Edinburgh firm听pureLiFi, winner of our Scotland Tech 50 ranking for 2020, is a world leader in a technology which could become the 鈥榤otorway for internet data鈥�.听
Founded by Prof. Harald Haas and Dr Mostafa听Afgani听as a spin–out of the University of Edinburgh,听pureLiFi听uses the light spectrum to send data rather than听radio frequencies.听
By making听small adjustments in the intensity of light, it can deliver听an听internet connection with a bandwidth听far beyond the capabilities of conventional wireless communications such as Wi-Fi.听
With data traffic increasing exponentially听every year and causing a ‘spectrum crunch’ headache, the potential for easing the听burden on existing technologies is massive, says CEO Alistair Banham.听
鈥�The world鈥檚 reliance on the internet听is growing exponentially,鈥� he tells听老九品茶Cloud. 鈥淚n order to sustain the current level of bandwidth requirement we need to release more spectrum.听听
鈥淟ight has 1000x the spectrum of Radio Frequency. A simple way to compare听LiFi听and RF technology such as Wi-Fi and cellular听is to think of them as light roads:听LiFi听is the Motorway and RF is a country road. You can simply push a lot more traffic through with light rather than radio.听
鈥�We’re not here to replace RF, which is a great technology;听we’re here to complement听it.听听LiFi听will become one of the biggest听鈥撎�if听not the biggest听鈥撎�bearer听of data within future networks听and systems.鈥�听
The company was founded in 2012, with funding from Scottish Enterprise, on the back of a听TEDGlobal听Talk where the technology was demonstrated in public for the first time 鈥� and听Prof. Haas coined the term听LiFi.听
LiFi听is already capable of听gigabit connectivity but has the potential to reach听tens of gigabits per second, according to Banham, who joined the firm in 2016.听It also has major benefits when it comes to security听and stability.听
鈥淲ith RF, you can get these little sniffer machines that can detect听electromagnetic waves and show a footprint. Using the light spectrum, there鈥檚 no digital footprint: there’s no way of anyone capturing the data in that light signal,鈥� explains the CEO.听听
鈥淵ou don’t even know where it is. There’s a lot of talk about cyber security at the moment,听which听means听people听are听coming听to us to ask whether we have a solution to make them more secure.听
鈥淭he quality of the connection is very good. With RF systems there can be quite a lot of interference: if听you’re living in flats and听there are听Wi-Fi听signals听above you, below you and beside you,听that starts to cause issues听and the听net impact is听that听the signal decays.听
鈥淩F is a big bubble. The more people get into the bubble, the more issues you have with the amount of data that each of you can receive and transmit. In a public area such as an airport, you might be desperate to send an important document to your boss but find it impossible to get on to the network; and if you do get on, you could be kicked off at any point.听听
鈥�You don’t get that with our technology.听Light doesn’t pass through walls, so you can’t jam the source. We听also听don’t steal bandwidth from the next access point: if you’re sitting under one light听cone,听and听I’m听next to you听under my light, we’re both transmitting and receiving data. But if I happen to download a massive Netflix听film,听your bandwidth doesn’t get affected.鈥�听听
In the smartphone of the future, you might select听LiFi听rather than Wi-Fi when sitting in a caf茅. In your own home听or other familiar locations, where you’ve set up protocols,听the device will automatically connect when you enter the cone鈥檚 transmission zone.听When听you move outside of that听cone, it immediately switches off.听
Today听pureLiFi听has 200 deployments being evaluated in 20 countries across 20 different use-cases.听
For听example听a partnership with Getac听has seen听LiFi听incorporated into the manufacturer鈥檚听rugged tablets and PCs for the military, manufacturing and automotive industries. It is also working with Cisco.听
鈥�We have very good relationships with global OEM companies,鈥� says Banham.听鈥�We’re going to provide听LiFi听components for the mass market through our light antenna devices听which听integrate into mobile devices.听
鈥淲e still have a long way to go because when you are evolving听a new technology, it’s not an overnight design; it takes quite a bit of time to embed, test and evaluate it,听and make sure you’ve got the right use-cases.听
鈥�But we believe we’re over the early adopters now and the next few years are going to be extremely exciting for us.听I would say that we’ll probably get pervasive with this technology in the next two, three, four years.听
鈥淐OVID’s not helping because everything is slowing down, but we’re on the right trajectory.鈥�听
CEO听Banham听has more than 30 years鈥� experience in the semiconductor industry which could be crucial in bringing听LiFi听to the mass market.听
CEO Alistair Banham
Following executive roles at the likes of Philips,听Wolfson Microelectronics and听ON Semiconductor 鈥� where he听played a leading role in the spin-out from Motorola and subsequent IPO 鈥� he relished the opportunity to听help build a new technology from the ground up.听
鈥淚 took some time out for a couple of years. When I was approached about this opportunity, being very candid with you, I hadn’t even heard of听LiFi,鈥� he admitted. 鈥淭he more I researched it, the more I loved looking at what this听new听technology could bring.听
鈥淚f you’re in a start-up, you鈥檙e changing the light bulbs, helping in the lab, helping the team.听It鈥檚 part of the fun.听But in addition, because of the fortunate experience I have, having worked with some of those great companies, I can do the strategic stuff as well.听
鈥�It’s听a great challenge听working听with a听start–up and a bunch of really bright engineers to deliver this technology and make it pervasive听and part of our DNA.鈥�听
Being based in Scotland is also a boon for听pureLiFi, according to Banham.听
鈥�Scotland is renowned for being innovative in technology and leaving a legacy of great inventions,鈥� he says.听鈥淚t’s a hotbed of advanced research, knowledge and know-how of developing new tech.听
鈥淚 see听LiFi听as听another legacy technology which will become pervasive across the world.听We are the forefront of the technology: people come to us because we drive it forward.听
鈥�Scotland is the centre of听LiFi听excellence.听We see the world鈥檚 largest brands in lighting and mobile devices coming to Scotland for latest in听LiFi听innovation.鈥�听