Li-Fi at the SMAU fair in Berlin
To Be played an important role at the SMAU event in Berlin, which took place April 27-29. This event further contributed to strengthening the ties between Italian startups and the German world of innovation.
More than often, the words “startup” and “Italy” do not go hand in hand. However, the SMAU event has started to change things. 40 startups were selected to participate in “SMAU | Italy RestartsUp in Berlin”, among which To Be. This event showed us that innovation can take place in our territory.
By competing in the Energy and Environment, category, To Be had the opportunity to meet German investors and talk about current and future projects.
Among the many unforgettable moments, we will remember the debate with other startups that took place at the Italian Embassy of Berlin, in front of important investors and government agencies. During this panel, we were honored to be mentioned by Ernesto Ciorra, Chief Officer of Enel Group.
The German innovation system proved to be one of the most advanced worldwide, especially in matching innovative startups with investors. The German system is a role model to follow.
We sincerely thank SMAU and ICE, which is an agency that works on promoting and internationalizing Italian companies, for following us in this experience that allowed To Be to build meaningful networks and create new opportunities.
All of this was possible thanks to the project " To Be International” which was supported by the Lazio Region and Lazio Innova, and was co-funded by the European Union with the Contest POR/FESR 2014-2020 and a contribution of 48.519 euros.
We are looking forward to attending the next SMAU event that will take place on October 12 and 13 2022 in Milan.
Join the LiFi revolution! Contact Us
To learn more about Li-Fi, read here.
The LiFi Revolution Landed at the SMAU Paris Fair!
To Be was one of the 24 innovative startups attending the SMAU fair in Paris, which took place from March 23rd to the 25th
SMAU fairs play a fundamental role when it comes to bringing together important actors of the European innovation system. Every year SMAU organizes events in Italy and many other countries that involve several companies from every sector at an international level.
SMAU and ICE, which is an agency that works on promoting and internationalizing Italian companies, allowed us to expand our network internationally and to dive into new great opportunities, such as potential collaborations with important bodies.
We were met by the vibrant and dynamic French innovation system. Accelerators, incubators, innovation centers, investors, and several institutions all work together to advance the growth and development of the entrepreneurial sector. Public and private efforts contributed to making France a fundamental player in the innovation system.
Our participation at the SMAU Paris Fair 2022 allowed us to introduce our solutions through speed pitching. We focused on LiFi Geolocation, which improves the geolocation experience through proximity content, and on LiFi Streaming, which creates a bidirectional connection thanks to light modulation.
We were honored to be welcomed to the Italian Embassy. We had the opportunity to take the first steps towards the development of solid Italian-French relations, that would result in a dynamic exchange of ideas and resources.
We thank everyone that contributed to making this an incredible experience, Lazio Innova and Regione Lazio for supporting us with the “To Be International” project, which was co-funded by the European Union and that provided monetary support, which amounts to 48.519 euros.
We look forward to attending the SMAU Berlin Fair on April 27, 28 and 29.
Join the LiFi revolution! Contact us.
To learn more about LiFi, read more here.
Sustainable Innovation Meets the Barracco Museum!
Starting from January 6th, ancient art will meet sustainable innovation with the new LiFi project: a new way to experience art, a visit guided by light.
The Li-Fi project, which was promoted by Roma culture, Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali, will bring Li-Fi to Museums: sustainable innovation will land at the Barracco Museum in Rome, with a cutting-edge visitor experience thanks to wireless technology. This project was implemented and presented by To Be Srl, DB Ingegneria dell’immagine Srl and Tecno Electric Srl and with the support of the European Union.
The project was one of the 43 winners out of a total of 126 participants of the Contest POR FESR 2014-2020 “L’Impresa fa Cultura”. This contest was promoted by Regione Lazio to enhance our cultural heritage through innovation.
The Barracco Museum is one of the first museums worldwide to implement LiFi, which stands for Light Fidelity. It is an innovative and advanced communication system that allows wireless data transmission thanks to LED light sources. This data is received by visitors through their mobile devices with a camera. To enjoy the additional content related to the art exhibition, visitors will simply download the specific app and will position their device under the LED light source.
