Light Communication), preferably LED for a capacity similar to Wi-Fi - theoretically, 10 Gps is possible.

No radio frequency, no spectrum, just a spot, a lamp driver, a receiver (e.g. dongle). A bit like IrDA, only sexier because it works better in the dark.

Unfortunately, it's not long range - even shorter than Wi-Fi. So forget about smart semaphore lights. But it works: last time someone flashed their headlights to my car, I could decrypt their curses.

Following his 2011 TED talk, Haas founded pureLiFi to push the technology OEM. Here's the startup-in-the-garage-style demo:



You may feel like a suspect in a police investigation, but when it comes to grilling, LED light is far less harmful than say Wi-Fi waves. And you can see what happens, be sure that no one will sniff your data from beyond your brick walls. That's the beauty of a Li-Fi Hotspot(light).

We're always excited to see dumb objects get smart, particularly when they surround us, like these plugs that a decade ago promised to transform our electric home network into a smart one. VLC can find countless applications, including where we don't expect them (art, toys), but competition is fiercer than ever among short-medium range technologies.


mot-bile 2013