LiFi: The path to a new way of

communication

We all must have heard and used wifi for communication, but what if I say that there is a
technology that is 100 times faster than current average wifi speeds! Yes, this technology exists,
and this is known as Light Fidelity (LiFi). So this article we will understand the LiFi concept in
detail and its advantages over wifi and its real-world use in industries.
What is LiFi ?
LIFI, also known as LIGHT FIDELITY, is a both-sided wireless communication system that
releases information via LED (Light Emitting Device) or Infrared Light. LIFI technology was the
first time it came into use in the year 2011. LIFI is an extension of WIFI Communication which
requires a light source for data sending and communication on the internet. The most significant
feature of LIFI is that it’s most faster than WIFI communication. LiFi increases the speed and
bandwidth of wifi, 3G, and 4G. LiFi transmission speeds can go over 100 Gbps, 14 times faster
than WIFI Communication, also known as the world’s fastest wifi. The interference or the
obstacles are less during the communication process, so in seawater, it is preferable to use LIFI
as WIFI communication can have numerous interference while communicating. The founder of
the father of this technology is Professor Harald Hass.
The LI-FI circuit is used consists of mainly three sub-assemblies
1. RF Driver – RF Driver is used for controlling or handling the circuit for digital and analog
lighting controls.
2. Emitter – An emitter device is used to emit or generate charged particles.
3. Power Supply: Power Supply is an electrical device used to supply electrical power to an
electrical load for operation.
How LiFi work?
1. The working or the implementation of LIFI is not very complex like WIFI communication. It
is straightforward to send information through the LED light bulb, which emits pulsed light
to receivers. After that, the receiver collects the sent data or information and understands the
transmitted data.
2. The LED bulb can be toggled on and off instantly for more reliable communication and for
saving power. So only the things we require for this communication are some LEDs Bulbs
and a controller that codes into those LEDs Bulbs.
3. In some cases, we need to alter or modify the rate of transmission in which the lED bulb flash
depending upon the information we want to encode.
4. As we stated above, the Light source is the main component in this communication, so that
light source will serve as the central hub for data transmission from one point to another
destination point.
Advantages of LiFi :
1. Every User wants the communication and data transfer should be fast, so LIFI does this for
us; its main advantage is the Speed of Transmission. LIFEIrDA-compliant standard-
compliant is 10000 times or even faster than the Spectrum used by RADIO waves in WIFI
communication or data transfer.
2. The structure of LIFI is not very complex as WIFI, as Lightboxes are already present in LIFI,
so the design is already available and pre-installed.
3. As the Speed is high, indirectly data transfer rate increases. So the data transfer rate of LIFI is
approximately 10 Gbps or sometimes more.
4. Light is the primary source required in LIFI structure for communication, and luckily Light is
already available in natural or artificial ways. Everywhere there is Light, so the Data is
present where Light exists.
5. We all know LEDs use a very minimal amount of energy for their usage or operation. So the
energy and cost required for Data Transfer in LIFI are also minimal.
6. The interference or obstacles in WIFI are more than the LIFI, so LIFI is more secure than the
WIFI communication, and this is also an essential advantage regarding LIFI.
Disadvantages of LiFi :
No Thing is perfect! Every aspect has its advantages and disadvantages. So LIFI also has some
disadvantages.
1. LIFI has a minimal area of scope or range also connectivity.
2. There is an Unavailability of Compatible Technologies.
3. LIFI can give rise to Light Interference and Light Pollution.
4. LiFI has Possible cost Implications.
5. Cannot penetrate through walls.
6. Interference from external sources i.e. sun, normal bulbs, candles, etc.
Comparison between LiFi and WiFi :

Key LiFi WiFi

Technology WLAN 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ad standard-

Present IrDA compliant devices
Used compliant devices

In LiFi, light does not pass
through the walls and hence will
Privacy
provide a much more secure data
transfer
In WiFi, RF signal passes through the
walls and hence there is a need to
employ techniques to achieve secure
data transfer.

