Practical Tips | Four Myths About Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Technology

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Practical Tips | Four Myths About Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Technology [Copy link]

Myth 1: UWB can only operate over short distances

This understanding is incorrect. While UWB is technically a short-range wireless technology (like Bluetooth, WiFi, and NFC), it's really more of a category list. UWB operates between 6.5GHz and 10GHz, while Bluetooth is fixed at 2.4GHz. The general rule is that the higher the frequency, the shorter the range.

However, when conditions allow, UWB's operating range can extend to 100 meters - the length of a football field. Of course, real-world range depends on many variables in the final product design and the environment it is planned for. Antenna design, for example, power level, channel frequency, the complexity of the propagation environment, and the types of materials the signal may have to pass through all have an impact.

UWB doesn’t perform well in metallic environments, but can go through other materials like wood, stucco, and even brick — and the density of the material affects the range. So while many applications currently use UWB because of its short-range advantages, it could be extended much further.

Myth 2: UWB is just another connectivity technology

Sure, it started out as a means of high-speed data communications, and at the time it was facing off against WiFi, but that was then. UWB has gone through several evolutions: it evolved from OFDM-based data communications to an impulse radio technology specified in IEEE 802.15.4a, while the security extensions specified in IEEE 802.15.4z (PHY/MAC layer) made it a uniquely secure and accurate ranging technology.

Through this transformation, today’s UWB has evolved from data communications into something unique: a secure, precision-ranging pulse radio technology. As such, it fits more into the realm of sensing technology, able to locate objects more precisely than any other technology, to within 10cm, bringing new dimensions of space and perception to products.

Myth 3: UWB’s precision advantage is comparable to Bluetooth

Since UWB demonstrated its incredibly precise location awareness, the positioning capabilities and accuracy of Bluetooth LE and WiFi have also been improved. In experiments conducted under laboratory conditions, including very high infrastructure density and unobstructed situations, the new Bluetooth 5.1 demonstrated precise ranging, and the WiFi Alliance also announced that they will add physical positioning to the upcoming version. However, due to the laws of physics, they still rely on modulated sine waves in narrow bands, while UWB has a unique pulse signal (2ns) and operates at frequencies over 500MHz.

Bluetooth and WiFi use Receiver Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) technology, which is known to be more susceptible to environmental factors, including interference from other radios and obstacles, which can cause signal degradation and reduced accuracy.

UWB is based on time-of-flight measurements, where distance is determined by the propagation time of a pulse packet. According to the FiRa Consortium: "UWB's fast transmission of steep and narrow pulses enables signal timing to be marked with a higher degree of certainty. UWB pulse signals maintain their accuracy even as the distance between devices increases and show excellent resilience in non-line-of-sight situations."

Simply put, UWB can do more, more accurately, and more reliably in more constrained environments.

Myth 4: UWB is a niche technology

Yes, it’s mainly three companies – Apple, Samsung and BMW – that have been reporting on UWB’s powerful mobile access and file-sharing capabilities, and the impact of their integration efforts on the development of the wider ecosystem cannot be underestimated.

When the automotive industry adopts a new technology, it becomes entrenched because decisions in the automotive industry are made from one generation to the next. The same is true with mobile phones. The decision to add another radio or antenna to a platform is a big deal and it doesn’t happen unless there is tremendous value to the consumer. The impact of a new technology being put on a mobile phone, becoming a free resource, and sparking adoption of the new technology is only now beginning to show up.

In fact, the FiRa Consortium has listed more than 35 use cases, and there are more to come. Indoor GPS, credential sharing, access control, gesture-based control and VR gaming, state-based device activation… these are just the beginning. UWB can extend from phones to cars to IoT sensors, devices, and various objects, and mobile devices may be the seed platform for UWB's widespread expansion.

w494143467

The UWB we currently use can achieve positioning within a range of 800 meters.

alan000345

UWB has so many advantages. Apple, Samsung and BMW are still at the forefront of technology.