"We founded To Be because we had a dream and a vision: to imagine a world where every light source can transmit data. This is our idea for LiFi Revolution. LiFi is a technology that allows data transmission in a fast, sustainable, and safe manner. During these first years at To Be, we implemented several projects in so many different fields thanks to the unique features and flexibility of this cutting-edge technology.”
Francesco Paolo Russo, CEO & Founder of To Be
Introducing the Project
The project was presented on January 5th, 2022, on the occasion of the press release that took place at the Barracco Museum, and that was moderated by Mr. Gianni Todini, Askanews director. After the greetings by Maria Vittoria Marini Clarelli, Superintendent of Cultural Heritage, several speakers intervened: Roberto Pollari, Head of the Cabinet of the Regional Council President Regione Lazio; Francesco Paolo Russo, Founder and CEO of To Be srl; Giancarlo Brasini, Project Manager DB Ingegneria dell’Immagine; Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, President of Fondazione Univerde; Gabriele Ferreri,President of ANGI- National Association of Young Innovators.
The implementation of the project involved 14 selected points of interest. 9 of these are located in the rooms of the ground floor and the first floor, while the other 5 points are located in the ancient Roman House, its first structures dating back to the IV century A.D. The Roman House is located in the museum's undergrounds, which will be reopened to the public on the occasion of this project, after being closed for more than 20 years. The accidental discovery of the ruins in the undergrounds can be traced back to 1899. They were brought to the surface during the demolition of the Renaissance buildings to implement a new road axis in Corso Vittorio Emanuele.
In addition, the Domus, which has been closed to the public since 2000, will be extraordinarily opened every day (only closed on Monday) until January 9th, and, following, it will be open until the end of February on the weekend, from Friday to Sunday. The temporary reopening of the Domus, related to the LiFi project, represents the first step towards a complex and important journey to enhance the exhibition that will be developed in the next months.
This technology will be experimented with at the Barracco Museum until February 20th, 2022, with the possibility of being extended.
To learn more about LiFi, read here.
If you are interested in bringing LiFi to your school or to your children's school, contact us.
RAI Culture and Li-Fi
LiFi joins the informative “STEM” program Rai Culture. With the science communicator Davide Coero Borga, we had the opportunity to tell the story and evolution of this wireless technology, which uses LED light modulation to transmit data.
Progetto Scienza – STEM is Rai Culture’s informative science program. In Progetto Scienza, Davide Coera Borga meets several innovation and research experts at a global level. This program aims at showing people how science and technology can improve our lives and how they can be a good investment for the future of the youth.
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is everywhere, even where we don’t think there is. The episodes of this program want to show countless STEM fields of applications.
In the third episode, the focus is all on light and its potential. Among the solutions that the program talks about, we find our innovative technology: Li-Fi, which stands for Light Fidelity.
“Light is very important to us. Not only does it illuminate our space, but it also makes it alive.”- With these words, our CEO Francesco Paolo Russo embarked on a journey with Davide Coero Borga, in which light and innovation were the protagonists.
Li-Fi is a wireless technology that uses light modulation to transmit information. It is an innovative method of wireless data transmission that works through the signal emitted by every LED source: a 0/1 sequence non-detectable by the human eye that allows data transmission. Li-Fi falls within “5G connections” and is a fast, secure, and radio-wave-free technology. Li-Fi is emblematic of light making space alive. All the LED sources are potential data transmitters, and every device is a potential user.
Li-Fi can have several fields of application. For example, with computers, Li-Fi can allow a bidirectional connection to the network, with the name of LiFi S (streaming). Computers, equipped with a USB key, are able to detect and elaborate the signal emitted by the illuminating body, and, in turn, can upload data to the modem, which is actually the illuminating body itself. This light source is equipped with a photosensor that can detect Li-Fi signals.
The beauty of this technology is that it can be applied to so many different sectors: from retail to marketing of proximity to cultural heritage, continuing with healthcare, cybersecurity, smart city, energy & utilities, and so on.
To watch the episode on RAI Play, you’ll find Li-Fi at the minute 30: https://bit.ly/3wzGPRM
Contact us to learn more about Li-Fi!
Barracco Museum: Li-Fi Meets the Ancient World
Li-Fi, an innovative technology that allows fast, secure, and sustainable data transmission, lands at the Barracco Museum in Rome, breaking all traditional patterns and bringing a new kind of visiting experience.
