Essential Install | News
Will Li-Fi become
a major part of
networking?
Li-Fi Demonstrated At LuxLive
Making its debut at lighting show LuxLive, an audience was witness
to video content played via a Li-Fi Internet connection, in the first
ever demonstration at LuxLive of its kind. The experiment was carried
out by Dr Harald Burchardt, chief operating officer at pureLiFi, a
Scottish company currently developing and delivering Li-Fi solutions.
The Li-Fi system was connected via USB to a tablet. When Dr
Harald stood directly beneath the Power over Ethernet adapted
stage lights, a network was quickly detected.
Speaking to LuxReview, Harald noted: “Li-Fi technology has the
ability to widen the capacity of our wireless communication options.”
However, the signal started to fade quickly as he moved further
from the light, suggesting the technology still only has a short range.
“Every light has a limited amount of coverage,” Harald clarifies.
“Each fixture offers a range of sixty degrees and seven to eight
square metres. The use of multiple Li-Fi luminaires will act to widen
the available amount of coverage to users.”
During his talk in the IoT Arena at LuxLive, Harald
commented that he does not consider Li-Fi to be
a replacement to Wi-Fi, but wished it instead to be
viewed as a, ‘secure extension to already available
layers of communication’.
Theoretically, Li-Fi is quicker than Wi-Fi, although
currently this has only been proven in a lab setting.
However, it does possess the scope to be even faster in
the future.
The innovation is described by experts as a secure,
electromagnetic, interference free solution, combining
the security of a wired Internet connection with the
flexibility of Wi-Fi. This coupled with the potential
for improved speed and encryption, puts Li-Fi in
good stead to be a very interesting addition to future
networks.
SCP
More Information: pureLi-Fi +44 (0)131 5161816,
www.purelifi.com
SnapAV Acquires Autonomic
Snap Decision,
Autonomic has been
acquired by SnapAV
SnapAV designs and manufacturers more than 1,800 electronic
home solutions for both residential and commercial channels, but
has expanded again with the company acquiring Autonomic, the
company behind the Mirage audio system.
While not perhaps a major name in the UK, SnapAV is responsible
for many install brands including SunbriteTV, Wattbox, OvrC,
Dragonfly, Luma Surveillance and Araknis Networks. The company
has also become a prolific distributor in the US, responsible for
distributing Atlona, Pioneer, SureCall and URC.
In recent months SnapAV has been on a spending spree. Last
month it announced an acquisition of security maker Visualint and
has now added the Autonomic name to its growing roster of brands
available in the UK. Despite its acquisition spree, SnapAV plans to
inject its own lifeblood into the brands that are now in its portfolio.
This means not solely focusing on the high-end, but also offering
affordable solutions. Adam Levy, president of SnapAV, says that
we can expect from Autonomic a similar situation to the Sunbrite
acquisition, which was completed last year. In less than
one year, SnapAV brought out improved and more price
competitive outdoor TVs for sale through the company’s
e-commerce platform. With more financial muscle and a
larger organisation behind it, Autonmomic may well see a
similar development cycle. While SnapAV may circumvent
distributors in the US, the company doesn’t plan to shake
things up in the UK just yet as there are no current plans to
change the UK distribution via Invision UK.
More Information: Invision UK +44 (0)1359 270280,
www.invisionuk.com
December 2016 | 7
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