IoT (Internet of Things) is more than just a buzzword—it’s a huge part of our digital future.
By 2025, around 30 billion devices worldwide are projected to be connected. Cars, phones, appliances, and other things would seamlessly interact with one another. That could help elevate many industries—from home security and automobile to health and manufacturing.
But how will it happen when there’s a looming spectrum crunch? Can WiFi and other existing wireless networks handle the immense requirements of billions of units to stay connected?
Looming Spectrum Crunch: A Huge Obstacle to IoT
To date, there are around 15 billion mobile devices worldwide. These smartphones and tablets transfer huge amounts of data each day. Add that to the data generated and shared by laptops, traditional computers, big data servers, and current IoT devices. The demand for faster and more secure data sharing puts an enormous strain on today’s technology.
The infrastructure for connectivity has to improve for IoT to get bigger and better. Or, at the very least, there should be a supplement (or an alternative) to today’s wireless networks. Thankfully, a technology called LiFi is evolving two steps ahead of the spectrum crunch.
How Will LiFi Power IoT and the World’s Digital Future?
LiFi (Light Fidelity) is a wireless communication technology that utilizes the visible light spectrum to facilitate high-speed data transfer between devices, servers, and terminals. It is not reliant on radio frequencies, so it works well in areas where WiFi doesn’t. Plus, digital signals carried by light turn out to be way faster than those transmitted via radio waves.
Let’s talk more about the capabilities of LiFi that make it a crucial technology in shaping IoT:
- Revolutionary speed: Some LiFi companies have tested LiFi speed, and they’ve projected that it can be up to 1000 times faster than WiFi. It can transfer or share 224GB of data per second. That revolutionary speed of LiFi can help power IoT implementation, which requires fast and reliable data transfer for bidirectional signaling. Data sources must transport and receive information at lightning speed.
- Enhanced availability: With LiFi, devices can connect online and to one another as long as there’s a LED light source in the room. For now, LiFi technology is available through LED lamps and light bulbs. But once it’s developed further, it can be accessed through street lights, gallery lights, and more.
One key benefit is utilizing LiFi in WiFi dead spots or places where electromagnetic interference can pose a risk. Airplanes are a perfect example. Without using radio waves and only relying on available LED lights inside the plane, LiFi can potentially transform the overall passenger experience and cabin crew’s in-flight connectivity.
- Superior efficiency: LiFi holds the potential to be more affordable and energy-efficient than other forms of wireless communication. That’s because LED bulbs are already efficient on their own. It can also help address one key challenge in IoT—immense power consumption. With LiFi, there’s no need for routers, modems, and wave amplifiers to be on 24/7 to keep IoT devices stay connected. IoT devices powered by LiFi can merely rely on the available LED lights in the area.
As the demand for data and connectivity increases, LiFi can step in and support the growing IoT. With a light, it can help ensure a fast, efficient, & seamless connection between devices.
LiFi Is Forward-Looking
The world has more connected devices than people. The IoT enables these devices to have endless ways to improve our societies, businesses, and personal lives. And that exciting digital future is becoming closer to reality, thanks to the growing capabilities of LiFi to power IoT.
