Forget Wi-Fi. Meet the new Li-Fi Internet | Harald Haas 

But you need unobstructed line of sight. How practical is that? WiFi radio can go through walls.

Calm down people,its still a prototype, you remember a prototype of phone years ago? from what I can see,it might be useful in many ways,lets wait for few years.

This reminds me of the in store price correction systems. Stores rigged up their lighting to pulse signals and electronic price tags picked up the flicker so prices could be updated for specific products or across the store with a minimum of wiring. The price displays were powered and set by the lighting. No wires or signals required.

But you can only receive data? How do you request data?

Would be a great technology to improve communication between cars (especially autonomous) via the headlights and braking lights. Cars could easily determine the car in front of them and communicate if that car approaches an obstacle for example. The speed of data transmission would be way faster than what is possible with mobile data at the moment. This would make autonomous driving more safe I believe.

I see that the drawbacks of this idea have already been commented on by a number of people. Though, still, it is an interesting concept.

Thnx Mr. Hass it's been an honour to watch your video .recently me with my friends made a lifi project to transmit data using mic it works but also we can't expend distance between transmitter and receiver if you help us we will glad. Finally I must say it is a revolution and if it applicable there will be no problem in data steaming anywhere.

@5:36 . Anyone else notice that the 'fog' did not cover the entire panel?

FANTASTIC IDEA. WORLD CHANGING AND ONE OF THE BEST IDEAS I'VE SEEN IN THE LAST 20 YEARS. ABSOLUTELY GREAT IDEA, MAN. CONGRATS.

It's disadvantage can also be its advantage. Advantage/Disadvantage: You need clear line of site from the transmitter to the receiver. This means you guarantee that only people, in the room for example, can see the connection. I believe this can be either an inconvenience or a security feature depending on your goals. Pure Advantage: Because it is using much higher frequency light than WiFi the maximum connection speed limit is far higher than WiFi's.

Fascinating! The demonstration is very reminiscent of tabletop scientific demonstrations & experiments done in the 18th and 19th centuries. It should be extremely interesting to see where this technology goes in the near future. The challenge of sending information from your smart device _back to_ the Net via Li-fi will be daunting.

This is an amazing concept. As far as long distance or constant light exposure areas, this would change everything. I wonder how they are going to try and circumvent the problem of physical blockage.

Comments Section = Facepalm... Li-Fi is, in no way, Replacing Wi-Fi. They have very different uses. Lifi can only receive data.. at the moment.. We can use this technology to bring internet around the world; not for upload, but download. Imagine transmitting the encyclopedia britanica, and any digitized book, to schools in the Congo for virtually no cost. I for one can't wait until we develop more solar-based technology. Maybe then we'll start investing in it because apparently global warming and dissapearing landmass is not reason enough. Maybe if we offer people faster internet, they'll consider it.

Exactly what Fibre Optics use to transfer at high speeds. Uses Light to transfer.

This definitely has potential! What he showed with the handkerchief means we could have satellites in space spreading a radius of lasers, and even when it's cloudy, you'd still get the stream! And in a storm, we would all lose power anyways.

I am so excited about this coming technology. I think it will transform how we use everything, including more respect for one of our most valuable resources: light.

Guy: "In the next 2-3 years" Me: *laughs in 2019*

Incredible concept, I can't wait to see this idea progress and be utilised in our future society. Thank you world for the thinkers you create.

wow if this technology will be materialized in the near future it will solve slow internet connectivity and no one will be leaf behind in terms of fast paced data transmittal with the speed of light connectivity everyone can access the internet irregardless of their location or wherever they're may be in the world.thank you and Good luck Mr Haas and your team.

This peace of tech is very, very innovating. I am interested to see how far this tech is gonna go.

Im using Avasva instructions to make it and I do it already :)

This is by no means a new idea. A TV remote controller used infrared light to communicate to the TV.

Kindly make this possible to publish this project in INDIA as well as demonstrate it in most places and colleges of India ~Love from Indian Citizen

1. No upstream bandwidth 2. Interference from other light sources 3. Requires line-of-sigh 4. Short ranged I'm afraid it just isn't going to work out.

