Signify announced a new partnership for the industrial scale-up of its LiFi technology with aircraft manufacturer Latécoère. The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Signify’s Trulifi technology. The partnership also include South Korea’s aerospace and defense specialist Huneed Technologies, for data communication electronics and software.
LiFi enables a superior onboard connectivity experience in terms
of bandwidth, latency and stability. Another advantage of LiFi is that it doesn’t interfere with
sensitive equipment and that the connection isn’t affected by the airplane’s movements. LiFi also results in less cabling, and together
with an infrastructure upgrade to low-weight fibre solutions, will reduce the
airplane’s weight and fuel usage.
Signify launched
their Trulifi systems earlier this year, and have installed around 100 projects
worldwide. Trulifi combines energy-efficient LED lighting with a reliable, secure
and high-speed two-way wireless connection, with speeds of up to 250 Mbps for
both the downlink and the uplink.
Signify and Latécoère aim to transform the
cabin experience for passengers by providing them the latest technology in
connectivity. At first, Trulifi will be used for the connection of the media
players in the headrests. In the next phase, LiFi will enable passengers to
connect their personal devices to the onboard media and Internet, but also
interact with each other and have the same connectivity experience on board as
on the ground.
Meanwhile, Huneed
Technologies will join the partnership for the development and production of
the passenger distribution unit and fibre optic router.
