International Conference on Current Trends in Computer, Electrical, Electronics and Communication (ICCTCEEC-2017)

Lifi- Light Fidelity Technology

Monisha M
Dept of E&C engineering
Malnad college of engineering
Hassan
malleshmonisha@gmail.com
Abstract: Li-Fi technology means Light Fidelity
technology which was proposed by Harald Haas (a German
Physicist). As the name suggests Li-Fi is a data transmission
technique which uses illumination for sending the data or
light as a medium of communication . It transmits data with
the help of an LED bulb having variation in its intensity
which has a speed of actually faster than which human eye
can follow. It is also known as optical wireless technology or
visible light communication. This paper focuses to explore
this amazing technology and give a relative study of Li-Fi
with other wireless communication technologies like W-Fi.
Wi-Fi is perfect for transmission of data having a wireless
coverage within buildings. But Li-Fi provides better
efficiency, higher bandwidth, better security and availability
with a very high speed.
Keywords- Li-Fi, Wi-Fi, Photodiode, wireless
Communication, Visual Light Communications(VLC).
I. INTRODUCTION
Li-Fi (Light fidelity) is a wireless technology which is
based on light as its name indicates not on radio waves
Sudheendra G
Dept of E&C engineering
Malnad college of engineering
Hassan
Sudhie1905@gmail.com
of the iterneis extremely high. LiFi working
technology is based on the use of the visible light
b/w blue and red. Li-Fi use the optical spectrum
but Wi FI uses the radio part of the
electromagnetic spectrum. The principal of Li-Fi
is simple when the LED turn ON and OFF at
high
speed which is not visible to human. The
amplitude of light is varied. Any LED light set if
used along with a microchip inside it can used to
detect the changes in the light flickering thus
helping in converting light into data in its digital
form. When LED on it transmits the digital signal
1and if LED is off transmit a digital signal 0.
A controller is also connected at the backside of
these LED bulbs to code the data to these LED.
The amplitude of light is varied. Any LED light
set if used along with a microchip inside it can
used to detect the changes in the light flickering.
II. DESIGNS OF LIFI

LIFI is fast and cheap version of WIFI

It is based on Visible Light Communication
which uses light between 780 nm and 375 nm as
optical carrier for data transmission and
illumination. The main components of LIFI
systems are as follows: 1)High brightness white
LED'S which act as a transmitter 2)Silicon
photodiode which act as a receiver. Also, factors
like Presence of light & Line of sight (LOS) are
very much essential. In

This technology was invented by German physicist 17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE

Hardal haas, from the University of Edinburgh. He
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demonstrated it in the year 2012. Li-fi is an
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alternative of Wi-fi that transmit data using the
spectrum of visible light. Li-fi is the wireless 8
communication system in which transmission of -
data through illumination. Li-Fi technology used 1
LED (light emitting diode) for transmiting the data -
wirelessly. Li-Fi is the fast and cheap optical 5
version of the Wi-Fi. speed of Li-Fi with superfast 3
broadband system is 250times faster. As a 8
replacement of Wi-Fi modems, Li-Fi would use 6
transceiver-fitted LED lamps that can glow a room -
as well as transmit and receive information. LiFi is 3
transmission of data through illumination 2
,i.e. sending data through a LED light bulb that 4
varies in intensity faster than human eye can 3
follow .The transfer of the data can be with the -
help of all kind of light i.e. Light may be Invisible,
7
Ultraviolet or Visible part of spectrum. The speed
/
International Conference on Current Trends in Computer, Electrical, Electronics and Communication (ICCTCEEC-2017)

new creation high intensity Led's. These LED's varies in

intensity (that is gets on and off) so fast that a human eye
cannot detect it. If LED is on , then we transmit a digital
signal one and if the LED is off , then we transmit signal
zero. A controller is also connected at the backside of
these LED bulbs to code data to these LEDs. It is
III. H possible to code data in the light by varying the rate at
o which LED's glimmer on and off to give different strings
w of 1s and 0s. Modulation is so fast that human eye
doesn't observe. Thus every light source will work as a
D hub for data transmission. On one end all the data on the
o internet will be streamed to a lamp driver when the LED
is turned on
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International Conference on Current Trends in Computer, Electrical, Electronics and Communication (ICCTCEEC-2017)

the microchip converts the digital data in form of light. A

light sensitive device (photo detector) receives the signal
and converts it back into original data. This method of Differences between LIFI and WIFI
using rapid pulses of light to transmit information
wirelessly is technically referred as visible light
communication.

