After launching the idea of an international congress in 2011, professor Harald Haas of the University of Edinburgh announced a working prototype of Internet transmission that uses light  (Li-Fi) in the place of radio waves and cabled wires.

The project, which is the result of the collaboration between the LI-FI R&D Centre of the University of Edinburgh and the pure Li-Fi ltd spin-off, aims to create a data transmission system that can be perfectly integrated into the homes of the future, which will be powered by solar energy and equipped with smart appliances. Basically, the project aims to turn a LED lamp into a router.

The light source will be combined with a solar panel to serve as a high-speed data transmission system, with safer data transfer compared to fibre or wireless systems. The Li-Fi system, in fact, cannot be intercepted or penetrated if you are not in the same room as the transmitter.

“The most interesting opportunity is to transform global communications by speeding up the process of bringing the Internet and other data communication functionality to remote and poorer regions “, said Tom Higgison, Project Manager at Edinburgh Research & Innovation. The university announced that it is now seeking industrial partners to bring Li-Fi routers to a wider public.