IMPLI-FI: A Secure Wireless Communications Technology for Contested Logistics

Data security remains an issue of the utmost concern in contested environments. Mechanisms such as data encryption, beam-forming antennas, and frequency-hopping radio have emerged to mitigate some of the concerns in radio-frequency (RF) communications, but they do not remove all risk. Consequently, there is still a consistent appetite for alternative solutions. This paper presents a case for the use of the free-space optical (FSO) communications technology ImpLi-Fi as one such alternative. FSO communication is promising because of the ease with which the signal beam may be steered and limited, making detection and interception more difficult than with RF, and ImpLi-Fi in particular is desirable for its exceptional outdoor performance and ease of integration into existing light sources. The paper briefly illustrates the origins of the contested logistics (CL) problem and CL use cases for secure communication channels, before describing the ImpLi-Fi technology in some detail; exploring how its field deployment might look, including a telling example with a handheld transmitter device; and foretelling additional potential areas of application. Throughout the paper, ImpLi-Fi is shown to have remarkably high potential utility in contested logistics and beyond.