Ultra-Wideband, to augment our daily lives!

The purpose of this article is to introduce you to Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology and it's potential to become an integral part of our daily lives. With UWB, you can experience hands-free access to your home and car, where the doors unlock based on your intent. Moreover, home consumer gadgets can follow you and switch on/off as you move around. By simply pointing your phone towards the gadget, an app pops up on your phone, allowing you to easily modify the channel or volume. This development offers endless possibilities, and it's fascinating to think that these scenarios are set to become a part of your daily routine. In this article, we will explore the world of UWB and its potential applications, as well as its ecosystem and evolution.

There are several devices currently available in the market that have incorporated UWB, including the Apple 11-14 series, Samsung Galaxy S20-23 series, Samsung Galaxy Z-fold series, Apple AirTag, Samsung SmartTag+, Apple Watch 6-8 series, Apple Pod Mini, Google Pixel series, and more to come. So let's dive into the world of UWB and discover its potential together.

UWB History

Did I mention that UWB is experiencing a resurgence? It's true! Despite not being a new technology, UWB has a long history. In fact, Guglielmo Marconi utilized UWB in spark-gap transmitters for radio communication (Morse Code) at the start of the 19th century. Due to its military possibilities, UWB usage was restricted.

In 2002, FCC (Federal Communications Commission) granted permission for unlicensed use of UWB technology. However, it was only recently that the market matured enough for UWB chips for regular consumer use. Although the commercial use of UWB today differs from its earlier usage, the underlying operations principles remain unchanged.

What is UWB, how does it work?

UWB, is a IEEE802.15.4a/z wireless communication protocol that utilizes short energy pulses every two nanoseconds across a broad frequency spectrum ranging from 3.1 to 10.6GHz, with a bandwidth of 500 MHz per channel. Its capability to determine real-time distance accurately between two devices makes it unique.

Because of its wide bandwidth, UWB has a low power spectral density (power level per unit of spectrum), which reduces the possibility of interference with other communication technologies operating in the same frequency band. The FCC has set this limit for spectral density at -41.3 dBm/ MHz.

UWB devices, depending on their design and use case architecture, can serve as a tag, anchor, or both. When two UWB devices are in close proximity to each other, they engage in location tracking or ranging, which measures their precise distance from one another. The location of an object can be determined using various techniques, such as:

a) TWR (Two Way Ranging): With TWR, we can determine the ToF (Time of Flight) of the UWB RF signal and calculate the distance between the nodes by multiplying this time by the speed of light. The ToF is the roundtrip time of the poll/response packet between the initiator (tag or anchor) and the responder. To accurately determine the time, the initiator sends and receives the signal of the responder multiple times. TWR may not require a fixed anchor infrastructure but has higher power consumption since determining the absolute position would require multiple sessions of this 2-way communication. It is easy to configure, and two mobiles can negotiate and switch their anchor/tag roles.

b) TDoA (Time Difference of Arrival): In TDoA method, the tag sends a signal (Poll) to multiple anchors, which record the arrival time. The time difference of arrival of signals from the tag to various anchor sensors is calculated to determine the tag's location. This method requires clock synchronization between the anchors and is more complex to design but consumes less power and supports higher tag density.

The choice of technique may depend on various factors, including the use case, power consumption, anchor synchronization, tag density, and other requirements for accurate location tracking.

UWB Standardization & Ecosystem

In 2006, the standardization of UWB began through the IEEE 802.15.4a standard, which outlined the PHY, MAC, and sublayers, with particular emphasis on low-data-rate wireless connectivity and precise ranging. To address the need for improved performance, the 802.15.4z task group was created in January 2018.

In 2019, a non-profit consortium FiRa was established, comprising prominent UWB companies such as mobile phone makers, semiconductor manufacturers, system integrators, automotive manufacturers, access control companies, test tool developers, test labs and academia. FiRa’s sponsor members include Allegion, Apple, Bosch, Cisco, Google, HID, NXP, Qorvo, Qualcomm, Samsung and Thales. FiRa collaborates with IEEE to improve current standards and create service-specific protocols for various vertical while ensuring inter-operability and promoting a wider UWB ecosystem. Additionally, FiRa collaborates with other consortia and industry stakeholders to exist with and supplement NFC, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth? technologies.

The Car Connectivity Consortium, which includes top companies such as Apple, BMW, Google, NXP, Volkswagen, Xiaomi and other notable organizations that are advancing UWB technology. They are primarily focused on improving vehicle accessibility for smart devices and have launched Digital Key Release3, which utilizes UWB and BLE to enable secure communication and contactless location tracking between smartphones and vehicles.

Furthermore, there is the UWB Alliance, which aims to expand on the IEEE standardization and provide regulatory and spectrum management guidance to promote the growth of UWB technology.

