Surface ships in the modern Navy are moving from fluorescent lights to LED lights. New light communication techniques are slowly coming online and are bringing new communication applications that would provide more users and coverage on the communications network onboard U.S. Navy ships compared to current wireless communication technologies such as Wi-Fi. As time goes on, more bandwidth is needed for our communications, and the current use of the electromagnetic spectrum will not be able to meet the required demands. A solution to this problem would be to use new cutting-edge technologies such as Light Fidelity (LiFi) and power line communications (PLC). Current Department of Defense concepts for deploying LiFi communication systems are currently limited but might have numerous applications for consideration such as a sailor being connected to the maintenance library and having all of the required maintenance cards updated in real time. Another reason why LiFi or PLC implementation would be great is that the current number of users on ships is limited to only desktops with network drops. By using LiFi and PLC, more users can access the network. These capabilities reduce the emission footprint of a naval vessel and make work on a ship easier to accomplish. The primary effort of this study is to see whether LiFi and PLC are feasible for a naval vessel. Real-world testing was conducted to see the baseline characteristics of LiFi and PLC hardware.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

http://archive.org/details/applicationndfea1094564827

COMNAVSURFPAC, San Diego, CA 92155

Lieutenant, United States Navy