IT technologies between physical and digital: LiFi and Surroundings
To support the necessary level of computerisation, digitisation and automation required by modern working environments, it’s indispensable to have smart technologies ready to support current and future operational challenges, such as the new application frontier that allows data to be transmitted through light: LiFi.
Panduit, Lainate (MI) – Competing with industry experts such as Panduit, a leader in infrastructure products and services for data networks and power applications, and Signify, a world leader in lighting for which we are a Certified System Integrator (Euronext: LIGHT), is always a source of opportunity and growth for a young innovative SME like ours. The participation of our CEO Francesco Paolo Russo, as Special Guest, allowed us to analyse from many points of view that phenomenon of ‘dematerialisation’ that in the last thirty years has led to a new dialogue between physical and digital in many workplaces, and above all to recount the many innovative aspects of LiFi technology.
Together with Gian Piero De Martino, Electrical and Network Infrastructure Business Unit Manager Panduit and Daniele Tordin, Technical System Engineer Panduit, we saw how, behind every delicate product and service, there is always an infrastructure with all its elements, often hidden, but not unimportant. The physical network makes possible a variety of applications that have become indispensable for everyone, such as communications, security, information and data transmission, environmental management, audio-video and lighting.
And how does LiFi fit into this picture? It’s simple: the evolution of transmission methods and media has not stopped at the sending of electrical signals through copper cables alone, but has seen the use of radio/wireless transmissions, data transfer through fibre optics through to the modulation of LED light to send and receive information in data format.
LiFi (Light Fidelity), in fact, is a cutting-edge technology that enables the transmission of data and information through visible and invisible frequencies. It is able to offer numerous advantages, including greater bandwidth and a high data transmission speed that today reaches 1Gb/s, and will reach, in 2025 according to industry studies, 1 Tbit/s. In the laboratory, these speeds are already being achieved today, which commercially will only be achieved with the advent of 6G, of which LiFi is a precursor as the sixth generation of connectivity will fully embrace the Thz frequencies of light.
This technology, using light and not emitting radio frequencies, can be used in sensitive and interference-hostile environments such as hospitals, aircraft and military bases. Furthermore, the use of a solution that uses light to provide connectivity, which by its very nature is confined within the limits of space and cannot overcome physical barriers, provides greater protection from potential hacker attacks from outside, making the transmission of information and data fast and secure. Another important feature of LiFi is its accuracy in terms of geolocalisation. It is possible to detect the position of a device, and therefore also of a user, with a margin of error of a few centimetres. This is a benchmark for the sector, especially considering that the most widely used technology for localisation to date is Bluetooth, which has error margins in the order of a metre.
Starting from this potential of LiFi, in To Be we have been carrying out intensive work on evangelising the technology for some years now in areas ranging from Healthcare to Education, from Cultural Heritage to Defence, and we have come to develop three application solutions: LiFi Geolocation, an indoor geolocation system that uses LED light modulation to define a user’s position extremely accurately, managing to enable, among other things, indoor navigation experiences; LiFi Streaming, a system for a two-way wireless connection to the PC and/or tablet network that is fast, secure and sustainable; LiFi Point To Point, a point-to-point communication system capable of providing wireless connectivity even over long distances, which can be used both indoors and outdoors.
To date, we have several very significant LiFi projects to our credit in different areas. Among the most important are the installations inside the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, Castel del Monte, the MArTA Museum in Taranto, the National Archaeological Museum in Altamura and the entire circuit of the Sac Museums, which have enriched visitors’ experience by allowing them to receive information on the various works on display directly on their smartphones through the LiFi Art App and to be guided through the exhibition thanks to LiFi’s accurate geolocation system.
In several Italian schools between Lazio and Marche, we brought LiFi to enable students to connect to the network via light in a secure, fast and sustainable manner, while at ASL Napoli 2 Nord, the hospitals of Pozzuoli, Ischia and Procida are the first Italian health facilities where LiFi has enabled improved services for patients, visitors, doctors and hospital staff.
Would you like to get in touch with us and find out more about our LiFi solutions? Write to us at info@tobe-srl.it and we will send you in-depth material.