Speed 10 Gbps 150 Mbps

Less Interference and Obstacles High Interference and Obstacles while

Interference
while Communication Communication

Works in the high dense Works in the less dense environment

Data density
environment due to interference-related issues

Less Cost (No extra

Cost High Cost (Due to Complex Structure)
Requirements)

Application Underwater communication, wi-fi hotspot.

 EMI-sensitive environments,
Dense urban environments.

Data transfer About 1 Gbps WLAN-11n offers About 1-2 Gbps can be achieved using
speed, 150Mbps WiGig/Giga-IR

Area LiFi covers 10 meters of area. WiFi covered 30 meters of area.

Standard IEEE 802.15.7 IEEE 802.11

Real-World Applications of LiFi :
1. LIFI is Used in airlines
2. LIFI is used in Undersea explorations or Seawaters
3. LIFI is used in Operation theatres in the hospitals
4. LIFI is used in Home premises for data transfer
5. LIFI is used in Internet browsing
6. LIFI is used in Security
7. LIFI is used in Dense urban environments
8. LIFI is used in Education systems
9. LIFI is used in Cellular communication
10. LIFI is used in Disaster management
Will LIFI replace WIFI in the future?
In my opinion, The answer will be No, As LIFI is an extension of the WIFI network or Wireless
Communication. LIFI doesn’t work through large-scale obstacles in transferring data, while
WIFI can work with these obstacles. A collaboration of LAN Network, WLAN Network, and
LIFI technology can be formed, or there is a possibility of combining these technologies.LIFI is
possibly used at ht top of buildings to transmit data without any interference and interruptions. If
a person is traveling and does not have LIFI enabled light or LED nearby, he will not connect to
the internet. Despite the fast transmission speed and the few benefits of WIFI, LIFI isn’t likely to
replace WIFI anyhow.

Bluetooth vs Bluetooth Low Energy


Bluetooth is a short-range wireless LAN technology for connecting small devices and
gadgets together and facilitating data transfer among themselves for personal use.
Also known as Bluetooth classic, it operates in the 2.4 GHz ISM unlicensed bandwidth
to communicate among paired devices. Bluetooth classic version comes in two distinct
data rate types known as Basic Rate (BR) and Enhanced Data Rate (EDR). It is
maintained by Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) and is standardized by IEEE
802.15.
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is similar to Bluetooth classic. It is a short-range
wireless LAN communication technology standardized by IEEE 802.15. It also
operates in 2.4 GHz ISM unlicensed bandwidth. The major distinguishing feature of
BLE, commercially made accessible first in 2011, is its low power consumption while
maintaining the same communication range as in Bluetooth classic. It typically finds its
use in healthcare, fitness, security and home automation appliances that save power.

Bluetooth can handle a lot of data but quickly consumes battery life and costs a lot
more. Bluetooth Low Energy is used for applications that do not need to exchange
large amounts of data and can run on battery power for years at a cheaper cost. BLE
achieves this power saving by putting the server in sleep mode until a transfer request
is made by a slave device.
Difference between Bluetooth and BLE

Bluetooth Low Energy

Feature Bluetooth Classic
(BLE)

Power consumption High (approx 1W) Low (approx 0.01W-0.5W)

Communication Range 10m to 30m 10m to 30m

1Mbps for BR
Data Rate 500kbps-1Mbps
2-3Mbps for EDR

GFSK for BR
Modulation Technique 8-DPSK or π/4-DQPSK for GFSK
EDR

2.4 GHz ISM band (2400- 2.4 GHz ISM band (2400-
RF Bandwidth
2483.5 MHz) 2483.5 MHz)

79 channels each of width 40 channels each of width

Number of Channels
1Mhz 2MHz

Frequency Hopping Spread Frequency Hopping Spread

Spreading
Spectrum (FHSS) Spectrum (FHSS)

