1. You Might Just Live Longer For a long time, medical technology has lagged behind the rest of the wireless world. Operating rooms do not allow Wi-Fi over radiation concerns, and there is also that whole lack of dedicated spectrum. While Wi-Fi is in place in many hospitals, interference from cellphones and computers can block signals from monitoring equipment. Li-Fi solves both problems: lights are not only allowed in operating rooms, but tend to be the most glaring (pun intended) fixtures in the room. And, as Haas mentions in his TED Talk, Li-Fi has 10,000 times the spectrum of Wi-Fi, so maybe we can, I dunno, delegate red light to priority medical data. Code Red!

2. It Could Save Your Texting-While-Driving Tuckus One of the more kickass applications of Li-Fi is that the tech is compact and the infrastructure is everywhere. Sensors implanted in your front and rear bumpers could receive data transmitted from the rear lights of that car that just veered into your lane while you were texting. Both drivers are warned (or maybe the car takes over) and the accident is averted. This can also work with traffic lights, possibly sending your car info about road conditions, warning you about that guy you can't see speeding toward the intersection, or instantly transmitting his plate number to the cops when he does.

3. Shopping Retailers nowadays complain a lot about people coming into a store, browsing, gathering data and then ultimately buying online. Here’s why: there is more data online about each and every item in every store than any store clerk can muster. Okay, but what happens when you add high-speed Web access to, say, display lighting? A customer can passively gather data about reviews and pricing, and ultimately walk out the door with the item they might otherwise merely paused at for a moment. Not only is Li-Fi able to make the process less intrusive than say, QR codes, but it provides you the service of the secure high-speed connection to simulate your experience researching and purchasing at home.

4. Your Job Just Got Easier How’s that office Wi-Fi treating you? Okay, stop petitioning your boss for fiber optic cable he can’t afford. Li-Fi cheaply solves your office Internet woes and adds a layer of security to boot. 100 Mbps connections for everybody! Plus, encoded transmissions are a breeze, and are location specific to you with Li-Fi. Thanks to the geographically specific nature of Li-Fi, that spy from the competition would have to be literally breathing down your neck to see your incoming memo concerning the boss’s lunch order.

5. Lecture Halls Can Be Fun Okay, well maybe not fun, but better. I’ve had a few teachers tell me to download lecture notes from their blog in my time. Half the time I wished I already had the notes with me so that I could follow along as the lecture progressed. Imagine how interactive the classroom could be with real-time interconnectivity between 500 devices. Annotate lecture notes, share your questions with not only the teacher but the entire class, and no one need be left behind. The entire lecture can be streamed in HD, downloaded and played back on every individual device in the room. Suddenly a slow lecture on a difficult subject can be a synergistic, adaptive learning experience, merely because you now have the bandwidth.

6. Airlines Airline Wi-Fi. Ugh. Nothing says captive audience like having to pay for the "service" of dial-up speed Wi-Fi on the plane. And don’t get me started on the pricing. The best I’ve heard so far is that passengers will "soon" be offered a "high-speed like" connection on some airlines. United is planning on speeds as high as 9.8 Mbps per plane. Uh, I have twice that capacity in my living room. And at the same price as checking a bag, I expect it. Li-Fi could easily introduce that sort of speed to each seat's reading light. I’ll be the guy WoWing next to you. It’s better than listening to you tell me about your wildly successful son, ma’am.

7. It Could Keep You Informed And Save Lives Say there’s an earthquake in New York. Or a hurricane. Take your pick — it’s a wacky city. The average New Yorker may not know what the protocols are for those kinds of disasters. Until they pass under a street light, that is. Remember, with Li-Fi, if there’s light, you’re online. Subway stations and tunnels, common dead zones for most emergency communications, pose no obstruction. Plus, in times less stressing cities could opt to provide cheap high-speed Web access to every street corner.

8. Smarter Power Plants Wi-Fi and many other radiation types are bad for sensitive areas. Like those surrounding power plants. But power plants need fast, inter-connected data systems to monitor things like demand, grid integrity and (in nuclear plants) core temperature. The savings from proper monitoring at a single power plant can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Li-Fi could offer safe, abundant connectivity for all areas of these sensitive locations. Not only would this save money related to currently implemented solutions, but the draw on a power plant’s own reserves could be lessened if they haven’t yet converted to LED lighting.

9. Undersea Awesomeness Underwater ROVs, those favorite toys of treasure seekers and James Cameron, operate from large cables that supply their power and allow them to receive signals from their pilots above. ROVs work great, except when the tether isn’t long enough to explore an area, or when it gets stuck on something. If their wires were cut and replaced with light — say from a submerged, high-powered lamp — then they would be much more free to explore. They could also use their headlamps to communicate with each other, processing data autonomously and referring findings periodically back to the surface, all the while obtaining their next batch of orders.

10. Smart Museums Another area where communications and radiation levels are intensely monitored, museums have strict rules about the environments where they store their treasures. What they do allow — all together now — is light. Li-Fi could enable a museum to deliver much more information on pieces in their collection than those tiny cards they paste to the walls could ever dream of. You could learn about the artist’s history, listen to an audio tour, peruse recent auctions of their work, and maybe even stream The Thomas Crown Affair. Extend this concept to art galleries and you can purchase the art right off the walls — digitally.