IV. EFFICIENCY
The data transmission through light can VI. APPLICATION OF LI-FI
reach up to gigabits per second. The data spread
for a unit energy use is high in the case of light There are numerous applications of this
waves. Here in Li-Fi data bits can be transmitted technology, from public internet access through
parallelly thus increasing the efficiency. street lamps to auto pi-loted cars that
Availability: Light is available in every part of communicate through their headlights.
the world so this makes it easy for every person Applications of Li-Fi can extend in areas where
in airplanes to work on the internet. There are an the Wi-Fi technology lacks its presence like
expected 14 billion light sources on earth and medical technology, power plants and various
each can be easily transformed into a LI FI other areas. Since Li-Fi uses just the light, it
hotspot. can be used safely in aircrafts and hospitals
Security: Not like radio waves light waves
where Wi-Fi is banned because they are prone
cannot go through solid (wall) objects thus
providing abundance of network privacy. No to interfere with the radio waves.
other person can split a network unless the holder All the street lamps can be transferred to LiFi
has allowed them to use it. lamps to transfer data. As a result of it, it will
V. ADVANTAGES OF LI-FI OVER WI-FI be possible to ac- cess internet at any public
place and street.
Li-Fi is the name given to describe visible light
communication technology applied to obtain
high speed wireless communication. It derived
this name by virtue of the similarity to Wi-Fi.
Wi-Fi works well for general wireless coverage
within buildings, and Li-Fi is ideal for high
density wireless data coverage inside a
confined area or room and for relieving radio
interfer- ence issues.
 IT IS POSSIBLE TO GET MORE THAN 10GBPS,
HYPOTHETICALLY ALLOW A HIGH-DEFINITION a) Education systems:
MOTION PICTURE TO BE DOWNLOADED IN 30SEC. Li-Fi is the latest technology that
 MOSTLY MOTORIZED BYLEDS SO IT IS COST WELL-
can provide fastest speed internet access. So,
ORGANIZED. COMMUNICATION OF DATA IS FAST it can replace Wi-Fi at educational
AND EASY institutions and at companies so that all the
people can make use of Li-Fi with the same
 LI-FI HAS A MAIN ADVANTAGE OVER WI-FI IS THAT ITS
speed intended in a particular area
BANDWIDTH IS 10,000 MORE THAN THE WI-FI.

