Since radio waves propagate at the speed of light, keeping the pulse duration as short as possible is key to calculate the actual distance accurately. The pulse duration of UWB of only two nanoseconds is only a fraction of the pulse durations being used for data transmission in other wireless radio applications. While other radio technologies split the available bandwidth into smaller chunks in favor of higher data rates or using multiple data channels at the same time, UWB dedicates the entire available bandwidth to the transmission of very short radio wave pulses.
In comparison, Wi-Fi only uses about 20 to 160MHz of bandwidth, and Bluetooth as little as 80Mhz. Ultra Wideband technology makes use of a very high bandwidth of 499.2MHz. The technology is becoming more widespread, and the latest smartphones have already incorporated chips with UWB into their design, right next to the better-known technologies like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
When combining multiple UWB radios into a single network, UWB technology can as such be used to identify the exact position of mobile UWB-equipped consumer devices in the immediate vicinity.
This is because Ultra Wideband allows for high-precision localization at distances typically up to 20 meters. Uses vary but car owners will benefit primarily thanks to UWB’s highly accurate and precise localization capabilities.
But thanks to its recent addition to regular everyday devices like mobile phones and not least cars, it will now become more broadly available for end users.
The technology is not new as such, and is today used mostly for advanced medical devices and other professional use. However, it drastically improves both the application possibilities, and security levels from similar radio technologies. Ultra Wideband is a short-range, wireless communication protocol that uses radio waves, just like Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.