UWB Features and Advantages

Unlike wireless technologies like Bluetooth (BT) and Wi-Fi, which rely on signal strength and device placement conditions, and have no localization, UWB technology can accurately determine distances up to 10 cm and angles up to 3 degrees. This capability allows for a new level of spatial context in wireless devices.

UWB technology operates like a radar, constantly scanning a room and accurately pinpointing the location of an object, similar to a laser beam, while simultaneously transmitting data. As a result, UWB technology offers superior ranging capabilities compared to Bluetooth? & Wi-Fi.

Here are some key features of UWB technology that make it an excellent choice for a variety of new use cases:-

UWB Usecases

FiRa’s current focus is on hands-free access control, location based services and peer-to-peer applications that target Smart cities and mobility, Smart building and industrial, Smart Retail, Smart Home and Consumer.

In my opinion, UWB gained prominence recently after Apple announced incorporating into it’s iPhone.

UWB technology is making its way into the industrial space, where it is being used in conjunction with IoT sensors to monitor objects, including logistics, asset/material handling and forwarding, anti-collision systems, ground vehicles at airports/ports/warehouses, exhibits, capital goods or machines in factories, and items at trade shows and retail stores. Additionally, UWB is also being used to track people, such as for attendance, movement, old-folks and medical staff tracking, and worker movement at construction sites, among other applications. In consumer/personal use applications, UWB is used in usecases such as follow-me and find objects, and for secured access control.

Furthermore, new use cases are emerging that incorporate UWB technology. An example of this is UWB-based Child Presence Detection (CPD), which is specified by Euro-NCAP (New Car Assessment Program). CPD is a safety system designed to detect and alert if a child or pet is accidentally left behind in a vehicle. Similar CPD requirements are also being considered or implemented in China (under CNCAP) and the USA (NHTSA).

Some of the Scenarios for UWB adoption can be summarized as:-

Designing UWB products

NXP, a prominent member of FiRa, is a leading provider of UWB technology and offers silicon solutions that can be designed in your UWB products. Here are the NXP’s TrimensionTM products for your reference:-

Based on NXP's TrimensionTM SR040 Planetspark, a Singapore based Technology Company into AI and IoT hardware has developed UM040 UWB module, which combines RF circuitry, power management, and clock circuitry in a small form-factor of 18mm x 12.5mm x 1.8mm and weighing just 1 gram. To aid developers, Planetspark has also introduced the UM040-EVK.?

Additionally, Planetspark has developed the UM150 UWB module, which is a fully integrated UWB transceiver based on NXP's TrimensionTM SR150, with dimensions of 13mm x 13mm x 1mm and a weight of 1 gram, along with an EVK to support developers. These modules, in conjunction with the EVK, can provide an excellent starting point for UWB-based product developers, and will help them in a quicker time-to-POC as well to market.

For IoT specific usecases, for added level of accuracy, SR150module incorporates Angle-of-arrival methodology while SR040module is designed for coin-cell powered IoT tags.

In conclusion

As UWB technology advances, we can anticipate its integration into an increasing number of devices and applications, enriching our daily experiences even more. As per FiRa report UWB is estimated to be adopted in 1.5B phones/year in next 5 to 10 years from current 300M smartphones and quotes ABI research stating over 1B UWB devices will be shipped by 2025.

While Bluetooth and WiFi have become ubiquitous in our everyday routines, UWB, is set to coexist alongside these established wireless communication standards. UWB presents a distinctive range of capabilities that render it ideal for enhancing some of the current application scenarios and some emerging new applications that are yet to be seen. I will share more insights along the way through my ongoing field learning, observation and write-ups... Stay tuned &...

Let’s collaborate!

My Thanks to, Excelpoint Management and colleagues, special appreciation and Thanks to NXP team of experts, SG Tech friends, my customer partners, and Tech company mentors who guided me with the insights?and helped me in my learning.

Writer: RD Pai , VP Business Development @ Excelpoint ([email protected]) / https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/paird

An Engineer in Electronics & Telecommunications and a Business & Sales Leader in diverse roles & domains of Semiconductor Components to AI & IoT edge Solutions spanning AsiaPac. A proponent of digital transformation and Exco member of SGTech, member of SCS and AEIS

Further Reading and References:

NXP Semiconductors: https://www.nxp.com/applications/enabling-technologies/connectivity/ultra-wideband-uwb:UWB

FiRa Consortium Inc : https://www.FiRaconsortium.org/

Car Connectivity Consortium: https://carconnectivity.org/

UWB Alliance: https://uwballiance.org/

Excelpoint Systems Pte Ltd: www.excelpoint.com

Planetspark https://planetspark.io/

Thank you! RD Pai