LiFi - Time for cleaner, greener and brighter Internet

LiFi is high-speed, bidirectional, fully networked and mobile wireless communications using light (as opposed to traditional radio frequencies). It was coined by Prof. Harald Haas and is recognized by the IEEE standardization committee for Optical Wireless Communications.

Professor Harald Haas, from the University of Edinburgh in the UK, is widely recognised as the original founder of Li-Fi. He coined the term Li-Fi and is Chair of Mobile Communications at the University of Edinburgh and co-founder of pureLiFi.

The general term visible light communication (VLC), includes any use of the visible light portion of the electromagnetic spectrum to transmit information. The D-Light project at Edinburgh's Institute for Digital Communications was funded from January 2010 to January 2012.Haas promoted this technology in his 2011 TED Global talk and helped start a company to market it. PureLiFi, formerly pureVLC, is an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) firm set up to commercialize Li-Fi products for integration with existing LED-lighting systems.

Li-Fi is a subset of optical wireless communications (OWC) and can be a complement to RF communication (Wi-Fi or Cellular network), or a replacement in contexts of data broadcasting. It is so far measured to be about 100 times faster than Wi-Fi.

With LiFi technology, data travels in the visible light spectrum through LEDs. This makes it possible to provide wireless internet access at speeds of over 100 Gbps(although this is still in the Lab).

  

It is wireless and uses visible light communication or infra-red and near ultraviolet (instead of radio frequency waves) spectrum, part of optical wireless communications technology, which carries much more information, and has been proposed as a solution to the RF-bandwidth limitations.LiFi allows users to roam between lamps and still have connectivity as well as multiple users connecting to the same light and still getting different data streams.
LiFi is different from VLC in:

• Roaming – allows users to move freely between lights and maintain a Skype Video Call.
• Multiple Access – a single light can let different people browse the internet at the same time.

Like Wi-Fi, Li-Fi is wireless and uses similar 802.11 protocols; but it uses visible light communication (instead of radio frequency waves), which has much wider bandwidth.
“All we need to do is fit a small microchip to every potential illumination device and this would then combine two basic functionalities: illumination and wireless data transmission,” Haas told IBTimes UK. “In the future we will not only have 14 billion light bulbs, we may have 14 billion Li-Fis deployed worldwide for a cleaner, greener and even brighter future,” he added.

Benefits of LiFi:

• Speed
• Security
• Energy Efficiency
• Safety – an alternative to radio waves, with potentially harmful effects
• Data Density
• Localization

LiFi is very interesting as it is related to providing fast internet access in much pure and simpler way, could be the reason for many myths about the technology.
Please go through the below link for more details and myths about the technology.
http://indianexpress.com/article/technology/science/lifi-internet-might-just-be-100-times-faster-than-wifi-report/

Project Loon - Internet via Balloon

When we think of internet we feel we are connected to entire world and world is connected to us.But two-thirds of the world’s population does not yet have Internet access.

Project loon: In 2008, Google had considered contracting with or acquiring Space Data Corp., a company that sends balloons carrying small base stations about 20 miles (32 km) up in the air for providing connectivity to truckers and oil companies in the southern United States, but didn't do so.
Unofficial development on the project began in 2011 under incubation in Google X with a series of trial runs in California's Central Valley. The project was officially announced as a Google project on 14 June 2013.

 

Project Loon is a network of balloons traveling on the edge of space, designed to connect people in rural and remote areas, help fill coverage gaps, and bring people back online after disasters.

Project Loon balloons float in the stratosphere, twice as high as airplanes and the weather. In the stratosphere, there are many layers of wind, and each layer of wind varies in direction and speed. Loon balloons go where they’re needed by rising or descending into a layer of wind blowing in the desired direction of travel.

 

The balloons typically have a maximum life of about 100 days, although Google claims that its tweaked design can enable them to stay aloft for closer to 200 days.

                                 

By partnering with Telecommunications companies to share cellular spectrum people will be enabled to connect to the balloon network directly from their phones and other LTE-enabled devices. The signal is then passed across the balloon network and back down to the global Internet on Earth.
Google uses solar panel and wind to power electronic equipment in the balloon throughout the day.

 

Google is now working with the Indian government on a pilot project for providing Internet connectivity by using large balloons.Technology has already been tested in New Zealand, California and Brazil.

Google may initially partner with BSNL for testing this technology by using broadband spectrum in 2.6 Ghz band. No official comment from google as of now.
ToI informs that Google approached the government for approval to offer Internet via balloons and drones. A committee under the chairmanship of secretary, DeitY has been formed to work on it. The committee formed by DeitY (Department of Electronics and Information Technology) will study various aspects of the Project Loon. It will identify the locations for the trials of the service and also act as a mediator for communication and coordination among various Government departments and agencies.

Source:PTI,ToI,Google
For detailed info: http://www.google.co.in/loon/

Apple watch now available in US store and Target online

Target is now selling the Apple Watch in U.S. stores and online.
Target is offering both Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch models with the same pricing as Apple.

The apple watch will be available in two sizes 38 mm (1.5 in) and 42 mm (1.7 in) spread across 38 individual models and three variants:

• Apple Watch - comes with sapphire crystal, protect the screen from cracking
• Apple Watch Edition - comes with sapphire crystal, protect the screen from cracking
• Apple Watch Sport - has a strengthened Ion-X glass on the display

 

It incorporates fitness tracking and health-oriented capabilities as well as integration with iOS and other Apple products and services

The Watch has different combinations of cases and first or third party interchangeable bands. Apple Watch relies on a wirelessly connected iPhone (5 or above) to perform many of its default functions (e.g. calling and texting). 

 

Apple Watch also has a built-in mic and speaker using which one can complete a conversation as long as the iPhone is connected via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

 Credits: Apple Youtube channel

The watch includes a "digital crown", which can be turned to scroll or zoom and pressed to return to the home screen, and a touchscreen that features Force Touch technology, which makes it pressure-sensitive and capable of distinguishing between a tap and a press. 

 

 Credits: Apple Youtube channel

Force Touch and digital crown are features that set the Apple Watch apart from other smartwatches in the market.