Li-Fi and Art go Hand-in-Hand
How many times did we hear the phrase: “Italy is the homeland of culture”? How many times did we hear experts state that our country must have a more digital-friendly Cultural Heritage sector? Li-Fi might be a good solution.
Li-Fi and art can work well together. Li-Fi, a system for data transmission through LED light modulation, will be a great tool to bring innovation to the Cultural Heritage sector.
How can the Cultural Heritage Sector Become Innovative through Li-Fi?
Li-Fi Art is the prominent solution for innovating, digitalizing, and enhancing our cultural heritage. The solution was officially presented at the Rome Museum Exhibition 2021 and originated from the “LiFi Zone Beni Culturali” project, which was funded by the “Campania Startup 2020” contest and supported by the plan POR CAMPANIA FESR 2014 – 2020.
Li-Fi Art opened a new dialogue between the physical and the digital, offering the right content at the right moment. The project is designed for its application over the whole Cultural Heritage sector, from museums and archeological parks to permanent exhibitions and cultural events. Starting from the need of this sector to digitalize the tour experience within museums to offer a unique and engaging visiting experience, attracting more young visitors, we developed a Li-Fi solution able to break all traditional visit patterns and offer a new visiting experience. While users walk freely through the exhibition, they will be able to receive all the information related to the workpieces on their mobile phones, without using audio guides or other tools.
Thus, Li-Fi Art is a solution able to bring multimedia content into museums and make the visit more inclusive and interactive. In addition, it offers additional services such as the creation of specifically designed pathways based on the area of interest, historical period, or the visitor's age. These way-finding services help visitors navigate the exhibition and find points of interest and utility. LiFi art also offers support services to people with disabilities to enhance their visiting experience; this applies to the hearing and visually impaired people as well. In other words, LiFi art makes art more inclusive by breaking accessibility barriers.
Thanks to the elevated geolocation accuracy that makes indoor navigation possible, Li-Fi Art allows for co-marketing and cultural heritage enhancement services, opening doors to network building and active participation.
Some great examples of museums embracing LiFi and joining this technological revolution are Giovanni Barracco Museum in Rome, Cambelotti Museum in Latina, Pompeii Archeological Park, National Archeological Altamura Museum, Castel Del Monte Museum, and MArTA Museum. In Taranto.
Within these structures, visitors will be able to download the specifically designed app and enjoy a new, unique and engaging visiting experience.
What is LiFi? https://tobe-srl.it/en/light-and-data-what-is-li-fi/
Li-Fi and Museums: sustainable innovation lands at Barracco Museum: https://tobe-srl.it/en/li-fi-and-museums-sustainable-innovation-meets-museum-barracco/
What are you waiting for? Join the LiFi Revolution! Contact us to learn more.
The Physical Meets the Digital with LiFi G
Other than LiFi S and P, To Be also developed another innovative solution: LiFi G, an indoor geolocation system using light LED modulation to define a user’s position with extreme accuracy.
"We dream of a world where every light will be a source of information." This is the vision that pushed us to work on several LiFi solutions. Among these, we developed LiFi Geolocation, a solution allowing users to define users’ location with extreme accuracy, guiding them through a specific pathway and providing them with additional multimedia content of proximity on their mobile phones.
How it Works
LIFi Geolocation works with an on and off commutation of the light frequency. It represents a mono-directional connection, where light lamps transmit a binary code that, through an app that we specifically designed, is received by the smartphone camera of the users to define their position accurately.
This light sequence is not detectable by the human eye, and it allows sustainable data transmission. In fact, there are no radio wave emission thanks to this connection. In addition, energy consumption is significantly reduced thanks to cutting-edge LED lamps.
LiFi G Hotspot
The LiFi G Hotspot solution provides users with an innovative and unique experience: by simply downloading a specific app on their smartphone and positioning it under the light source illuminating the object of interest, the user will be able to enjoy related multimedia content. Thus, every LED lamp will correspond to specific content.