Time Division Multiple Time Division Multiple

Data link layer protocol
Access (TDMA) Access (TDMA)

Error detection 8 bit CRC or 16 bit CRC, and 24 bit CRC, ACKs
 ACKs

Maximum number of
7 Unlimited
active slaves

URI Full Form


URI stands for Uniform Resource Identifier. It is a technical term that used for the
names of all resources Connected to the World Wide Web. URIs established the
protocols over the internet to conduct the connection between among resources.A URI
(Uniform Resource Identifier) is a sequence of characters that identifies a logical or
physical resource.
usually, but not always, connected to the internet. A URI used to distinguish one
resource from another. URIs allow internet protocols to facilitate interactions between
and among these resources. The strings of characters incorporated in a URI serve as
identifiers, such as a scheme name and a file path.
How Uniform Resource Identifiers work :
URI basically used to extensible way to identify internet resources. There may be
different type of resources Identifier that can be used for the same context, regardless
of the mechanism used to access those resources.
URI used to Identify different type of resources like:
 Electronic Documents
 Webpages
 Images
 Information Sources with a consistent purpose
Every URL is an URI but every URI is not an URL. URNs are URL but not vice Versa
Type of URI : There are two type of URI :
 1. Fragment URI (URN) –
URN stands for Universal Resource Name. it refer the location of the content using
anchor Identifier. URNs are URL but not vice Versa. There is a prefix URN for all
the URNs. When you specify “access mechanism, location’’ And URI becomes
URL.
2. Relative URI(URL) –
URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. URI is the super set of URL. It may
contain URN or Fragment URI that define the document inside the content. URL
has Information about how to fetch / acquire a resources from its location. URLs
always begins with a protocol (Most obvious, HTTP). It will Have the details about
the host name and also have the path. A URL is used When a client is raising a
request to the server for the services

Introduction of Message Queue Telemetry Transport Protocol (MQTT)


MQTT is simple, lightweight messaging protocol used to establish communication between
multiple devices. It is TCP-based protocol relying on the publish-subscribe model. This
communication protocol is suitable for transmitting data between resource-constrained devices
having low bandwidth and low power requirements. Hence this messaging protocol is widely
used for communication in IoT Framework.
Publish-Subscribe Model :
This model involves multiple clients interacting with each other, without having any direct
connection established between them. All clients communicate with other clients only via third
party known as Broker.
MQTT Client and Broker :
Clients publish messages on different topics to broker. The broker is the central server that
receives these messages and filters them based on their topics. It then sends these messages to
respective clients that have subscribed to those different topics.
Hence client that has subscribed to a specific topic receives all messages published on that topic.
Figure – Publish-Subscribe Model
Here the broker is central hub that receives messages, filters them, and distributes them to
appropriate clients, such that both message publishers, as well as subscribers, are clients.
Advantages :
1. Easy Scalability –
This model is not restricted to one-to-one communication between clients. Although the
publisher client sends a single message on specific topic, broker sends multiple messages to
all different clients subscribed to that topic. Similarly, messages sent by multiple such
publisher clients on multiple different topics will be sent to all multiple clients subscribed to
those topics.
Hence one-to-many, many-to-one, as well as many-to-many communication is possible using
this model. Also, clients can publish data and at the same time receive data due to this two-
way communication protocol. Hence MQTT is considered to be bi-directional protocol. The
default unencrypted MQTT port used for data transmission is 1883. The encrypted port for
secure transmission is 8883.
2. Eliminates insecure connections –
In a complex system where multiple devices are connected with each other, each device not
only has to manage its connections with other devices but also has to ensure that these
connections are secure. But in the publish-subscribe model, the broker becomes central server
managing all security aspects. It is responsible for the authentication and authorization of all
connected clients.
3. Lightweight Communication –
Data transmission is quick, efficient, and lightweight because MQTT messages have small
code footprint. These control messages have a fixed header of size 2 bytes and payload
message up to size 256 megabytes.
Topics :
In MQTT, topic is UTF-8 string that the broker uses to filter messages for each individual
connected client. Each topic consists of one or more different topic levels. Each topic level is
separated by forward slash also called topic level separator. Both topics and levels are case-
sensitive.
Example of topic –
home/kitchen/table
 Here, “home”, “kitchen” and “table” are different levels of topic.
Wildcard is an additional feature used in MQTT to make topics and their levels more flexible
and user-friendly.
MQTT Topics include two types of wildcards:
1. Single Level: “+”
Single-level wildcard represented by “+” symbol can replace single level in topic.
Example –
If the client wants information about all tables present inside the house, it will subscribe to the
topic :
home/+/table
Hence any information published related to tables, inside the kitchen, living room, bedroom, etc,
can be obtained on this topic.

