Scottish high-tech firm pureLiFi has announced a multi-million dollar deal to supply the US military with an optical wireless communication system.
The Kitefin li-fi system harnesses the light spectrum rather
than radio frequencies to transmit data securely.
The deal with the United States Army Europe and Africa is the
world's first large-scale deployment of li-fi technology, according to the
company.
PureLifi said $4.2m (£3m) had been invested in the deployment.
Li-fi - short for "light fidelity" - is an emerging
technology first developed in Edinburgh.
The term was coined by Prof Harald Haas from the University of
Edinburgh, who In 2011 demonstrated how an LED bulb equipped with signal
processing technology could stream a high-definition video to a computer.
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According to pureLifi, while radio frequencies can be
"detected and targeted", its technology cannot be detected outside of
its defined "cone" of coverage.
PureLifi said its
Kitefin system would be deployed by the US military in "real tactical and
strategic environments", following an initial pilot staged in 2019.
Andrew Foreman, chief
technology officer with the US Army in Europe and Africa, said: "Including
optical wireless in the commander's toolbox is imperative to the survival of
communications, command and control systems and, more importantly,
soldiers."
PureLifi described the
deal as an "inflection point in the adoption of li-fi technology".
'Unprecedented benefits'
Chief executive Alistair
Banham said: "If one of the most significant and advanced defence
organisations in the world can rely on li-fi for the most critical of
communications, li-fi can offer unprecedented benefits to the consumer.
"Li-fi, like so
many technologies before it, is on a classic journey of adoption in defence to
widespread acceptance in the consumer market and eventually li-fi in everyone's
home.
"This first major
deployment with the US Army Europe and Africa is just the beginning."
According to pureLifi,
li-fi technology could "unleash more reliable wireless communications with
unparalleled security", compared with conventional technologies such as
cellular, wi-fi and Bluetooth.
Several years ago, the
University of Edinburgh spin-out secured investment of $18m (£12.9m) to help
the company bring its products to the mass market.
Investors included an
investment company from Singapore and the Scottish Investment Bank, an arm of
Scottish Enterprise.
In 2019 pureLiFi
launched gigabit components designed for integration into mobile phones and
consumer electronics.
Scoure: BBC NEWS
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