Future Prospects of UWB Technology

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Future Prospects of UWB Technology [Copy link]

Ultra-wideband technology (UWB) will be widely popularized around the world. Currently, UWB has been deployed in more than 40 vertical markets, including industrial, enterprise, automotive and consumer markets. In the applications that have been realized so far, UWB has achieved improvements in operational efficiency and employee safety in multiple industries. It also supports secure transactions such as keyless car access and new applications based on location tracking of people and objects.

In this chapter, we review the deployment of UWB in mobile phones and how this has enabled the rapid adoption of UWB. We also explore how industry alliances are facilitating the rapid adoption of UWB around the world and examine some forward-looking use cases that leverage UWB's capabilities.

Using UWB technology in smartphones

The recent introduction of UWB technology into smartphones is a key step towards the mass adoption of UWB around the world. Smartphones are a major market in their own right, with more than 1.3 billion units shipped each year. Smartphones will therefore be the entry point for UWB to become widely available in people’s daily lives, while enabling activities such as car access, retail transactions, and home control, as shown in Figure 3-1. UWB phones will spark the development of a wide range of new device and application ecosystems that are not possible with other technologies.

It is extremely difficult to predict the exact future of UWB deployment, but history can provide some clues to its likely trajectory. For example, Wi-Fi started out as a wireless communication solution specifically for cash registers. Apple’s endorsement of Wi-Fi in 1999 was a powerful endorsement that quickly led to the technology’s widespread adoption. This also spurred the development of a diverse ecosystem of devices and triggered a network effect that resulted in billions of units shipped each year. The success of Bluetooth is similar: its early use for hands-free calling on mobile phones and cars eventually led to mass adoption across many applications and markets.

UWB has also experienced the same market penetration, as shown in Figure 3-2. The explosive growth in shipments of mobile phones, wearable products, and connected home devices may be faster than the growth rate of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Some even predict that its shipments will exceed the 1 billion mark in the next few years.

How alliances and partnerships can help make UWB more accessible

Interoperability (the ability of products, systems, applications and services from different vendors to work together reliably in a predictable manner) is another key factor in the mass adoption of new technologies. Interoperability is critical because every user expects their electronic devices to connect and operate easily. Different players in the UWB industry, from semiconductor suppliers to device manufacturers and test equipment suppliers, have already begun addressing interoperability needs.

Key alliances working to ensure interoperability of UWB products include:

UWB Alliance (https://uwballiance.org): The UWB Alliance is working with regulators and organizations around the world to create a favorable regulatory and spectrum management environment to promote UWB market growth. The UWB Alliance is also involved in optimizing spectrum sharing to minimize interference with other new and existing standards.

Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC; https://carconnectivity.org): CCC is a cross-industry organization dedicated to advancing global technologies for smartphone-to-car connectivity solutions. CCC includes many stakeholders such as automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Tier 1 suppliers, handset manufacturers, semiconductor suppliers, and application developers. CCC is developing "Digital Key", a new open standard that allows smart devices (such as smartphones and smartwatches) to be used as car keys. Leveraging this standardized ecosystem, mobile devices will be able to store, authenticate, and share digital keys for UWB vehicles in a privacy-preserving, secure manner, no matter where they are.

FiRa Consortium (www.firaconsortium.org): FiRa stands for Precision Ranging, which highlights the unique ability of UWB technology to provide unprecedented accuracy and security when measuring the distance of an object or determining the location. As an industry alliance, FiRa believes that UWB technology will change the way people experience connectivity and is committed to the widespread adoption of UWB applications. As shown in Figure 3-3, the FiRa Consortium foresees many use cases. These use cases include inductive access control, indoor positioning and navigation, and point-to-point applications.

The groups are collaborating to create protocols that enable communication between cars and phones, phones and door locks, and phones and location infrastructure.

UWB Future Outlook

Thanks to the creativity and talent of engineers and entrepreneurs, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth have enabled a wide range of services and applications that were not anticipated by anyone. Based on the multifaceted value of UWB described in this book, we can foresee the advent of new applications and services that are impossible to achieve with existing technologies.

As shown in Figure 3-4, smart homes supported by UWB include:

A door that opens automatically when you arrive home

An alarm that goes off when you enter the door without having to press the keypad

A personal assistant that knows when you enter your home and provides you with personalized information

As you move from room to room, your favorite music follows you, switching to the corresponding speakers

Lighting that switches on according to your preferred settings

A wireless node that reminds you to bring your tennis bag with you when you leave the house

The potential for creating a truly smart home environment is huge!

>>>>Personal Navigation

Imagine how UWB could transform the experience of navigating buildings. Have you ever struggled to find a specific item in a store? Find a meeting room at work? Find a friend in a crowd? Or find a taxi line at the airport? UWB could put an end to all these unpleasant and sometimes stressful experiences by accurately guiding you to your destination.

When UWB is combined with augmented reality (AR), instead of having to rely on map orientation in your smartphone to try to figure out exactly where you are and which direction you should go, UWB can overlay your exact location and correct directions with the real world.

>>>>On-site delivery

Another really great app is on-the-go delivery. Feeling hungry at the mall, but not in the mood to walk to the food court? Order on your phone, keep shopping, and have your food delivered to you wherever you go!

>>>>Safe Transaction

Another area where UWB could change the way we interact with our environment is in seamless and secure transactions. For example, public transportation has made great strides in making payments easy: it is now common to pay with a transit card or mobile phone, rather than using cash or tickets.

Imagine if you could pay automatically without having to take your phone out of your pocket and tap it on the payment reader. This way, queues and waiting in crowded subway stations would become a thing of the past. Likewise, waiting time in the self-checkout line at the store would be shortened because you no longer need to take out your phone to pay!

The potential for UWB is endless. Although we cannot imagine all the future applications, we can be sure that in the future there will be an engineer who will design a new generation of products that will once again make our lives better.