LiFi – a data transmission method more than 100 times faster than WiFi

LiFi, a category of Visible Light Communications, might be the answer to the significantly growing demand for transmissions of mass quantities of data (in the context of the continuous growth of Internet of things devices, mobile devices and big data servers). The new method of data transmission is more than 100 times faster than traditional WiFi, and it basically consists in a LED light flickering at speeds undetectable to the eye to transmit data. According to Forbes, LiFi has a number of advantages (speed, the little energy required by the LED lights and the fact that it does not create electromagnetic interference), but also limitations (in very bright daylight, the receivers wouldn’t be able to distinguish the signal, and LiFi cannot pass through walls). Such limitations could, however, be overcome with technologies like smart architecture where the light follows the use around the space.