Figure – Single-Level Topics in MQTT

2. Multi-Level: “#”
Multi-level wildcard represented by “#” symbol can replace multiple levels in topic.
Example –
If a client wants information about all objects present inside the kitchen, living room, bedroom,
or any other room on ground floor, it will subscribe to topic:
home/groundfloor/#
Hence any information published on topics related to kitchen items, bedroom items, living room
items can be obtained on this topic. Information up to multiple levels can be obtained in this
case.

Difference between COAP and MQTT

protocols

1. Constrained Application Protocol (COAP): The constrained application protocol is a client
server-based protocol. With this protocol, the COAP packet can be shared between different
client nodes which are commanded by the COAP server. The server is responsible to share the
information depending on its logic but has not acknowledged it. This is used with the
applications which support the state transfer model.
2. Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT): The message query telemetry transport
protocol is a communication-based protocol that is used for IoT devices. This protocol is based
on the publish-subscribe methodology in which clients receive the information through a broker
only to the subscribed topic. A broker is a mediator who categorizes messages into labels before
being delivered.

Difference between COAP and MQTT protocols:

Basis of COAP MQTT

Message Queuing Telemetry

Constrained Application Protocol
Abbreviation Transport

Communication
It uses Request-Response model. It uses Publish-Subscribe model
Type

This uses both Asynchronous and

This uses only Asynchronous
Messaging Mode Synchronous.

Transport layer This mainly uses User Datagram This mainly uses Transmission
protocol protocol(UDP) Control protocol(TCP)

Header size It has 4 bytes sized header It has 2 bytes sized header

No it does not uses REST

Yes it uses REST principles
RESTful based principles
 Basis of COAP MQTT

It supports and best used for live

It does not has such support
Persistence support data communication

It provides by adding labels to the

It has no such feature.
Message Labelling messages.

It is used in Utility area networks It is used in IoT applications and

Usability/Security and has secured mechanism. is secure

Effectiveness Effectiveness in LNN is excellent. Effectiveness in LNN is low.

Communication Communication model is many-

Communication model is one-one.
Model many.

