IS LI-FI THE FUTURE FOR INDUSTRIAL NETWORKS? Glenn Johnson, Editor
Wireless networks are showing up more commonly in industrial environments but have the drawback of more complex network design challenges, not the least of which are concerns about cybersecurity. Perhaps the latest research into light-based wireless networks offers a solution.
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ith all the talk of Industry 4.0, the IIoT and the Industrial Internet, the demand for the interconnection of industrial automation equipment and computing systems has never been pushed along at a faster rate. While current network technologies are orders of magnitude faster than they were even a decade ago, the desire to add wireless technologies into industrial environments is opening up new problems that have to be solved, not least of which are their application in an interference-rich environment and issues of cybersecurity. You may have heard or read in recent times about the new kid on the block: Li-Fi (Light Fidelity). There has been a great
30 WHAT'S NEW IN PROCESS TECHNOLOGY - APRIL 2017
deal of buzz about it since it was first demonstrated in 2011, transmitting data using a normal (if slightly modified) LED light bulb. LEDs have a unique ability that goes beyond their use as energy-efficient lighting devices. They can be switched on and off within nanoseconds, which makes them superfast transmitters of binary data. This flickering occurs faster than the eye can see, so even LEDs used for room lighting can be used to transmit data. Some are now saying that this has the potential to be a key enabler in the quest for Industry 4.0, since the potential bandwidth is so much greater than Wi-Fi. However, we need to place it in the context of industrial control networks as a whole.
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