Signify announces a new Li-Fi system called Trulifi (150 Mbps internet)

According to a 2018 Statista report, the number of internet users worldwide was approximately 3.9 billion, up from 3.65 billion in the previous year. This means about 51 percent of the global population accessed the internet that year. The number of the global internet users will continue to grow. China had about 829 million internet users, nearly triple the amount of third-ranked U.S. with nearly 293 million internet users. India ranked second in number of internet users. The global average internet speed is around at 7.2 Mbps, up from 7.0 Mbps from the last quarter of 2016.

Signify

Signify is the new brand name of Philips Lighting. The name change occurred in March 2018 to represent the transformation from an analogue lighting company into a digital lighting and Internet of Things (IoT) company. Signify is the world leader in lighting for professionals, consumers and lighting for the Internet of Things. The company provides lighting solutions for professional segments such as automotive, healthcare, horticulture, office, outdoor, phototherapy, petrol stations, solar, purification, schools, fashion, cinema, and more. These lighting solutions include indoor and outdoor luminaries, lamps, electronics, lighting controls, lighting control software, IoT systems and platforms.

Signify has also other brands under its belt such as Philips, Interact, Modular Lighting Instruments, Luceplan, Color Kinetics, ILTI Luce and Philips Hue.

Trulifi system

Signify recently launched a new Li-Fi system called “Trulifi”. Trulifi uses light waves to enable highly reliable, secure two-way wireless communications at speeds far above most conventional workplace wireless technologies.

Trulifi uses optical wireless transceiver technology built, or retrofitted, into Philips luminaires. This means customers do not have to replace their existing lighting infrastructure to receive great quality light and wireless connectivity.

The new Li-Fi system comprises of a USB Network Access adapter, Li-Fi enabled LED lights and a Trulifi-6002 Plug-In Optical Transceiver. The Trulifi-enabled luminaires can provide wireless connectivity at speeds up to 150 Megabits per second (Mbps) over large spaces, such as meeting rooms and office floors. There is seamless handover between each Trulifi-enabled luminaire enabling users to roam around. The speed is fast enough to stream simultaneously 30 1080p HDTV movies. A USB-access key, plugged into a laptop, is needed to receive the LiFi signal and acts as an emitter to send data back to the luminaire.

The Trulifi range also includes a fixed point-to-point system, up to 250 Mbps speed, which acts like a wireless cable. This is ideal for mobile devices connectivity. This Li-Fi system can also be useful to connect robots or machines in radio frequency (RF) harsh environments like industrial plants, or hospitals where RF communications may not be permitted, or where there’s a need to send and receive large data files securely and quickly. Currently, Trulifi is aimed at professional markets, including offices, hospitality, retail, industry, construction and healthcare.

Benefits of Trulifi

Signify claimed the following three benefits of their Trulifi system:

Reliable

Trulifi is ideal for busy areas, such as multi-tenancy buildings, stations, airports and public areas. Network availability and overload are no longer an issue. Trulifi provides guaranteed bandwidth without interference from other radio communication systems.

What’s more, it works in places where radio frequencies are not permitted, restricted or could cause interference – such as in hospitals, some schools, aircraft and industrial plants. It also works where radio frequencies don’t work well or at all.

Trulifi actively coordinates traffic, ensuring good quality of service for all users, at all times. It uses the ITU G.9991 LiFi standard.

The new standard, ITU G.9991, describes the system architecture, physical layer and data link layer specification for ‘high-speed indoor VLC transceivers’, the VLC access points within light bulbs.

Secure

Trulifi uses AES 128-bit encryption. The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is a symmetric block cipher chosen by the U.S. government to protect classified information and is implemented in software and hardware throughout the world for the encryption of sensitive data. Information is accessed using a USB access key. What’s more an extra layer of security is built-in, as light waves cannot penetrate walls. This all helps to make Trulifi as secure as wired communication. Perfect for applications where security is paramount:

Financial institutions
Government
Police
Military
Data centres
Corporate organisations

Fast

Trulifi 6002 series has a net data rate up to 150 Mbps for the downlink and the uplink. That’s fast enough to stream simultaneously 30 1080p HDTV movies.

It’s perfect for offices and large spaces as each luminaire transceiver hands off seamlessly to another. And unlike other LiFi systems, it works with the lights on, dimmed or off.

Trulifi 6013 is a fixed point-to-point system. It acts like a wireless cable with a guaranteed net data rate up to 250 Mbps for the downlink and uplink. It can be used in a host of environments – from connecting machines in a factory to sending large image files in a hospital. Trulifi 6013 is available with Blue, Red and Green light.

Li Fi Tech News’ Take

It is great that many leading Li-Fi companies have started releasing Li-Fi products, which are becoming cheaper, cost effective solutions and faster in terms of wireless data transmission. Li-Fi will stand out as a key player in wireless data communications as well as a disruptive technology innovation for the wireless communication industry.

Christoph Ruys, Business Development Manager of Claerhout Communication Campus stated: “We wanted good quality energy-efficient lighting and wireless connectivity capable of handling high resolution images, artwork and big data files. We’ve gone from offering our staff and clients 5 Mbps to a blistering 150 Mbps, and we can roam around freely as one light point hands off to another seamlessly. While it’s encrypted, Trulifi adds an extra layer of security as light can’t pass through walls - so what’s in the room, stays in the room. This is truly game changing technology.”

Grzegorz Strutyński, Commercial Director of Globalworth, said that “The ability to integrate modern technology, such as Trulifi, in office buildings and workplaces, is a source of competitive advantage to attract tenants and increase the value of an asset. As a landlord, we are focused on providing top-notch solutions to our clients. We are also obliged to explore and test the latest technologies on the market. We are happy to be the first in Central Eastern Europe to implement Signify’s Trulifi technology, setting new standards for the real estate industry.”

“Signify is positioned to deliver on the promise of LiFi with attractively priced offerings that could help overcome the budget barrier for potential customers. Signify has also adopted the ITU G.9991 LiFi standard, which is aligned with the market’s move toward increased standardisation,” said Krystal Maxwell, Senior Research Analyst, Navigant Research.

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