Engineers feel light-fidelity (Li-Fi) technology offers promising new possibilities in the way to charge devices. Li-Fi connections essentially power themselves—charging batteries and receiving data using visible light waves, or visible light communication (VLC). To further research into these developments, Sunpartner Technologies is joining forces with Alcatel OneTouch for a development program surrounding Sunpartner’s Wysips Connect photovoltaic Li-Fi receiver.
Wysips Connect enables screens and mobile devices, including phones, e-readers, sensors, watches, etc., to charge without tapping into the device’s battery. The receiver is integral in converting the visible light waves produced by LEDs into electronic signals. That signal is then decoded into an audio, text, or video file on a connected device. The photovoltaic layer is ultra-thin and transparent, and can be integrated between the screen and touchscreen layer of a device.
The Wysips Connect receiver has a larger active surface area than most of today’s minuscule photoreceptors, which could be blocked by just a single finger to prevent wave reception. As part of the year-long program, Sunpartner and Alcatel will work on further optimizing the device as well as developing new video-playback features. The ultimate goal is to allow users to stream and watch compressed, high-definition playback of any video via a Li-Fi connection.
It also provides a wireless communication rate up to 1 Mbit/s for the Wysips Crystal Module, with sufficient lighting. Li-Fi’s advantages versus current communication technologies include no interference from radio waves and potentially faster speeds. First applications of the technology are already arriving in train stations, museums, and hospitals.