LiFi Indoor Navigation
The LiFi G Indoor Navigation solution also includes LiFi G Hotspot, and provides users with an immersive geolocation experience, enclosing content of proximity within a specific area. This solution thus allows for indoor navigation services and marketing of proximity even where there is no GPS signal. LiFi G manages to accurately geolocate the user.
To learn more about LiFi, visit our website: https://tobe-srl.it/lifi-geolocation/
To Be Widens its Horizons with LiFi P
To Be keeps working on providing a fast, secure and sustainable connection thanks to LiFi. Other than LiFi S and LiFi G, LiFi P is the new solution developed by To Be, which works through point-to-point data transmission.
What is LiFi?
LiFi is a cutting-edge technology that allows data transmission through LED light modulation. It can offer several benefits, such as large bandwidth and fast data transmission. Since it uses light and does not emit radio waves, LiFi can be ideal in environments that are hostile to interferences, such as hospitals, military buildings, and airports. In addition, since it provides connectivity by using light, that is enclosed in a specific area, LiFi prevents external hacker attacks. This makes LiFi safe and sustainable.
LiFi P2P
There are several solutions developed by To Be. One important example is LiFi Geolocation, which allows an extremely accurate geolocation service and provides access to multimedia content through light modulation. Another one is LiFi Streaming, which offers a fast, secure and sustainable connection. Now, To Be widened its horizons with another significant LiFi solution: LiFi Point to Point (P2P), which guarantees effective wireless communication from point to point, even in long distances and without radio-frequency emissions.
How Does it Work?
LiFi P2P involves two visually connected optical devices that immediately create a network, even over considerable distances, without the need to lay cables. You can travel even longer distances while maintaining stable performance by creating a network of LiFi P devices that bounce the signal between them. Crossing an area or warehouse, making offices in adjacent buildings communicate, and transporting data signals through a corridor without tracing or laying cables, thus becomes a simple and safe task with a transmission speed of up to 10 Gbps.
Se vuoi sapere di più riguardo alla soluzione LiFi P, visita il nostro sito: https://tobe-srl.it/lifi-p/
Magic Spectrum Demo Day: To Be and the LiFi Revolution!
On July 14th, in Milan, CDP Venture Capital and Digital Magics announced the 8 finalists, among 175 startups that applied, that were selected for the first edition of Magic Spectrum, an acceleration program. This program is meant to support startups that work in the 5G and Internet of Things markets. To Be is among the 8 finalists: along with Auting, Cloudvision, Evja, G-move, Logbot, MyMine, e Waterstream, our startup received an initial monetary support of 75.000 euros.
At the Demo Day event, our Chief Financial Officer Danilo Fattorini had the task to present our vision, current and future projects to investors, mentors and companies, both from Italian and international backgrounds.
Our participation to the event, which was launched by Cdp Venture Capital and Digital Magics, allowed us to obtain an initial monetary support of 75.000 euros from extremely important players in the innovation system. In the last few months, we have been focusing on collecting capital from investors wanting to support us.
“5G and IoT are two markets that will be increasingly prominent in the future, thus they will have a strong influence on everyone’s life. With our program, that greatly aligns with our industrial plan, we aim at attracting the best companies working in this field. Thanks to the precious contribute of CDP Venture Capital and our other partners, we also want to help these companies grow and build meaningful networks. The first 8 startups selected proved us that we are going in the right direction and showed us the significance of the ideas and solutions offered by European and Italian talents.”
Ludovico Facchini, Digital Magics’ Partner & Magic Spectrum Program Director
Presenting our vision and LiFi solutions, that aim at accelerating the LiFi Revolution, at the Demo Day event represented the first step of an important journey that will keep us very busy and that we are ready to embark on at the speed of light.
In this process, the founders of To Be were assisted by Federico Bellan LLM, of counsel at Akran Intellectual Property.
To learn more about our fundraising activity, contact us at the email info@tobe-srl.it.
To learn more about LiFi, read here.
To Be Represents Italy at the LiFi Conference
The second edition of the LiFi Conference, the most important global meeting for LiFi experts, took place on June 28th at the Eindhoven High Tech Campus, in the Netherlands. To Be’s representatives attended the event: we brought some of the Italian innovation experience in the Netherlands.