IPv4

IP stands for Internet Protocol and v4 stands for Version Four (IPv4). IPv4 was the
primary version brought into action for production within the ARPANET in 1983.
IP version four addresses are 32-bit integers which will be expressed in decimal
notation.
Example- 192.0.2.126 could be an IPv4 address.
Parts of IPv4
 Network part:
The network part indicates the distinctive variety that’s appointed to the network. The
network part conjointly identifies the category of the network that’s assigned.
 Host Part:
The host part uniquely identifies the machine on your network. This part of the IPv4
address is assigned to every host.
For each host on the network, the network part is the same, however, the host half must
vary.
  Subnet number:
This is the nonobligatory part of IPv4. Local networks that have massive numbers of hosts
are divided into subnets and subnet numbers are appointed to that.
Characteristics of IPv4
 IPv4 could be a 32-Bit IP Address.
 IPv4 could be a numeric address, and its bits are separated by a dot.
 The number of header fields is twelve and the length of the header field is twenty.
 It has Unicast, broadcast, and multicast style of addresses.
 IPv4 supports VLSM (Virtual Length Subnet Mask).
 IPv4 uses the Post Address Resolution Protocol to map to the MAC address.
 RIP may be a routing protocol supported by the routed daemon.
 Networks ought to be designed either manually or with DHCP.
 Packet fragmentation permits from routers and causing host.
Advantages of IPv4
 IPv4 security permits encryption to keep up privacy and security.
 IPV4 network allocation is significant and presently has quite 85000 practical routers.
 It becomes easy to attach multiple devices across an outsized network while not NAT.
 This is a model of communication so provides quality service also as economical
knowledge transfer.
 IPV4 addresses are redefined and permit flawless encoding.
 Routing is a lot of scalable and economical as a result of addressing is collective more
effectively.
 Data communication across the network becomes a lot of specific in multicast
organizations.
 Limits net growth for existing users and hinders the use of the net for brand new
users.
 Internet Routing is inefficient in IPv4.
 IPv4 has high System Management prices and it’s labor-intensive, complex,
slow & frequent to errors.
 Security features are nonobligatory.
 Difficult to feature support for future desires as a result of adding it on is
extremely high overhead since it hinders the flexibility to attach everything over
IP.
Limitations of IPv4
 IP relies on network layer addresses to identify end-points on network, and each network
has a unique IP address.
 The world’s supply of unique IP addresses is dwindling, and they might eventually run out
theoretically.
 If there are multiple host, we need IP addresses of next class.
 Complex host and routing configuration, non-hierarchical addressing, difficult to re-
numbering addresses, large routing tables, non-trivial implementations in providing
security, QoS (Quality of Service), mobility and multi-homing, multicasting etc. are the big
limitation of IPv4 so that’s why IPv6 came into the picture.

Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)


IPv6 was developed by Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to deal with the problem of IPv4
exhaustion. IPv6 is a 128-bits address having an address space of 2128, which is way bigger than
IPv4. IPv6 use Hexa-Decimal format separated by colon (:) .
Components in Address format :

1. There are 8 groups and each group represents 2 Bytes (16-bits).

2. Each Hex-Digit is of 4 bits (1 nibble)
3. Delimiter used – colon (:)

Need for IPv6:

The Main reason of IPv6 was the address depletion as the need for electronic devices rose
quickly when Internet Of Things (IOT) came into picture after the 1980s & other reasons are
related to the slowness of the process due to some unnecessary processing, the need for new
options, support for multimedia, and the desperate need for security. IPv6 protocol responds to
the above issues using the following main changes in the protocol:
1. Large address space
An IPv6 address is 128 bits long .compared with the 32 bit address of IPv4, this is a huge(2
raised 96 times) increases in the address space.
2. Better header format
IPv6 uses a new header format in which options are separated from the base header and inserted,
when needed, between the base header and the upper layer data . This simplifies and speeds up
the routing process because most of the options do not need to be checked by routers.
3. New options
IPv6 has new options to allow for additional functionalities.
4. Allowance for extension
IPv6 is designed to allow the extension of the protocol if required by new technologies or
applications.
5. Support for resource allocation
In IPv6,the type of service field has been removed, but two new fields , traffic class and flow
label have been added to enables the source to request special handling of the packet . this
mechanism can be used to support traffic such as real-time audio and video.
6. Support for more security
The encryption and authentication options in IPv6 provide confidentiality and integrity of the
packet.
In IPv6 representation, we have three addressing methods :
 Unicast
 Multicast
 Anycast
Addressing methods
1. Unicast Address
Unicast Address identifies a single network interface. A packet sent to a unicast address is
delivered to the interface identified by that address.
2. Multicast Address
Multicast Address is used by multiple hosts, called as groups, acquires a multicast destination
address. These hosts need not be geographically together. If any packet is sent to this multicast
address, it will be distributed to all interfaces corresponding to that multicast address. And every
node is configured in the same way. In simple words, one data packet is sent to multiple
destinations simultaneously.
3. Anycast Address
Anycast Address is assigned to a group of interfaces. Any packet sent to an anycast address will
be delivered to only one member interface (mostly nearest host possible).
Note: Broadcast is not defined in IPv6.
Types of IPv6 address:
We have 128 bits in IPv6 address but by looking at the first few bits we can identify what type of
address it is.

