For Connecting Beyond Borders
»LASER LIGHT MAKES LIFI FASTER AND MORE MOBILE«
STEPHAN KRAUSS
Optosystems product engineer
The connected world is just getting started, and it is already clear that wireless connections will soon run out of bandwidth. New, visionary ideas could ensure that the IoT train does not run out of steam halfway through its journey. LiFi – wireless data transmission using visible light – is one such idea and can be implemented with little effort.
Smart homes, smart cars, smart cities: The world is getting smarter all the time. This means one thing in particular: vast amounts of data that need to be transmitted quickly, reliably, and in an increasingly mobile manner. In 2020 alone, around 64 zettabytes of new data were generated worldwide (a zettabyte is a trillion bytes – a one with 21 zeros). Estimates are that this number will almost triple to 181 zettabytes by 2025. Existing mobile networks are reaching their limits in four areas:
- Capacity: The number of available radio frequencies limeted.
- Efficiency: A base station uses only about 5% of its energy for radio operation.
- Availability: Dead spots and a poor network in rural areas.
- Security: Radio waves can be intercepted and interfere with electronic equipment.
LiFi uses the visible spectrum for data transmission.
LiFi – More Than Just SciFi
But what if every streetlight, desk lamp, and car headlight – in short, every light source – worked like a cell tower? What sounds at first like an idea from a science fiction novel is actually working technology that the visionary Harald Haas introduced more than ten years ago. Since the ban on incandescent bulbs went into effect in 2009, old bulbs have mostly been replaced by semiconductor-based LEDs. The white light emitted by these sources can be modulated using control electronics. When a user switches on a light in his home, he may not realize that it was never actually off in the first place. When he switches the light off, it is dimmed down to such an extent that it is no longer visible to the human eye. However, data transmission continues without a problem.
Laser Light: Brighter, Faster, Farther
Recently, powerful white light lasers have brought new life to the LiFi idea and made it more mobile. At LASER COMPONENTS, for example, you can get the LaserLightTM engine from KYOCERA SLD Laser. These light sources are superior to conventional LEDs in almost all relevant aspects: they are considerably brighter, can be modulated about a hundred times faster, and have a longer range. This makes them a versatile LiFi source. Possible applications include smart cities, aerospace, underwater communications, and logistics and warehousing. In car headlights, they could provide the optimal data infrastructure for semi-autonomous driving – the highly networked road traffic of tomorrow. In February 2021, a trial with an autonomous truck convoy in Japan proved that this works.
LIGHT FOR THE COMMUNICATION OF THE FUTURE
JOHN PEEK
is advocating for the use of LiFi in the automotive industry at KYOCERA SLD Laser.
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