Signify, formerly Philips Lighting that produces Hue-branded smart lights has announced its commercial LiFi, or Light Fidelity, systems in the near future, after finishing a pilot with 30 companies known as Trulifi. They’re capable of transmitting data to devices like laptops at speeds of up to 150 Mbps using light waves, rather than the radio signals used by 4G or Wi-Fi. The product range will consist of both new lights as well as transceivers that can be retrofitted into existing lighting. The technology can also be used to wirelessly connect two fixed points with data speeds of up to 250 Mbps.
Signify’s LiFi system, called Trulifi, uses optical wireless transceiver technology that is built into Philips lights. Users will require a USB-access key, plugged into a laptop so as to receive the LiFi signal. Once connected, Trulifi is good enough to provide wireless connectivity at up to 150 Mbps. According to the company, that’s fast enough to stream 30 1080p HDTV movies at once.
Signify’s first two Trulifi customers are corporate clients Globalworth situated in Poland and Romania; and Claerhout Communication Campus from Belgium. Trulifi is aimed mainly towards professional markets, and Signify states that it could be easily used in hospitals, where radio frequency (RF) communication may be restricted, or even in areas where the signal is already crowded. It could also be used to connect robots or machines in industrial plants.
However, getting a company to replace its entire lighting system with dedicated LiFi fixtures is a big challenge and that too in initial stages. But Signify might have an ace up its sleeve. The company says that existing Philips lighting systems can be retrofitted with the new LiFi technology, thereby, reducing the amount of work and also the cost of adopting a LiFi system.