Applicability of Li-Fi Technology For Industrial
Applicability of Li-Fi Technology For Industrial
Applicability of Li-Fi Technology For Industrial
1, February 2017
AbstractLight Fidelity (Li-Fi) is a new technology for radiofrequency spectrum is 10,000 times shorter than the
wireless communication. In this article, Li-Fi technology will visible light spectrum as shown in Fig. 1 [5], [7].
be analyzed in details. Its applications, challenges and
limitations will be mentioned. Li-Fi will be compared with
Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi). In industrial automation systems,
production process should be fast and safely. Unlike Wi-Fi,
high-speed internet connection is provided using Li-Fi
technology. Therefore, applicability of industrial
automation systems of Li-Fi technology will be examined.
and off within nanoseconds, which gives good possibility Li-Fi can provide cheaper and high speed Internet in
for transmitting data [9]. A photo detector, which is p-i-n airplane using every light source [7], [12]. In addition, Li-
photodiode or avalanche photodiode, receives transmitted Fi can be used for location specific information services
data from the light source and decodes the data [5], [9]. which are navigation and advertising. Stores use LED
Parallel data transmission can be produced using LED lights to brighten their showcases. At the same time, they
arrays so data transmission speed is increased. can advertise their products using Li-Fi technology [12].
The operation principle of Li-Fi is similar with TV Museums and art galleries use specific light to illuminate
remote system. These two systems are shown in Fig. 2 exhibits. Li-Fi technology can be used to get further
[10]. information about the object using that specific light.
RF that cannot use in intrinsically safe environments
such as petrochemical plants and mine generate antenna
sparks but Li- Fi can be used due to safer than
radiofrequency communication [12]. Petrochemical
plants need fast interconnected data systems to
monitoring core temperature and grid integrity. Li-Fi
technology provides cheap and fast internet connection to
data transmission [7], [12].
Figure 2. The operation principle of Li-Fi and TV remote control
Strong signals are absorbed in water so Wi-Fi fails in
system [10] (*bits per second) underwater communication. However, light can pass
through water so Li-Fi can be used in underwater
Intensity modulation and direct detection is used to communication [12].
encode data because LED light generates incoherent light, In outdoor environment, between two radios base
which is oscillating different directions. Therefore, data station distance is about 200-250 meters. In current
communication cannot use the signal phase as used in communication system, radio base station should be
laser diodes [5]. positioned in every 250 meters. However, streetlights can
A block diagram of the Li-Fi system is shown in Fig. 3. be utilized as free access point for high speed Internet
Power supply produces constant power for lamp driver. along the street using Li-Fi technology [7]. Thus, street
Lamp driver connect to the internet connection. Switch lights provide fast and cheap internet connection along
and LED lamp is connected lamp driver with fibre optics the street. Another application is vehicle-to-vehicle or
cables. LED lamp acts as a communication source. vehicle-to-roadside communication using Li-Fi
Microchip, which is located in LED lamp, converts the technology [7] [11]. Traffic lights, street lights and car
data into light. High-speed data is transmitted using light lights are LED-based. Cars not only can communicate
beam from LED lamp to photo detector. Receiver detects each other but also can communicate traffic light using
changing in intensity of the light beam and converts the Li-Fi technology as shown in Fig. 4. Roadside
data into electrical signal [9]. These converted data are infrastructures, location, direction of travel and each
transmitted to the technological devices [8], [9]. vehicles speed can be exchanged using Li-Fi [7], [12].
Thus, traffic can be managed and accidents can be
reduced.
smartphones, notebooks or tablets, with speed up 10Gb/s secure and private environment. Radio frequencies
[14]. Unidirectional data services are provided using penetrate human body and can cause cell mutation but
Giga-Shower. This model enables several channels to light are not harmful for human body. Unlike Wi-Fi, Li-
multiple users gigabit-class communication speed [14]. Fi offers safe and green communication environment [7].
Giga-Beam models are used a point-to-point data link for Another issue is speed of Internet that is around 11
applications or portable-to-portable data exchanges. That Mb/s for Wi-Fi connection is 1Gb/s for Li-Fi connection.
means, full HDTV movie can be transferred one device to It can be clearly seen that Li-Fi is a high-speed wireless
another device within seconds. Giga-MIMO is an optical technology [15]. Data transmission rate of different LEDs
wireless multi-channel hot-spot solution which offers is shown in Fig. 6. Different type of LED light source can
bidirectional gigabit-class communication in room [14]. affect data transmission rate as shown in below graph.
Giga- Spot is an optical single-channel hot-spot solution. 100Gb/s transmission rate are achieved in laboratory
environment using laser LEDs [16].