Prefix Allocation Fraction of Address Space

0000 0000 Reserved 1/256

0000 0001 Unassigned (UA) 1/256

0000 001 Reserved for NSAP 1/128

0000 01 UA 1/64

0000 1 UA 1/32

0001 UA 1/16
 Prefix Allocation Fraction of Address Space

001 Global Unicast 1/8

010 UA 1/8

011 UA 1/8

100 UA 1/8

101 UA 1/8

110 UA 1/8

1110 UA 1/16

1111 0 UA 1/32

1111 10 UA 1/64

1111 110 UA 1/128

1111 1110 0 UA 1/512

1111 1110 10 Link-Local Unicast Addresses 1/1024

 Prefix Allocation Fraction of Address Space

1111 1110 11 Site-Local Unicast Addresses 1/1024

1111 1111 Multicast Address 1/256

Note: In IPv6, all 0’s and all 1’s can be assigned to any host, there is not any restriction like
IPv4.
Provider-based Unicast address :
These are used for global communication.

The First 3 bits identify it as of this type.

Registry Id (5-bits): Registry Id identifies the region to which it belongs. Out of 32 (i.e. 2^5),
only 4 registry IDs are being used.

Provider Id: Depending on the number of service providers that operate under a region, certain
bits will be allocated to the Provider Id field. This field need not be fixed. Let’s say if Provider Id
= 10 bits then Subscriber Id will be 56 – 10 = 46 bits.
Subscriber Id: After Provider Id is fixed, the remaining part can be used by ISP as a normal IP
address.
Intra Subscriber: This part can be modified as per the need of the organization that is using the
service.
Geography based Unicast address :
Global routing prefix: Global routing prefix contains all the details of Latitude and Longitude.
As of now, it is not being used. In Geography-based Unicast address routing will be based on
location.
Interface Id: In IPv6, instead of using Host Id, we use the term Interface Id.
Some special addresses:
Unspecified

Loopback

IPv4 Compatible

IPv4 mapped

Local Unicast Addresses :

These are of two types: Link-local and Site-Local
1. Link-local address:

A link-local address is used for addressing a single link. It can also be used to communicate with
nodes on the same link. The link-local address always begins with 1111111010 (i.e. FE80). The
router will not forward any packet with Link-local address.

2. Site local address:

Site local addresses are equivalent to a private IP address in IPv4. Likely, some address space is
reserved, which can only be routed within an organization. The first 10-bits are set to
1111111011, which is why Site local addresses always begin with FEC0. The following 32 bits
are Subnet IDs, which can be used to create a subnet within the organization. The node address is
used to uniquely identify the link; therefore, we use a 48-bits MAC address here.

Advantages of IPv6 :
1. Realtime Data Transmission : Realtime data transmission refers to the process of
transmitting data in a very fast manner or immediately. Example : Live streaming services such
as cricket matches, or other tournament that are streamed on web exactly as soon as it happens
with a maximum delay of 5-6 seconds.
2. IPv6 supports authentication: Verifying that the data received by the receiver from the
sender is exactly what the sender sent and came through the sender only not from any third party.
Example : Matching the hash value of both the messages for verification is also done by IPv6.
3. IPv6 performs Encryption: Ipv6 can encrypt the message at network layer even if the
protocols of application layer at user level didn’t encrypt the message which is a major
advantage as it takes care of encryption.
4. Faster processing at Router: Routers are able to process data packets of Ipv6 much faster
due to smaller Base header of fixed size – 40 bytes which helps in decreasing processing time
resulting in more efficient packet transmission. Whereas in Ipv4, we have to calculate the length
of header which lies between 20-60 bytes.