Signify, formerly known as Philips Lighting, the company responsible for the Philips Hue lineup of smart lights, has announced another iteration of their LiFi systems, called Trulifi.

If none of those words meant anything to you, that’s not surprising.

LiFi is essentially like WiFi, a protocol for transmitting data wirelessly. However Instead of using radio signals (Bluetooth, 4G/5G, LTE etc, all use radio signals), LiFi uses light waves to transmit the data.

According to Signify, “Trulifi uses light waves to enable highly reliable, secure two-way wireless communications at speeds far above most conventional workplace wireless technologies.”

LiFi has been around since 2011, however it is mainly used in commercial settings, and primarily shows its advantages in radio frequency sensitive settings, such as hospitals, airplane cockpits, or laboratories where traditional WiFi signals could interfere with the operating machinery.

The new Trulifi standard uses optical wireless transceivers that are built, or retrofitted, into Philips lighting solutions.

Trulifi can provide wireless speeds of up to 150 Mbps to devices such as laptops, and even up to 250Mbps to fixed point-to-point systems, such as robots or other machines in RF sensitive environments.

While we haven’t seen this technology in the residential / consumer space, it is entirely possible that the technology can develop down to where Philips Hue bulbs are capable of utilizing a form of LiFi, hopefully making their smart home implementation even more reliable.

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