I’m still determined to buy a Li-Fi transceiver, not just read about how it will revolutionize the future. So, keep searching.
20180914/DuckDuckGo buy li-fi transceiver
Now, now, all signs seem to point to building your own Li-Fi transceiver if you want Li-Fi today. Yeah, that is totally an option, it’s just that you won’t get competitive bandwidth and speed if you build your own.
20180914/https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/lifi.html
20180914/https://www.homemade-circuits.com/lifi-internet-transmitter-circuit/
20180914/DuckDuckGo build your own li-fi transceiver
Now this Instructable is really botched. Totally just a proof-of-concept if you need to put the light through a paper tube.
20180914/https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Li-Fi-Using-Arduino-Uno/
But, now this is it. I found a real commercial product that gives you acceptable bandwidth, around 54 Mbps both upstream and downstream. And this is a full duplex device.
Ack! I spoke too soon. Well, this is not full open commercial sales, this requires going through a sales representative first before you can get the product.
20180914/https://purelifi.com
20180914/https://purelifi.com/lifi-products/
Now I’m looking for some actual reviews on this device.
Failed search.
20180914/DuckDuckGo purelifi review
20180914/Google purelifi review
20180914/https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/purelifi-demos-integrated-lifi-laptop-mobile-case/
Failed search.
20180914/DuckDuckGo consumer reports li-fi
Well, looks like there aren’t really any real reviews, so I’ll have to provide my own.
What is the field of view of the transceiver connected to your client device? 60 degrees. Now, for an informal, consumer home setup, that’s not very good. It’s bad because the transceiver’s transmit light is too weak to be bounced off a wall, unlike the access point’s light. Indeed, with Wi-Fi, we often times have the same problem that the access point easily has a much stronger signal than the client device, yet obviously wireless communications doesn’t work well unless communications in both directions work well.
In practice, for Li-Fi, this means that the user must be either directly under the Li-Fi ceiling light or directly across the room from a Li-Fi floor lamp. That being said, floor lamps may in general be a much better option for Li-Fi communications in the home because it is much easier for a non-technical user to setup a line-of-sight from their stationary device that may be anywhere in the room to the Li-Fi access point.
But still, we have an obvious design difficulty. How does this work with mobile devices such as smartphones? The user will want to be able to walk around anywhere in the room and still have connectivity. Additionally, they’re going to still want to receive messages when their phone is in their pocket. Phones in pockets, that’s a show-stopper for Li-Fi communications. However, that doesn’t mean that the user’s intended applications cannot be done with Li-Fi, it just means that they need to change their technology expectations. Do they want to talk on a phone and walk around anywhere in a room? Clearly, there’s a better way to set this up: a stationary microphone and speaker for the room. That can easily be connected to Li-Fi, and of course the audio travels through the entire room, “wirelessly.” In essence, the mobile phone is trying to solve the problem in the wrong way, though admittably it is the most convenient way to implement the solution.
All that being said, the reasons why Li-Fi will not take off in the home are actually quite simple and easy to explain. “Does it provide Internet to my smartphone?” Let us not forget this point. Broadband Internet subscriptions to homes didn’t start to really take off until smartphones penetrated the market far and wide. And by all means, the most convenient protocol for connecting “Internet” to a smartphone is Wi-Fi, because it penetrates walls, floors, ceilings, clothing pockets, and purses.
In case I didn’t emphasize this point strongly enough, I will emphasize it again. Smartphones drive the sales of all peripheral devices. If you can’t argue a sales pitch as to how buying a certain device will benefit a smartphone user, chances are you won’t be able to sell it. More importantly, smartphone users won’t want to use it, especially if it means that there are more hoops for them to jump through.
Also, don’t forget. I’ve read this from one of my previous information sources about 2.4 GHz versus 5 GHz, but it is worth mentioning again. Again, I reiterate, because this is important! The vast majority of smartphones are not 5 GHz capable, so make sure you provide a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network for smartphone access.