III. COMPARISON OF LI-FI WITH WI-FI
Current wireless technology, which is called Wi-Fi,
has various problems. These problems can be divided into
three main groups that are capacity, efficiency and
security [8]. Radiofrequency spectrum is narrow so Wi-Fi
technology offers limited bandwidth. In addition, 3G and
4G technologies run out of this limited radio spectrum
[15]. However, visible light spectrum is 10,000 times
wider than radiofrequency spectrum so Li-Fi technology
offers unlimited capacity for communication systems.
According to Haas, Li-Fi technology is ready for IoT and
5G [15]. Figure 6. Different LED light transmission rates [16]
On the one hand, Wi-Fi technology uses base station or
cellular radio masts to transmit data using radio waves. Wi-Fi Internet connection area is around 100 meters.
1.4 million base stations consume remarkable energy However, Li-Fi Internet connection area is based on LED
especially to cooling stations. The efficiency of these lights. That means Internet connection area can be
stations is only at about 5% [15]. On the other hand, Li-Fi widening using LED lamps as shown in Fig. 7. This
uses light waves to transmit data using LEDs. LEDs characteristic feature is a great advantage for places that
consume less energy as compared base stations. It can be need large Internet access area (e.g. factories, industrial
seen clearly, wireless communication can be cheaper and places).
more efficient using Li-Fi technology.
Energy efficiency graph is shown in Fig. 5. In this
graph, Li-Fi and Wi-Fi technology is compared. Energy
efficiency of Wi-Fi network declines rapidly while users
increasing. However, the energy efficiency of Li-Fi
network remains constant along a large number of users.
The green curve represents the ratio between Li-Fi and
Wi-Fi. As can be seen in this graph, Li-Fi is more energy
efficient network technology than Wi-Fi.
Li-Fi has limitation and challenges despite all these compared with Li-Fi in a factory environment that
advantages. Light cannot pass through walls and solid includes lots of moving obstacles. Therefore, Wi-Fi
objects. On the one hand, this situation provides more systems are more useful than Li-Fi for industrial areas.
secure communication environment. On the other hand, However, when considering a factory, Wi- Fi connection
solid objects on light pathways can affect data receivers are positioned in specific locations. The internet
transmission. Researchers try to solve line-of-sight connection is delivered to the robotic arms via Ethernet
problems for Li-Fi technology. In these days, they work cables. When Wi-Fi systems are replaced with Li-Fi, still
on hybrid model. Hybrid model will include both Wi-Fi receivers are positioned in specific locations and nothing
and Li-Fi technology. The working principle of hybrid can interrupt light. Therefore, internet connection can be
system will be simple. When Li-Fi connection is provided without any interruption to the robotic arms or
interrupted for some reasons, Wi-Fi connection will be any other devices. Thus, line-of-sight problem are solved.
activated. Therefore, Internet connection will continue In addition, it can be clearly seen that production process
without any interruption. However, hybrid model has not will be faster with using Li-Fi, which is provided high-
been implemented yet. speed data transmission rate. This system model is shown
Sunlight, natural light and electric light are different in Fig. 8.
light sources. These different light sources can affect data
transmission speed. In Li-Fi technology, receiver and
light source should be placed a perfect position to reach
high-speed transmission rate [7]. Li-Fi has a high
installation cost because it is a new technology.
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Professor of Electrical and Electronic at Hitit
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University, orum, Turkey. He is the Director
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[7] (2011). TED Talk online by Harald Hass on wireless data from of the Electrical and Electronic Department in
every light bulb. [Online]. Available: http://bit.ly/tedvlc the Hitit University. His fields of interest include automatic control,
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[Online]. Available: http://www.techtreme.com/internet/li-fi-vs-
wi-fi-how-it- works/ Bra Yartai received her B.S. degree from
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visible light communication in underwater vehicles, International Department of Atatrk University, Turkey in
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106, 2014. Southampton, UK in 2015. She is currently a
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http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34942685 Engineering Department of Hitit University.
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International Conference on Information and Communication
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Mustafa Reit Habolu received his B.Sc.
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http://purelifi.com/what_is_li- fi/applications-of-li-fi/ degree from the Mechatronics Engineering
[13] (2015). Li-Fi a new way of data transmission using light bulbs, Department of Sabanci University, Turkey, in
which is 100 times faster than Wi-Fi. [Online]. Available: 2009 and his M.S. degree from the
http://dreamzdevelopers.com/li-fi-a-new-way-of-data- Mechanical Engineering Department of Koc
transmission-100-times-faster-than-wi-fi/ University, Turkey in 2012. He is currently a
[14] (2015). Li-Fi consortium. [Online]. Available: research assistant and a PhD candidate at Hitit
http://www.lificonsortium.org/technology.html University Mechanical Engineering
[15] H. Haas. Can Li-Fi enhance energy efficiency. [Online]. Available: Department. His research interests include
http://www.homepages.ed.ac.uk/hxh/VIDEOS/GREENCOMM15/ automatic control, mechatronics, robotics and
Haas_GreenComm.html composite materials manufacturing.