’LiFi’ could provide faster internet access

High speed internet could be delivered through the lights in homes and offices, revolutionising the way we download and upload information in the future, finds UCL researchers. Academics from UCL, Northumbria University and Newcastle University are developing a new type of organic LED (light-emitting diode) which will communicate with smart devices such as tablets and phones to download and upload huge amounts of data. Known as 'LiFi', the new technology uses visible light communication to transmit information. LEDs in ceilings can be turned on and off at a very high frequency that isn't visible to the human eye to communicate with LEDs in phone or tablet screens. Dr Paul Haigh (UCL Electronic & Electrical Engineering) said: "The LEDs we are developing are plastic, flexible devices which are cheap to make and which are already appearing in high-end mobile phones, tablets and televisions. "We are incorporating these into a thin film, just 500 nanometers (0.0005 millimetres) thick that could be used as a smart phone or tablet screen, allowing it to act as a LiFi transmitter. "In addition, as well as looking at how we transmit information from a light in the ceiling to an electronic device, we are the first researchers to also consider how we can transfer information the other way too, allowing devices to essentially talk to each other." The research team - made up of academics from UCL, Northumbria University and Newcastle University - is focusing on the creation of a new low-cost, plastic all-organic LED which will be used to develop the world's first complete visible light communications system.