Li-Fi Tech

Li-Fi_Tech_Project_01
Data Communication Using Regular LED Light Source (Li-Fi) As Visible Communication Light (VLC)
 
Objective:
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An indoor positioning system (IPS) is used to provide seamless indoor navigation-based services and could overcome the inaccurateness of a GPS navigation or other satellite technologies inside multistory buildings, such as retail/ shopping malls, campus/ schools, hospitals, subways, tunnels, and  underground locations. Current IPS approaches, e.g. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, RFID, Fingerprinting, UWB and IR-based technologies, require a complex set-up and expensive to implement in a building, either using an existing wireless infrastructure or installing a new dedicated one.

A promising alternative is Li-Fi (Light-Fidelity), which leverages the light generated by LED light source as the data transmission medium and could offers a huge amount of visible light spectrum that is unregulated, safe, and non-interfering to all existing and emerging wireless technologies. Li-Fi is also offering other distinctive characteristics, in terms of security and reliability. In this research project, we focused on the R&D toward commercial and industry applications by developing an integrated solution of Li-Fi communication onto Indoor Navigation Services Application. As the current Li-Fi technology requires specific reception devices to be installed on computer/ mobile devices, we propose to make use of a regular smartphone devices, with their embedded camera system, to be able to receive the signal sent by the LED.

Value Proposition:

  • Higher indoor positioning accuracy and to overcome the inaccurateness of existing indoor GPS due to their signals bounce around inside buildings 

  • Use of standard mobile devices and enable a more efficient user’s experience for real-time positioning with geo-localized information being pushed into the mobile phones in a secure way 

  • Lead to a low-cost implementation, energy efficient and longer lifetime span by leveraging the existing LED lighting infrastructure with minor modifications. On the receiver side, no hardware modifications required on the mobile device/ smart phone​​​