Li-Fi optical transmission revolution or create $6 billion market

In the book of Genesis, God said that there was light, and then he began to create the world. In the eyes of Harald Haas, a German scientist at the University of Edinburgh, the light itself is a world with a lot of information.

He was the light of the world is so precious, that 4 in the afternoon, his office has no lights -- in the early winter season in Scotland, this time has entered the dusk. Of course, the dark light does not stop the burly professor with tanxing, but also to Haas's office is not so messy, such as table rengzhao few circuit boards, have the opportunity to quietly in the shadows.

In fact, this is a few randomly placed two cm square circuit, and his head of light-emitting diode (LED), are Haas's baby. In the wireless network has spread to every corner of life in the information age, with the mobile terminal on Wi-Fi Internet whenever and wherever possible, has become a trend with slight obsessive tendencies, while Haas is going to the light with his baby, by carrying the data on the internet.

This is an advanced technology that relies on LED bulbs for wireless data transmission, known as Li-Fi.

Optical transmission revolution

The idea of using light to transmit data began 10 years ago. "At that time, I realized that the 4G era is coming, and the dissemination of data is the use of the equipment will be quickly to keep up with demand, I think you can use the LED bulb to carry on the information, from then on I began to study LED. "

In 2011, Haas led the research team announced the results of data transmission using LED, they use flashing lights to transmit digital information.

The basic principle of this technology is simple: when the LED light on the 1, out of the show that the 0. Haas claimed that, by adding a microchip in the bulb, you can control it flashes per millions of times, because the frequency is too fast, people don't perceive, but the light sensor can receive these changes but. The binary data is then encoded into a light signal and transmitted efficiently. "It's like a Morse code sent by a torch, but it's much faster and easier to understand. Haas explained to reporters.

The "Torch" that can send Morse code is everywhere. Because LED lighting is very popular, lighting infrastructure already in place, and the light emitted visible light is a part of the electromagnetic spectrum, is 10 thousand times larger than the radio spectrum, relative with unlimited capacity, it also allows Li-Fi than the commonly used WiFi wireless communications system more convenient, lower cost.

Another advantage of Li-Fi, says Prof Haas, is that a uniformly distributed LED transmitter can provide a more stable and localized Internet connection for the entire building. The disadvantage of the traditional WiFi is that the farther you get away from it, the weaker the signal you get, which leads to the instability of wireless connections in the office and home.

Because there are many advantages, Li-Fi is seen as a revolutionary technology in the field of communication.

In airports, stadiums and other places, WiFi often can not even, because the limited number of routers. But look at the number of lights in those places, and if each light is turned into a router, the amount of data transferred is much greater. In the Haas view, in the aircraft cabin, the hospital is difficult to reach the place of these WiFi, as well as new areas of self driving cars and smart home, Li-Fi is a place to show their skills.

Haas himself also optimistic about the application of this technology in many industries may. For example, offshore platform oil pipeline, every 6 months to overhaul to ensure smooth flow, the cost of at least $200 thousand each. These pipes are generally not used to monitor the traditional way of information dissemination, because there is a risk of explosion. For example, he said, "but if you install the LED light source in the pipeline, you can pass the sensor, the pressure and temperature and other key information to the other end of the pipeline. "

Or create $6 billion market

The development of new technology is a systematic project, the lag of any one link will affect the overall promotion.

At present, the bottleneck of the development of Li-Fi is mainly in the light source, but the lighting industry is undergoing tremendous changes, which may bring new opportunities. For example, the South Korean manufacturer Samsung had already sold its own lighting business, Holland giant PHILPS also stripped its 123 years of lighting business.

"The lighting industry is now in a state of disorder, manufacturers are restructuring, and strive to pursue higher added value. This is a bit like a cell phone, people use a mobile phone for more than 2 years will be replaced, which is not the old phone can not be used, but the new phone has a new feature. And Li-Fi is like creating a new smartphone on the roof. Haas said, but the development of China's lighting industry is very rapid, in recent years, a lot of lighting innovation from china. "

According to Haas's idea, the future lighting will be only the second function of the light source, and the primary function is to transmit information. Think about how many street lights in cities around the world, if they are transformed into a signal source, then soon be ready for 5G. In his picture of the smart city, if they reduce the output of the street lamp, even in the daytime can not see the street light, but the same can continue to receive the Li-Fi signal emitted by the street lamp, and thus access the network.

Because of its broad application prospects, Li-Fi Technology