Li-Fi is coming: Turn on the light and go online

The appellation of "Li-Fi" was first used by Harald Hass, a professor at the University of Edinburgh in the UK, during the 2011 TED Global Conference. In October this year, pureVLC, a company where Hass serves as Chief Scientific Officer, sold its first Li-Fi device to an American healthcare provider for £5000, marking a step towards industrialization for Li-Fi.

With Li-Fi's rapid development, will Wi-Fi become obsolete? It’s unlikely. "Visible light communication also has significant disadvantages, including blockage—it cannot diffract or penetrate walls—and upstream transmission also requires an LED light, so it cannot replace Wi-Fi technology. Therefore, it will function more as a supplement and can provide better efficiency than Wi-Fi in certain specific locations," Chi Nan reminded us: "There are still many unresolved issues with visible light communication, and we need cautious optimism—both recognizing the advantages of Li-Fi and fully understanding the shortcomings of Li-Fi."