Works to install LiFi solutions are in progress at the Barracco Museum. These solutions will be able to bring a new, engaging, and interactive visiting experience through multimedia content related to the exhibition, which will be directly received on visitors’ devices
This project carries a significant cultural, social and technological value, and it was co-funded by the European Union. QR codes and paper maps are no longer needed: one can simply position their device under the light source illuminating the collection to receive all the additional content.
To learn more about LiFi, read here
If you are interested in bringing LiFi to your or your children’s school, Contact Us.
Rome, the First Italian City to Implement Li-Fi in School
Rome keeps working on innovation and development, aiming at achieving a “smart” urban model, also by implementing Li-Fi or Light Fidelity. Li-Fi is a wireless technology using LED light modulation for internet connection.
Yesterday, in Rome, the project "Li-Fi in School" was implemented at the Rosetta Rossi Institute. This project was made a reality thanks to the collaboration between our startup and Roma Capitale, along with the support of industrial and strategic partners such as Signify (previously called Philips Lighting), and TecnoElectric Srl.
“Rome is the first Italian city, and one of the first worldwide, to implement Li-Fi in school. We were very enthusiastic to take this opportunity, as it further increased our willingness to bring a “smart”, innovative, and sustainable future to Rome. I am particularly proud that this technology, which is faster, more innovative, efficient, and secure than Wi-Fi will be implemented in a school in Rome. Our students will be at the core of innovation."- These were the words of the mayor Virginia Raggi.
Li-Fi is an innovative wireless technology that uses light waves emitted by LED sources for data transmission. Compared to Wi-Fi, Li-Fi does not emit radio frequencies, and thus it has several advantages. Transmitters can offer a larger bandwidth and eliminate human health risks. In addition, Li-Fi prevents potential external hacker attacks and provides a safe connection, because one can connect to the Li-Fi hotspot only if located under the related light source.
“LiFi is a sustainable connection that eliminates electrosmog. Roma is the first Italian city, and one of the first worldwide, to implement the most innovative version of LiFi technology. We founded To Be with a dream and a vision: to make every light a source of information. This is the LiFi Revolution! Our startup had tremendous growth in the last few months. We are looking for new talents to expand our team and, at the same time, we are working to accelerate our growth by collecting capital from investors"- At the end of his statement, our Founder and CEO Francesco Paolo Russo also announced that we will donate two devices, able to sanitize the environment through light, to the school. These devices will remove fungi, bacteria, and viruses, including COVID-19.
It was an honor to bring LiFi Streaming to the Capital, and in particular to the academic world, which is extremely important for culture, innovation, and our future. It takes courage to work on real innovation and to be the first one to do so.
We hope that starting from the young talents we met yesterday, the light of innovation will bring technological development to our country and will increase the trust in investing in startups.
We still have many dreams to make come true, keep following us and we will do it together!
Li-Fi Arrives in Rome’s Schools
Li-Fi lands at the “Rosetta Rossi Institute” to bring a fast, safe, and sustainable connection.
Li-Fi, which stands for Light Fidelity, is a wireless technology transmitting data through LED light modulation. Li-Fi landed in Rome: the “IC Rosetta Rossi” Institute will be the first Italian school, and one of the first worldwide, to implement LI-Fi!
This project represented another milestone achieved by To Be Srl. Others were the first Li-Fi Museum, Li-Fi ship, and Li-Fi smart office.
For this specific project, we collaborated with industrial and strategic partners such as Signify (previously called Philips Lighting) and TecnoElectric Srl, to implement a Li-Fi system able to connect up to 20 computers and to guarantee modern, innovative, and safe wireless data transmission.
How Does Li-Fi Work?
Li-Fi is a technology working through signal modulation. This signal is emitted by every single LED source: a 0/1 sequence not detectable by the human eye that allows data transmission. Li-Fi falls within the so-called fifth-generation connections, reaching data transmission speed that can be compared to 5G speed, and with a more reliable performance. Using light as a tool for connectivity, in fact, guarantees an affordable and sustainable service.
Li-Fi Characteristics
Light has a spectrum 10'000 times wider than Wi-Fi. Thus, not only does it allow an extremely fast connection, but it also offers a band that is never saturated.
