LiFi is based on Free-Space Optical Communication (FSOC), or in other words, an optical communications technology, in which information is transmitted through the atmosphere on modulated optical beams. This technology for indoor access has been coined as the Li-Fi technology by professor Harald Hass at The University of Edinburgh, U.K, and its capabilities for indoor internet access were first demonstrated at a TED global in 2011. Later on, in 2013, his company PureLiFi became the first company to manufacture a LiFi based product.
The origins of LiFi date back to 2006. Nearly 33% of all the patents on Li-Fi technology were filed before 2011.Samsung, with 25 patents, tops the list and leaves others behind by a great margin. It filed its first patent on LiFi technology in 2007. Its first three patents were on the basic working of LiFi equipment. These patents disclose how communication using an LED bulb is possible. However, the first-ever patent on LiFi technology was filed by Huawei in 2006. There are in total 3 patents of LiFi filed in 2006, out of which, one is filed by Huawei, another by Panasonic and the third one is the result of a collaboration between Elta Systems and Optigo.
ERNET India executed LiFi pilot project jointly with IIT Madras. The objective was to study LiFi as an alternate communication technology and perform visible light communication experiments, and explore LiFi opportunities in various deployment scenarios, such as, hospitals, smart building and smart cities. The indoor LiFi internet kit was setup at ERNET Chennai to study and demonstrate LiFi capabilities, evaluate the indoor performance and various experiments in single user scenario. As part of indoor experiment, measurement of coverage range, optical power received at different coordinates, outage analysis at different distance in both line of sight (LOS) and non line of sight (NLoS) was carried out. The experimental outcome of the test results was published in APAN44 Network Research Workshop and Global LiFi Congress 2018. Later, ERNET India worked on a Pilot R&D to provide high speed network connectivity through Free Space Optical Communication Technology providing the connectivity to Kohima Science College from Kohima Secretariat, Nagaland. Free Space Optics is a line-of-sight technology that uses invisible beams of light to provide optical bandwidth connections that can send and receive voice, video, and data information. The technology propagates the light in free space means air, outer space, vacuum, or something similar to wirelessly transmit data for telecommunication and computer networking. It operates between the 780 – 1600 nm wavelengths bands and use O/E and E/O converters.
Google started a series of moonshot projects. Project Loon to deliver internet in rural areas and now Free Space Optical Communication project. Google started project Loon in 2011, a mission to establish a network of air balloons that would fly in the stratosphere, delivering internet to everyone. Loon balloons have already flown over 30 million kms in tests and helped people in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.With Free Space Optical Communication, aka FSOC, Alphabet has been using light for high-speed transmission between two points. The tech came to be during the development of Project Loon and is now being repurposed to solve connectivity problems down here on Earth. Basically, it can deliver fiber-like speeds at places (and countries) where it might be impossible to lay underground cable lines. Now, Aphabet is ready with demonstration of FSOC named TAARA in Kenya.
More about TAARA: https://x.company/projects/taara/
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