The real estate investment firm, Icade, has become one of the world’s first businesses to try out Li-Fi, a new innovation created by Philips Lighting.
According to Digital Trends, Philips “is now moving into the Internet space by offering Light Fidelity, otherwise known as Li-Fi”, a new technology currently being tested by French real estate investment firm, Icade.
“LiFi has enormous potential for today’s digital age and as the world’s leading lighting company we are proud to pioneer new and innovative services for our customers,” explained Olivia Qiu, Chief Innovation Officer at Philips Lighting. “While radio frequencies are becoming congested, the visible light spectrum is an untapped resource with a large bandwidth suitable for the stable simultaneous connection of a vast array of Internet of Things devices. Being a lighting company, we ensure that our customers benefit from the finest quality energy efficient light along with state-of-the-art connectivity.”
Li-Fi is described as being fundamentally similar to Wi-Fi, but utilising light waves instead of radio waves to transmit the data. Philips’ “office luminaires” offer a speed of 30 Mbps “without creating any flickering or dimming in the light bulbs themselves.” At this speed, Philips explains that “users can simultaneously stream a number of HD videos while engaging in a video call.”
Each of the luminaires comes with a built-in modem for the modulation of light, which is then detected by a Li-Fi USB key plugged into your laptop or tablet. The USB returns data to the luminaire “through an infrared link.”
As the article explains, the main benefit of using Li-Fi is “that it can be used in areas where Wi-Fi connectivity may be considerably weaker”, and, as Philips notes, it “can be used in situations that require more security, as light cannot pass through solid walls, and in order for Li-Fi to work, you need to literally see the light.”
