What are the advantages and disadvantages of Li-Fi?

Li-Fi is the transmission of wireless information by using visible light as a channel of communication. It is also known as Light Fidelity. Li-Fi uses subtle fluctuations in LED light to send data from the transmitter to the receiver. It can encode the data, the LED light is replaced on and off at an imperceptible speed generating slight fluctuations that are hidden to the naked eye. These fluctuations create binary codes that are transmitted to the receiver which decodes the information back into digital form.

Li-fi technology is much quicker as compared to traditional Wi-Fi technology. It is able to send data up to 100 Mbps. In some cases, by using parallel transmission, more than 10 Gbps of data can also be sent. This means that you can download high-representation 1080p videos in mere seconds.

Li-Fi is a powerful technology that can change our lives by enabling us to send data from simple LED bulbs that are already being used in most homes and offices. All homes, offices, and different facilities are supplied with lighting.

Advantages of Li-fi

The advantages of Li-fi are as follows −

• It is more protected than Wi-Fi. Wireless communication technologies depend on radio frequency and microwaves are more accessible to eavesdropping, signal hijacking or unauthorized interception, brute force attacks, and spontaneous network connections.

• Li-Fi also has the advantage of being immune from electromagnetic interferences that influence radio-based wireless communication technologies.

• The technology is also beneficial in areas that are electromagnetic sensitive including aircraft cabins, hospitals, and nuclear power plants, among others because it does not generate electromagnetic interference.

• It provides quicker data transfer costs that can advance the famous deployment of the Internet of Things or IoT which needs massive information and effective and efficient connectivity.

• There are various specific foreseeable applications of Li-Fi containing home and building automation. Professionals have also conceptualized traffic applications including the use of street and traffic lights to support data about current road situations, and the headlights and backlights of vehicles to communicate and automate safety measures.

Disadvantages of lifi

The disadvantages of lifi are as follows −

• The main disadvantage of lifi is that the light cannot move through objects, hence if there is some object or any wall in between sender and receiver the signal will divide at once.

• Interference from external sources of light like sunlight, bulbs, and opaque materials will generate disturbance in the transmission of light.

• Wifi and radiofrequency will be required in the remote areas where trees and walls will facilitate as an obstacle.