Such a misleading title. Li-Fi was never intended to replace Wi-Fi.

Ohhhh lifi for Internet. I thought it was about the Wireless energy source, which is again a great idea if anyone come up with that.

Reading through the comments and disappointed with the negative points.. This may not be a complete concept yet, but it's a good start for a better future of the internet.

What is the software to change of data The solar panel is just powered with the led bulb and the video is streaming due to the power received and stops as blocked If I send a text message or email and that is converted to light and then received and shown on the screen

But how will it work when other lights are shined on it? And how does each led know what device it is talking to?

What prevents a neighbor from pointing a flashlight or laser pointer on the solar cell and interfering with the data packets?

A few disadvantages: 1. Too much light noise in the environment (other light sources operating at different frequencies). 2. Need a directional light source and receiver. 3. Can't normal use in dark (at night). 4. Can't normal use at open place, bcos sun. Also. It's not new technology. It's just open optocouple, that using in rotating objects also with wireless power delivery (in lidars e.t.c.).

I just got out of high school with an electronics shop...I could have build this their. I don't even think any realizes the implications on batteries and how much we use the Internet. If we(first world countries) cut down on our Internet usage we could charge just a few batteries and have them for night/emergencies. Cutting down our consumption, increasing efficiency, and giving EVERYONE access to this wonderful achievement of human success we call the Internet(our connection with an instant but distant world) are all healthy steps for humanity as a whole:) Let's keep up the good work

Really interesting, but wifi can go through walls. Could be really great for new technology and architecture.

Okay so we've always been able to transmit data using light and transmit energy using light. This technique allows you to do both at the same time. It's cool but it's not exactly "breakthrough". Solar panels aren't very efficient so there's only a narrow set of applications where this could be useful or practical. I don't see how this could replace wifi in a home, and I don't see how it could offer advancements toward the "internet of things" if all devices require a direct uninterrupted line of sight toward the source of a light beam. If I'm missing something I welcome anyone to help me out..

I can see this being used for broadcasts inside a building. Say you have some sort of Public address system inside a building. You would not need to run extra wires to have it connected to the entire system. or You have a mall with screens which only need to display stuff like ads, menus, emergency drills etc

Outstanding sir. You are a genius. Its the beginning of an new ers. ......

Just open source it d@mmît. 4yrs already and still nothing

6:57 it's 5 years nothing has come!

That is only receiving, RX, when you want to connect something to the internet, you need also transmitting, TX.

Although, its only one way communication, we already have other methods of communication for the internet like 4G and satellite links. I can imagine that the smaller bandwidth link will be used for two way and the LiFi being used to transfer the actual video or file itself.

I WANT IT NOW!

2023 and still... WiFi 🥱

If we use solar panel to descript data transfer from the sun what would that be ? As there is a speed of light and there is a travel time to it and and that becomes a frequency of data transferred in form of light

5:41 The "fog simulation" doesn't fully cover the receiver part... You could say that the bottom part receives the data...

Forget 2015 ,this is 2018 we still use WI-FI 😂

I wasted my WiFi watching this sci-fi Lifi so bye-bye

This would only work to receive data via UDP i.e. stream video as there is no way to upload data, you can't even make requests or verify packets like you can with TCP = very limited usage.

It's very cool tech - but the reliance on direct line of sight between two points seems like a major hurdle to this ever becoming a dominant general-use technology. Also - how do you deal with 2-way communication in practical terms?

I wonder what kind of image the sun would transmit to the laptop, im very curious now

Yooooooo posted on my birthday B) I feel special :)

The problem of this technology is the modulation index. I can imagine, if you operate your solar cell outdoor in bright sunlight with more than 1 kW/m² it could be a problem to transmit data with a 1 mW laser pointer directed to the solar cell.

Good work , but the fog simulation seems a bit flawed... Some part of solar cell was uncovered which would essentially provide the same voltage fluctuations as the whole panel would!

2018 already,Li-fi? MORE LIKE LIE-FI

Now what is the actual real world application?