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International Conference on Current Trends in Computer, Electrical, Electronics and Communication (ICCTCEEC-2017)
b) Medical Applications: Operation theatres
(OTs)do not allow Wi-Fi due to radiation
concerns. Usage of WiFi at hospitals
interferes with the mobile and pc which
blocks the signals for monitoring uipments.
e So, it may be hazardous to th patient's
health. To
overcome this and to make OT tech savvy Li-
Fcan be used to accessing internet and to
control medical equipments. This can even be
beneficial for robotic surgeries and other
automated procedures.
c) Cheaper Internet in Aircrafts:
The passengers travelling in aircrafts get
access to low speed internet at a very high
rate. Also Wi-Fi is not used beca se it may
interfere with the navigational systems of
the pilots. In aircrafts LiFi can be used for
data transmission. Li-Fi can easily provide
high speed internet via every light source
such as overhead reading bulb, etc. present
inside the airplane.
d) Underwater applications:
Underwater ROVs (Remotely Operated
Vehicles)operate from large cables that supply their
power and allow them to receive signals from their
pilots above. But the tether used in ROVs is not
long
enough to allow them to explore larger areas. If their
wires were replaced with light say from a
submerged, highpoweredlamp then they would be
much freer to explore. They could als use their
headlamps to communicate with e ch other,
processing data autonomously and sending their
findings periodically back to the surface . Li-Fi can
even work underwater where Wi-Fi fails ompletely,
thereby throwing open endless opportunities for
military operations.
e) Disaster management:
Li-Fi can be used as a powerful means of
communication in times of disaster such as
earthquake or hurricanes. The average people may
not know the protocols during such disasters.
Subway stations and tunnels, common dead zones
for most emergency communications, pose no
obstruction for Li-Fi [1]. Also, for normal periods,
Li-Fi bulbs could provide cheap high-s eed Web
access to every street corner.
f) Applications in sensitive areas:
Power plants need fast, inter-connected data
systems so that demand, grid integrity and core
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are bad for sensitive areas surrounding the power
plants. Li-Fi could offer safe, abundant
connectivity for all areas of these sensitive
locations. This can
save money as compared to the currently
implemented solutions. Also, the pressure on a
power plant‘s own reserves could be lessened. Li-Fi
can also be used in petroleu or chemical plants
where other transmission or frequencies could be
hazardous.
g)Traffic management:
In traffic signals Li-Fi can be used which will
communicate with the LED lights of the cars which
can help in managing the traffic in a better manner
and the accident numbers can be decreased [1].
Also, LED car lights can alert drivers when other
vehicles are too close
VII. Issues With Radio Waves
Capacity: Current system makes use of
radio wave so day by ay number of mobile
connection increase so the availability of the
spectrum getting congested. It has less bandwidth
and become expansive.
Efficiency: Million of work station consume
huge amount of energy for transmitting radio
waves. Almost 1.4 million cellular radio base
stations. Efficiency of each base station is just
5%. Most of the energy is not used for
transmission but rather used for cooling the base
station.
Availability: There is so many issues with the
availability of radio waves. Radio waves
unavailable in air craft only available in base
station. It is also not suitable to use cell phone at
the petrol pumps. Security: Radio waves can
pass through the walls so they are less secure.
Anyone with bad intention can miss use it.
Alternative Of Radio Waves IR waves are
harmful for our eyes hence used at very low
power. UV rays are very armful for our skin and
cannot be used for long duration. Gamma rays
are radioactive and are dangerous. X rays have
similar health issues .All waves have some
disadvantages so we are left only with visible
light spectrum. Overcoming the Four Issues with
Radio Wave in Li-Fi :
International Conference on Current Trends in Computer, Electrical, Electronics and Communication (ICCTCEEC-2017)

temperature (in case of nuclear power plants) can

be monitored. Wi-Fi and many other radiation
types

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International Conference on Current Trends in Computer, Electrical, Electronics and Communication (ICCTCEEC-2017)

Capacity: Light is a voluntarily

accessible form of energy and so it
can cover most of the portion of the
EM spectrum. Spectrum of visible
light is 10000 times more than the
spectrum of radio wave.
VIII. Disadvantages of LIFItechnology
Disadvantages of Li-Fi technology include:
 Internet cannot be used without a light
source. This could limit the locations and
situations in which Li-Fi could be used.
 Because it uses visible light, and light cannot
penetrate walls, the signal's range is limited by
physical barriers.
 Other sources of light may interfere with the
signal. One of the biggest potential drawbacks
is the interception of signals outdoors.
Sunlight will interfere the signals, resulting in
interrupted Internet.
 A whole new infrastructure for Li-Fi would need
to be constructed.
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li-Fi
[2]http://www.seminarpaper.com/2013/14/s minar-
report-on-li-fi-.html
[3]www.lificonsortium.org/
[4] technopits.blogspot.comtechnology.cgap.org/2012/0
1/11/a-lifi-world/
[5] “ Recent Advancements in Li-Fi Technology” by
Akshita M Sonnad, Anjana Gopan, Sailakshmi N
R, Divya S, Ambika R
[6] “A Comparative and Critical technical Study of the
Li-Fi – (A Future Communication) V/S Wi-Fi” by
Prof. (Dr.) Y.P.Singh, Director, KLS Institute of
Engineering & Technology, Chandok, Bijnor U.P.
[7] “A study on Li-Fi- Light Fidelity” by Prof.
Vaishli Jadhav.
[8] “New Lighting Technology “LI-FI”- A
Review” by Shilpa Choudhary, Dolly Kumari,
Supria Goe

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We would like to thank Dr.P.C.Srikanth ,Professor in
Electronics and Communication department, Malnad
college of engineering, Hassan for all the guidance given
by him for the study of the paper.

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