Think about it: today light is an integral part of every indoor environment. It is indispensable, and, thanks to Li-Fi, it can also become a data transmitter without causing interferences in particular environments, hostile to radio waves, such as hospitals. In addition, not emitting radio waves, Li-Fi also represents a safer connection for human health.
All these characteristics make Li-Fi a fast, green, and safe alternative to Wi-Fi.
Another great feature of Li-Fi is that, by using light infrastructure for data transmission, this technology would drastically reduce energy consumption, particularly in the telecommunication and lightning engineering industries. Li-Fi would incentivize the use of cutting-edge LED lamps and would eliminate the energetic consumption related to radio wave emission.
We are talking about a fast, safe, and electrosmog-free connection.
Li-Fi Streaming is a real game-changer.
We are honored to be able to cooperate with Public Administration to spread the light of innovation in our country. Particularly, we aim at bringing innovation to schools, that are a symbol of academic and personal growth, and hope for the future.
With great pleasure, we will donate two devices, capable of sanitizing the environment through light, to Rome's "Rosetta Rossi” Institute.
Our work continues, follow us!
Rome is the first Italian City to Implement Li-Fi in School
On Thursday, April 2021 at 10 am, Rome's mayor Virginia Raggi will present: "Connecting to the internet through light. Rome is the first Italian city to implement Li-Fi in school".
At the event, our Founder and CEO Francesco Paolo Russo will intervene along with Giovanni Fazio, ICT Rome Physical Infrastructure Director, and Daniel Tatini, Signify’s AD.
You can watch the press release using this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg3hNs54Hsi7Dgt1JGXyVHA
Accreditation for journalists to attend the press conference is reserved for a maximum of 10 people, in compliance with the provisions and suggestions of the health authorities.
It will be possible to request an accreditation until April 14th, 2021, at the following link: https://tinyurl.com/2n3ejmkf
We will also share the live streaming on To Be’s digital platforms: Facebook, Twitter e LinkedIn.
Are you ready to learn about this great news?
Li-Fi Arrives in school!
Barracco Museum: Pathways Guided by Light for the Exhibition
For the Cultural Heritage sector, Li-Fi Light represents an important tool to enhance cultural assets, since it significantly improves visitors’ experience. The digital world requires specific skills, resources, and infrastructure. However, it is the only way to enhance museums and art, as the digital manages to attract citizens' and tourists' attention, promoting the “rebirth” of urban centers.
Following this fil rouge, at the Barracco Museum, we are implementing Li-Fi solutions able to engage visitors and provide them with a unique and interactive experience. This will be possible thanks to multimedia content appositely designed for the exhibition, which will be received directly on the visitors’ smartphones. This project carries a significant cultural, social and technological value, and it is co-funded by the European Union.
It might be time to say goodbye to QR codes, paper maps, and other technologies: one will simply position their device under the light source illuminating the exhibition to receive all the related content and information.
The project, presented and supported by the EU, that we are working on along with DB Ingegneria dell’Immagine Srl e Tecno Electric Srl, aims at bringing together the digital, history, and physical space to offer a unique fruition experience. Visitors will embark on a journey, all focused on ancient sculpture and Egyptian, Cypriot, Sumerian, Assyrian, Etrurian, Phoenician, Roman, and Greek decorative arts, guided by light.
To learn more about our current and future projects, keep following us on our website and social media platforms!
Light, art and innovation. Join the Li-Fi Revolution!
Li-Fi Arrives to Barracco Museum
Barracco Museum and Li-Fi. Works for the implementation of a new visiting experience have officially started at the Museum of Ancient Sculpture “Giovanni Barracco” in Rome. These changes will be based on Li-Fi and will be funded by Regione Lazio’s contest POR FESR 2014-2020 “L’impresa fa Cultura”.
Through the implementation of our Li-Fi solutions, starting from the main room, it will be possible to enjoy additional content, provided by the Barracco Museum, directly on your mobile phone and other devices. One will simply download the specifically designed app and position their device under the Li-Fi light source.
Li-Fi or Light Fidelity represents one of the most modern and innovative communication systems for wireless data transmission. This process takes place through light modulation, and it works thanks to an emitted light sequence that is not detectable by the human eye.
This technology is not only able to incentivize the fruition of our cultural heritage, but also facilitate the visiting experience for people with disabilities. We are working to make art more inclusive and accessible.
We don't want to reveal everything at once, we will keep you updated!