Scottish secondary school students have become the first in the world to benefit from next-generation high-speed wireless internet connectivity that uses light, known as LiFi technology. In an announcement from Edinburgh-based pureLiFi, the technology will enhance the learning environment at Kyle Academy secondary school in Ayr, Scotland.
LiFi is a high-speed, bi-directional, secure and fully networked wireless communication that uses light, rather than radio waves used in WiFi, to transmit data. By using light waves, LiFi offers unprecedented bandwidth, beneficial to be used along with WiFi, providing additional bandwidth to reduce network congestion – enabling students to stream educational videos and download resources with seamless connectivity.
The project is being conducted in conjunction with The University of Edinburgh and is being overseen by Scottish Futures Trust, which supports the Scottish Government’s Digital Strategy. The Scottish Government also supported the pilot with a £16,000 ($20.8K US) grant through its Digital Schools initiative for equipment and installation, according to pureLiFi.
“We are pleased to support a Scottish-born company whose complementary, emerging technology has the potential to transform delivery of wireless broadband communications,” said Paul Wheelhouse, MSP Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands. “The pilot trial in Kyle Academy represents a potentially very valuable contribution to our knowledge and understanding of evolving 5G technologies.”
The installation of pureLiFi’s LiFi-XC system at the school, is comprised of eight LiFi-enabled LED light bulbs in the ceiling. Students have been given access to LiFi-XC Stations that plug into their laptops enabling high-speed connectivity through the lights.
According to Professor Harald Haas of University of Edinburgh and Co-founder of pureLiFi, “LiFi was born in Scotland at a TED Global talk that I presented in 2011. Seven years later, I am absolutely thrilled to see true LiFi deployed for the first time in a school in Scotland. Connectivity has become a basic need to enable prosperity. This world’s first pilot not only offers secure connectivity in a school but hopefully inspires the next generation to join us in innovating for humanity and prosperity.”
August 31, 2018