Researchers from Shanghai’s Fudan University came up with the ingenious idea of using LED lighbulbs for Internet connections and the prototype is not only functional, but it provides a connection that is better than the average wireless connection in China.
This new technology, called Li-Fi, involves LED lightbulbs that emit Wi-Fi signals to nearby computers.
Once such a Li-Fi light bulb is turned on, it can provide an Internet connection to up to four computers placed in its vicinity. The speed of the Internet connection gets up to 150 mbps, which is quite impressive. Of course, in order to reach such speeds, the computers need to be equipped with adequate hardware (an SSD and a Gigabit network interface card, among others).
Also, the computers should be connected to a wireless router capable of handling such speeds.
This is definitely a game-changer in the world of computer networks, especially since it’s based on an unexpected element. Still, this does not mean that the newly-invented technology is not without problems. Obstructing the light bulb or turning it off would terminate the Internet connection, so whoever wants to try out this technology should prepare for an always-on regime.