To Be's case studies caught much attention at the LiFi Conference: thanks to the collaboration with institutions and the corporate world, our innovative company implemented and realized several projects in different contexts, such as the Cultural Heritage, Healthcare, and Education sectors.
LiFi: What is it?
LiFi is a cutting-edge technology that allows data transmission through LED light modulation. It can offer several benefits, such as large bandwidth and fast data transmission. Since it uses light and does not emit radio waves, LiFi can be ideal in environments that are hostile to interferences, such as hospitals, military buildings, and airports. In addition, since it provides connectivity by using light, that is enclosed in a specific area, LiFi prevents external hacker attacks. This makes LiFi safe and sustainable.
To Be at the LiFi Conference
The LiFi Conference was extremely relevant as it represented a global meeting point between industry and research to dive deeper into the latest trends of the market and its dynamics, as well as the potential applications of LiFi in several different sectors. Other important topics covered were the role of startups and research in the development and spread of LiFi.
The conference saw the participation of highly renowned figures at a global level, such as Harald Haas, a well-known Professor at Strathclyde University, who first coined the term "Li-Fi". Representing To Be there were Danilo Fattorini, Chief Operating Officer, and Francesco Paolo Russo, Founder, and CEO. For the occasion, we talked about Italy's contribution to the spread and development of LiFi services, particularly in sectors such as Cultural Heritage, Healthcare, and Education.
We are working on several significant LiFi projects in these fields, among which are installations in museums such as the Pompei Archeological Park, Castel Del Monte, MArTA in Taranto, and Altamura National Archeological Park, and so on. LiFi enriched visitors' experience as it guided them through exhibition paths thanks to the geolocation system, and allowed them to receive additional content on their smartphones. We also brought LiFi to several Italian schools, providing students with a fast, safe, and sustainable connection. ASL Napoli 2 Nord, based in Pozzuoli, Ischia, and Procida, was the first Italian hospital to implement LiFi to enhance services for visitors, patients, and healthcare staff.
You can learn more about our projects and potential LiFi applications on our website: https://tobe-srl.it/en/
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.
ASL Napoli 2 Nord Joins the LiFi Revolution!
To increasingly improve the quality of services to physicians, patients, visitors and medical staff, and for the first time in Italy, we implemented LiFi in the Healthcare field. This was possible thanks to our collaboration with ASL Napoli Nord 2 and the support of Director of IT Salvatore Flaminio.
The first LiFi Zones, implemented in the Pozzuoli hospital, have the function of spreading the potential of this technology, particularly in the healthcare field. Users will be able to experience a bidirectional connection through light thanks to LiFi S (Streaming). This would happen through to a computer provided by ASL. At the same time, thanks to LiFi G totems and the LiFi Zone application, will receive information on LiFi and on ASL 2 Napoli Nord services.
LiFi and Healthcare
Applications in the healthcare field can be as beneficial for patients as they are for healthcare workers and visitors
It is important to keep in mind that many medical devices that are used in the surgical room, both in intensive therapy and in radiology, do not allow radio frequencies, therefore the WiFi. This makes LiFi technology a valid alternative to WiFi in the medical field. Since it emits a signal that does not interfere with the medical equipment, the LiFi technology allows a bidirectional and wireless connection which guarantees fast data transmission, high bandwidth, and density.
Finally, LiFi guarantees higher cybersecurity, as the light cannot penetrate solid barriers. Thus, light is necessary to access the network.
LiFi has an additional benefit: it is a safer technology for our health. Differently from other kinds of technologies, LiFi substantially reduces electromagnetic waves. In environments with children such as hospitals and care facilities, LiFi allows a wireless communication in a sustainable and affordable manner.
ASL Napoli 2 Nord is the first Italian hospital to implement LiFi and one of the first worldwide.
This was a very successful story that won the Innovation Award SMAU 2021.
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To learn more about LiFi, read here
If you want to learn about our solutions, contact us