A European industry-research consortium is working to advance the integration of Li-Fi communication in hospital and industrial production settings – giving medical facilities and small-to-medium manufacturers access to faster, more secure communication in a way that’s affordable.
The project uses existing electrical networks to bring the data to the ceiling in every room and then wirelessly transmits it the last few metres via light (li-fi), using standard commercially-available LEDs and photodiodes. The result is a more cost-effective, powerful and hack-proof communication.
Light communication provides security benefits over wi-fi
As an increasing number of industries digitise, more and more devices –such as x-ray and ultrasound machines in healthcare settings – are being connected to networks.
However, doing this via wi-fi networks is not always optimal. In production settings, the various wireless networks can interfere with each, and in sensitive environments such hospital operating rooms, electromagnetic emissions can impact sensitive equipment.
In addition, although the data traffic is encrypted, the wireless network itself remains at risk to potential attackers.
Light communication overcomes these challenges. In addition to being much more powerful while highly energy efficient, the light doesn’t penetrate walls, providing much less chance for hackers to access sensitive information. And, since the data are only transmitted within the cone of light itself, it is possible to supply many different machines or devices with data all at once without the light signals interfering with one another.
Ceiling module converts data to light signals
The Lincnet project (LiFi-enabled 5G for INdustrial and MediCal NETworks) aims to reuse the existing electrical network (power line communication, or PLC) to bring the data to the ceiling in every room, eliminating the need for costly laying of additional cables for the network.
A li-fi module then converts the data from the electrical network into impulses modulating the light signals. The light is continuously modulated by making it brighter or darker, and the LEDs transmit their data to end devices equipped with transceiver units. The signal changes take place 100 million times a second and are not perceived by the human eye.
The consortium worked with a large hospital in Cottbus, Germany to analyse the requirements for communication systems in a hybrid operating room.
“You can imagine that there are movable medical devices, and doctors will be using an iPad but at the same time various different devices that are all connected to a network,” said Dr Anil Mengi, VP Strategic Positioning at Archan-based company Develo, which is coordinating the project.
The team determined the hospital's data requirements as a minimum of 100 megabits per second, with a latency requirement of less than 10 milliseconds, over an area of around 40 square metres.
“We are expecting five to six modules to be installed to cover this area,” Mengi said, during the LiFi Conference in Eindhoven in June.
As part of the project, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for telecommunications developed the li-fi ceiling module with a digital signal processor (DSP), which extracts the data from the flow of electricity and converts them into pulses for digital modulation of the light source.
The LED transmits the data from the ceiling to the end device placed within the cone of light, which could be a robot in a manufacturing setting or an ultrasound unit in a medical centre, for example.
The data is isolated inside the cone of light just as it would be inside a cable. “It’s just as secure as a cable network and performs equally well – just without cables,” said Project manager Lennert Bober.
