World first as South Ayrshire school pupils pilot cutting-edge LiFi technology.
Next-generation high speed wireless internet using light technology installed in Scottish secondary school to enhance the learning environment.
Scottish secondary school pupils have become the first in the world to benefit from next-generation high-speed wireless internet connectivity – using light.
pureLiFi, the pioneering technology company using light to create next-generation wireless networks, has deployed its LiFi solutions – which use light to establish wireless internet connections – at Kyle Academy secondary school in Ayr, Scotland.
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 grant through its Digital Schools initiative for equipment and installation. pureLiFi and the LiFi Research and Development Centre at the University of Edinburgh provided resources for the execution of the pilot with hands-on support and subsequent testing.
South Ayrshire Council’s Kyle Academy is the first school globally to pilot real LiFi technology within the classroom, which is the next generation of wireless communications technology. The installation of pureLiFi’s LiFi-XC system, comprises of eight LiFi-enabled LED light bulbs in the ceiling and students have been given access to LiFi-XC Stations that plug into their laptops enabling high-speed connectivity through the lights.
LiFi technology, which was born out of Professor Haas’ 16 years of research in light communication, and productised and further developed by pureLiFi, is a high-speed, bidirectional, secure and fully networked wireless communication that uses light, rather than radio waves used in Wi-Fi, to transmit data. By using light waves, LiFi offers unprecedented bandwidth, which significantly enhances the connectivity of the classroom to enhance the learning environment by facilitating high-bandwidth learning materials such as videos and e-books.
With the increasing number of internet-connected devices in classrooms, installing LiFi alongside Wi-Fi provides additional bandwidth to reduce network congestion – enabling students to stream educational videos and download resources with seamless connectivity. Wireless connectivity is also in growing demand as schools seek to cater for more students by maximising the use of space with flexible work areas through the use of mobile devices, such as laptops, rather than a room of wired-internet PCs.
Paul Wheelhouse MSP Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands yesterday visited the students taking part in the LiFi trial to find out about their experiences with this new technology. Mr Wheelhouse said:
“We are pleased to support a Scottish-born company whose complementary, emerging technology has the potential to transform delivery of wireless broadband communications. The pilot trial in Kyle Academy represents a potentially very valuable contribution to our knowledge and understanding of evolving 5G technologies.”
Student Toby Nixon who has taken part in the pilot said: “It is exciting to be part the world first LiFi deployment in a school especially because it is a technology born in Scotland, a country with a proud history of innovation.”
South Ayrshire Council’s Portfolio Holder for Lifelong Learning, Councillor William Grant, said: “It’s been really exciting for Kyle Academy to be part of this pilot project to enhance wireless technology and feedback from young people, who have definitely seen an improvement in connectivity, has been positive. It’s easy to see the potential the technology has, and the difference it could make in the future – not just in schools, but in business and in society – and I look forward to seeing how it moves forward.”
Professor Harald Haas, of University of Edinburgh and Co-founder of pureLiFi, commented: “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.”
Alistair Banham CEO of pureLiFi added:
“LiFi is a transformative technology that will enable the next generation of wireless communications. At Kyle Academy, LiFi has enhanced the classroom into a fully connected environment allowing students to have a world of educational tools at their fingertips through light. The students at Kyle Academy are taking part in the early adoption of technology that will someday be in every light and every device connecting everyone and everything. This is just the beginning for LiFi, on our journey toward unprecedented data and bandwidth.”
For further information on LiFi technology, please visit: https://purelifi.com/technology/
About pureLiFi
pureLiFi is a light communications Technology Company formed in 2012 as a spin-off from the University of Edinburgh to create OEM components, including LiFi drivers and receivers.
pureLiFi has recorded year-on-year quarterly revenue increases of over 300 per cent against Q3 of 2014 and significantly grown its international customer base around the world with international partnerships in place with organizations such as Cisco, Rolls Royce and Independence Blue Cross.
‘LiFi: the vision’, a short video about LiFi, is available on the website.
About LRDC at University of Edinburgh
The LiFi R&D Centre at the University of Edinburgh was formed in 2013, and stems from research into fundamental communications science which began in 2002.
The Centre conducts internationally leading research in collaboration with, and on behalf of industry. It aims to accelerate society’s adoption of Li-Fi technology through engagement with major industrial partners and public bodies, to fully harness the commercial and innovative potential of Li-Fi.
About Scotland Futures Trust
SFT is an infrastructure delivery company owned by Scottish Government that plans, innovates, delivers and improves infrastructure programmes across Scotland.
In relation to digital infrastructure, SFT is working with industry and the wider public sector to drive innovation and change, ensuring the right mechanisms, partnerships and commercial approaches are developed to deliver a next-generation telecommunications infrastructure for Scotland.
