The future is here!!!

History of Networks
In the olden days, people formed a network in order to
transmit a piece of data from one place to another.
With the advances in technology a new mode of
networking was developed by using the wires as a
medium (wired networking).
As time passed the technology increased and we
launched satellites into space and thus were in a
position to transmit enormous amounts of data across
various geographical locations.
Wireless Networking gained a wide recognition and
became the most popular type of all networks .

General Network Scenario
Whether you are using a wireless internet in a coffee
shop or mall, competing for bandwidth at a conference
or probably stealing it from the guy next door, you
often get frustrated because of the low speeds you face.
Also as more and more devices get connected to the
network, clogged airwaves are going to make it.

A German physicist, Harald Haas, has started working
on transmission of data using visible light back in
2004.
In the year 2011 he first introduced to the world this
new technology, Li-Fi in the TED talk show.
He envisions a future where data for laptops and other
mobile devices is transmitted through light in a room.
Introduction to Li-Fi
Li-Fi (light fidelity) is data through illumination-
taking the fiber out of fiber optics by sending data
through an LED light bulb that varies in intensity
faster than the human eye can notice.
At the heart of this technology is a new generation of
high brightness LEDs.
If the LED is ON a digital 1 is transmitted, if the LED
is OFF then a digital 0 is transmitted. They can be
switched on and off in order to transmit data
continuously.

How does Li-Fi work?
Light has been around for millions of years now and is
a very cheap resource unlike radio waves.
Li-Fi is light fidelity technology.
Generally flickering lights are annoying but when
they are made to flicker at a very fast speed which our
human eye cannot detect they can be very useful.
This fundamental principle is used in this technology.
The amplitude of the light is varied at very high speed
which creates an impression that it is not actually
blinking.
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.
This is like sending a Morse code signal using a torch
but at a very fast speed.

This very high speed blinking of the light enables the
source to transmit data in a rapid stream of binary
code that, although invisible to the naked eye, can be
detected by a light sensitive device.
Thus every light emitting source can be used as a hub
for data transmission.
On one end all the data on the internet will be
streamed to a lamp driver.
When the LED is turned ON the microchip converts
this digital data in the form of light.
On the other end this light is detected by photo
sensitive devices.
Next this light is amplified and processed and then fed
to the device.
Architecture of Li-Fi
Present Scenario
At present we have as many as 1.5 million radio wave
base stations across the globe.
We also have close to 5 billion mobile connections
which transmit a data over 600TB.
This penetration of mobile devices into our lives has
led to a wide recognition of WIFI technology.
At present the data transmission across the globe is
being done using radio wave range of the
electromagnetic spectrum.
This results in some drawbacks in the current system.


Issues with radio waves
CAPACITY:
The current system makes use of radio waves.
With the increasing number of mobile connections
the availability of the spectrum is getting congested.
Radio waves forms only a small fraction of the entire
EM spectrum thus making the problem even worse.
EFFICIENCY:
The current system is high on energy consumption.
For every unit of energy consumed the data
transmitted is relatively less.
The data speeds in the current system can only reach
up to a few hundreds of megabits per second.
AVAILABILITY:
The availability of the radio waves is yet another major
issue now a days.
These waves are not much available during the flight
travel.
It is not advisable to use these devices in places like
petrol bunks.
SECURITY:
These radio waves can easily penetrate through the
walls, thus letting anonymous users to use the
network.
This can pose threat if the people with bad intentions
start using it.
Possibility of HACKING increases.
ECONOMIC:
Due the limited availability of the radio waves the
tariff rates are relatively costlier.
There can be many transparency issues during the
spectrum allocations paving way for many scams like
in the case of 2G.


Benefits of light waves
Capacity:
Light is a readily available form of energy and it covers
the major portion of the EM spectrum.
Visible light spectrum is 10000 times more compared
to radio wave spectrum.

EFFICIENCY:
The data transmission for a unit energy consumption
is high in the case of light waves.
The data transmission can reach upto thousands of
gigabits per second thus providing very rich data
streaming.
Here in Li-Fi data bits can be transmitted parallelly
thus increasing the efficiency.
Availability:
Light is readily available in every part of the world.
This makes it easy for people in airplanes to work on the
internet.
There are an estimated 14 billion light sources on earth and
each can be easily converted into a Li-Fi hotspot.
In traffic signals Li-Fi can be used which will
communicate with the LED lights of the cars and accident
numbers can be decreased.
This can even work underwater where Wi-Fi fails
completely, thereby throwing open endless opportunities
for military operations. Imagine only needing to hover
under a street lamp to get public internet access, or
downloading a movie from the lamp on your desk.

SECURITY:
Unlike radio waves light waves cannot penetrate
through opaque objects thus providing plenty of
network privacy.
No other person can share a network unless the owner
has permitted them to use it.
The sources can be used as normal lights when there is
no use for a hotspot.
ECONOMIC:
The tariff rates can be very cheap as light waves are a
cheap resource.
There can be transparency in spectrum allocations due
to its cheapness.
Wi-Fi v/s Li-Fi
The Future is very bright
In the next decade this technology can be made
available everywhere.
Places where optical fibers are difficult to reach can be
reached using this technology.
Every light source on earth can be a hotspot making
technology very much available to every person on
earth.
Traffic signals vehicles and many other devices can
communicate each other making the world an easy
place to live.
Thousands of chemical plants can transmit data
without fear as light waves are not hazardous to them.


A car in the near future
Conclusion
Li-Fi will make are lives more technology driven in the
near future.
With its magic of light it can make our world a
greener, safer, cleaner and moreover a brighter place to
live.