Project Overview

Philips Lighting, the world leader in lighting, is now offering Light Fidelity (LiFi), a technology in which high quality LED lighting provides a broadband Internet connection through light waves.

Organisation

Philips Lighting

Project Context

With countless more wireless connected devices and expansion of Internet of Things (IoT), shared bandwidth is already creating interference and security problems for some. Multiple networks can interfere with each other and networks can become overloaded and in some locations it is not preferred or even permitted to use radio signals to communicate at all. Philips LiFi systems offer a new way to connect wirelessly using LED light.

Project Innovation

LiFi is a two-way, high-speed wireless technology similar to WiFi but uses light waves instead of radio waves to transmit data. Philips Lighting’s office luminaires enabled with LiFi technology provide broadband connection with a speed of 30 Mb per second (Mb/s) without compromising lighting quality. With 30Mb/s a user can stream simultaneously several HD quality videos while having video calls.

Data is sent through light waves that are modulated at the light source and received via an integrated infrared sensor. By plugging into a LiFi internet zone users can access and transfer data instantly by using a simple personal USB access key. The LiFi zone is completely secured within the pool of light created by the LED luminaire.

LiFi offers benefits over WiFi as it can be used in places where radio frequencies may interfere with equipment, such as in hospitals, or where WiFi signals cannot reach or are weak, such as underground. Other user cases include environments demanding high security; for example, the back office of a financial institution or government service. LiFi adds an extra layer of security as light cannot pass through solid walls and a line-of-sight to the light is needed to access the network.

Philips Lighting leads the way in offering seamless hand-over between light points; meaning that as a user moves from one side of a large office to another, they maintain their connection as one light point hands off to another. The coverage-zone provided by Philips LiFi-enabled luminaires is also believed to be the widest in the market. The company has LiFi-enabled normal office luminaires that provide quality energy-efficient light.