This is amazing, this is so ahead of the future.

What's new about this isn't the use of light to transfer information, it's making solar cell panels dual-purpose. The energy collected from the signal light source will be only a fraction of the energy needed to power the source, so it isn't really reducing the energy consumption. However, production and shipping consumes a lot of energy so multi-purpose items may well lead to significant reductions in energy consumption. Ambient light will also be utilized, of course, but the higher the energy of the ambient light the higher the energy of the light signal must be, which limits the net effect. It would make sense to use it for data transfer whenever the ambient light is low (like at night or when overcast). As for it being "only one way and therefor useless", that's like saying talking is useless because you can't hear with your mouth. Once data can be transfered, using a transmitter and a receiver, it's trivial to set up full duplex communication - you just set up a transmitter and a receiver on both ends. This technology is quite easy to interrupt, though, or stage "Man in the middle" attacks. As you may have noticed, the "fog" didn't stop the video transmission, but made it choppy as not enough data could be received. Since it's not just the amount of light reaching the solar panel, but the difference in strength between the signal and the ambient light, it can also be interrupted/reduced by adding (ambient) light. Just shining a flash light on the solar panel might be enough to severely disrupt the service. Or, you could use another transmitter with a significantly higher energy output to "replace" the data being received. This technology may have its uses, and it's good that people are thinking outside the box, but with so many other things, it may take a while until it becomes "consumer ready" - if it ever does. Who knows, perhaps it'll serve as an inspiration to something else that's more practical. Either way, it's a step in the right direction, and a needed reminder that information sharing on a global scale does come with a high energy cost. I wonder how much energy we'd save if people didn't comment on YT videos like I've just done..

so instead of a router in every house you need a router in every room! who sponsored him? Netgear?

Dunno, it seems to me that before this could be succesful, we'll already surpass 50Mb/s standards by a mile. 10 years ago most people used ~1Mb/s, now 40Mb/s isn't such a big deal. Assuming 5 bilion devices in 5 years is rather generous, this technology might be rejected because of it's limitations and security problems that could occur because of the open nature of it. What would an internet source look like anyway? Do they plan to make a new sun just for online connection?

What was demonstrated, was Light Radio, not network. While cool, WiFi replacement it is not, but probably could be used as extra downstream bandwidth for existing networks.

Neat trick. I don't see many practical uses though. Consider this... light is a representation of electromagnetic waves. Yep, WiFi, cellular, sattelite, etc all also communicate via electromagnetic waves just at different frequencies. Once you start trying to engineer a wireless modem and dealing with problems like multiplexing, channel noise, etc. you'd wind up with just another wireless communication technology with it's own pros/cons and dedicated infrastructure. I do like the utility of a dual purpose energy and data delivery technology. Maybe some day when every house has solar you could transmit over the air television like this. But this is no replacement for WiFi.

Skynet wrning ...run run

An Arab poetry says : Al ilmu nurun = knowledge is light..what a coincidence

We are already using this tech in simple household devices like TV's remote controller etc. Remote controller uses an IR LED that transmits unique frequency infrared flashes(invisible with naked eyes) for every unique buttons which then can recieved by a reciever (transistor) and decoded and used as information Also it's not practical to use it for continuous connection as required for internet connection due to need of LOS for transmission

This has A LOT of drawbacks for communications between structures. As said before there must be a line of sight, also the weather has to be nice, not cloudy or foggy. I think that li-fi could replace wi-fi if we talk about intra structure communications, such as buildings public wi-fi.

I figured in due time something would replace WiFi. It’s probably ready now, but energy hogs are lobbying to keep it suppressed.

lol he has such a strong german accent.

The idea 💡 is legit. I love ❤ it

I'd rather use this than radio waves. I mean, if houses can be re-engineered so that the lightbulbs in each room transmit data as well as energy, you'll never run out of battery or data. It's like having a router in every room. Then, there could be omnidirectional solar panel spheres installed next to the lightbulbs so it can receive information from your device (from any angle) as your device flickers the data back via some small LED light. And then as the technology progresses, you could turn off the light at night, but still get data if it can be transferred via infrared light, which does not obstruct even in the dark. The idea has potential.

what's the point? it feels like energy wasted

Frst of all hi fi then wi fi nd then li fi

1. How do you request data/upload? 2. If I want to go to the internet or receive internet I need to have my lights on? So I can't browse internet in a dark room without light? or would it be Infra Red light? 3.Obstructions ruining the lights signals

I feel like there are many devices hooked up to one wifi router but only one device can receive data from this, also if someone wanted to see what data is being downloaded (also might i reiterate no upload capable) this would be relatively easy without the need for a password

Good talk, horrendous title. This has nothing to do with WiFi...

2019 no change .....¿

My last speeding ticket happened because I thought the limit was 65. The cop said it was 55 mph, which, surprise surprise, it was. Why didn't the speed limit sign tell my car what the current speed trap required and display it on the nice Mazda HUD? Or transmit current road conditions? Wouldn't take much innovation with this technology to make it happen and save me from Louisiana speed traps. Now that would really be a smart car.

My main question is how distortion of the transmitted light will affect received data, and also how practical this would be in terms of light pollution. Not only this, but how effective it is with conflicting light sources, especially bright daylight

If you want to send data with this technology you have to have a agreement with the Sun.

Lifi = Fancier name for what your remote control uses, and what many devices used to communicate like 20-30 years ago, and did not really work that great back t hen since you have so many interferences that emits IR light.... (and that made it really slow in real life... but I guess in theory its always superfast. speed of light!) I dont see the use of this since Wifi is supieriour in every way.

Good idea, but not explain on the need of transceiver instead of only separate transmitter and receiver as one way process? Thank you for another new alternative technology.

This technology can be used to interconnect towers instead of fiber optic cables. The same further can be used to communicate within a campus where the wife range is not enough to cover the area by making LAN switches (wireless).

*HEY 2015, ITS 2019 AND HOWS THAT Li-Fi WORKING OUT FOR YOU*

Real gamers use lan cables !!! :3

Fiber optics for communications. Can also be used in a laser config.

How can someone dislike the video????!!!! Awesome invention.

Can we all just upload our consciousness to a fucking computer already? I'm tired of all the steps in between..

Lol this never happened

He new, well forgotten old, discovered America: svetotelefon, Masterok, 1986. ;) 20 years ago I was already using this technology.

All this leads to many questions. Will this be practicable? What's the story of the microchip linked to the lamps? And what i really want to know, the high frequency light fluctuation can cause eye damage? If you can get through all this (and much more), the idea is very interesting. Good luck.

Forget 2015.... This is 2019 We still use WIFI.. Lol..😂😂

15mb/s is faster than most broadband connections? Horseshit.

So does this mechanism display what video will be generated from the sun rays?

it's fine that lights can be used to transfer the signals replacing the existing invisible rays and wireless tower signal system but i find a great difficulty in thinking of modulating a meaningful signal on the light rays. like what I am asking is that, how can those simple light rays be used as meaningful signals?

this video 2015?now 2018.where is li-fi in 2018?how to forget wi-fi?you want people die?

50 megabits its nothing compare to google fiber 1000 megabits

Thanks for the new technology sir

I've watched other talks on the subject (but not this one) and Li-Fi is not meant to replace Wi-Fi but to complement. Why the incorrect title ?

Very impressive u took energy to another levell..

Really appreciative Keep on Amaging Thank

That's a great inspiration to a newly coming future

Love the idea, and I'm sure it could be faster. However... outside of redecorating, sometimes massively, light doesn't penetrate solid objects. Your cell would have to be in a good enough spot, then you'd still have to be wired to all the computers/etc. in the house. Also, a light fog might be fine, but if you're in Britain or Seattle, we're not talking about light fog. This also accounts for normal and heavy clouds if you're talking satellites. The rain might also be an issue as each droplet can disperse light. If we're talking ones and zeros that's a ton of data loss. Keep in mind I know very little about solar energy an it's possibilities in data transfer. These are just possible problems according to my limited knowledge in the field... What if it's already very bright out? Would the LED even register?