What Is Ultra-Wideband?
As a smart home enthusiast and power user, I am sometimes frustrated by a lack of specificity when triggering automation rules. Sometimes you want a rule to run, or not run, only when a certain person is present. You might want to control a specific device in a room, rather than all of them, like a corner lamp, when you’re in a particular area, or you might be frustrated by infrared motion sensors simply not detecting small enough motion to keep the lights on reliably.
If you’re like me and would like to harness more, and smarter, control over your gadgets, there is hope on the horizon in the form of a not-so-new technology called Ultra-Wideband radio.
Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology is a wireless communication technology that uses a wide range of frequencies to transmit data over short distances. Unlike other wireless technologies, UWB can transmit data over a large frequency range with low power consumption and high data rates. This technology uses a pulse-based approach, where data is transmitted using short pulses, which makes it resistant to interference from other devices.
Ultra-Wideband Frequencies
Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology is so named because it uses a relatively wide range of frequencies to transmit data over short distances. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) defines UWB as a radio technology that uses a bandwidth of at least 500 MHz, or more than 20% of the center frequency. UWB can operate at frequencies ranging from 3.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz in the United States, and 3.1 GHz to 4.8 GHz in Europe.
UWB uses a low power, short-range signal that is capable of transmitting data at high speeds over a wide frequency range. UWB devices emit short-duration pulses across a wide range of frequencies, typically spanning several gigahertz. The pulses are transmitted at very low power levels, typically below the noise floor of other wireless technologies, which makes them very difficult to detect and intercept. This makes UWB a promising technology for applications that require high bandwidth, low latency, and high levels of security.
Ultra-Wideband is available in most countries on supported devices, but there are a handful of countries where it has been approved for use and is required to be disabled.
Ultra-Wideband = Ultra Precise
Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology is known for its high precision in detecting people or motion in indoor environments. UWB uses a combination of time-of-flight measurements and signal strength analysis to accurately determine the location of objects or people in a room. This is about as far as it can go, however, since the low power signal has a range around the same as Bluetooth.
UWB technology can achieve sub-centimeter accuracy in distance measurements, which enables precise localization of objects in three-dimensional space. This level of accuracy can be used to track the location of people or objects with high precision, even in complex indoor environments with many obstacles.
In terms of motion detection, UWB can detect small movements with high accuracy. The technology can detect movements as small as a few millimeters, making it useful for applications such as fall detection or gesture recognition. This also introduces some unique and powerful possibilities for smart home users.
Ultra-Wideband In The Smart Home
In a smart home, UWB technology can be used to enable a range of applications, such as location tracking, smart security systems, and home automation. Here are a few ways UWB can benefit smart homes:
Accurate indoor positioning enabling automated behaviours such as:
Precise room-level tracking: UWB technology can track the location of a device or person within a room with high precision. This can be used to enable features like automatic lighting, personalized temperature control, and more. Imagine being able to turn on a specific lamp if you sit in a particular chair, or set a specific scene only if a specific person is present.
Asset tracking: UWB can be used to track the location of valuable assets, such as laptops, smartphones, or even pets. This can help homeowners keep track of their belongings and ensure they are not misplaced or stolen.
Gesture recognition: UWB can be used to detect and recognize specific gestures or movements made by users. This can be used to enable features like hands-free control of smart devices, where users can perform actions like adjusting the volume or changing the channel by simply making a gesture.
Fall detection: UWB can be used to detect falls or other unusual movements made by elderly or disabled people living in a smart home. This can help caregivers or family members respond quickly in case of an emergency.
Enhanced security: UWB can help improve home security by detecting and tracking intruders, recognizing authorized users, and identifying unusual behavior. This can be used to trigger alarms, notify homeowners, or even automatically lock doors and windows.
Seamless connectivity: UWB can be used to connect different smart devices in a home, enabling them to communicate with each other seamlessly. This can enable features like smart home automation, where devices can automatically adjust settings based on user preferences or environmental conditions.
Overall, UWB technology has the potential to enhance the functionality and usability of smart homes, making them more convenient, secure, and energy-efficient.
Who Is Using UWB For Smart Home Applications?
Apple AirTag
Apple was the first to start adopting UWB in the mass market for purposes outside of data transmission, a use case which has largely flopped. Apple instead opted to use the technology for its object finding capabilities by incorporating an Apple designed UWB chip called the U1 in the iPhone, starting with the iPhone 11 in 2019.
This is now used in the Apple AirTag to provide the ability of the Find My network to locate your stuff with a high degree of precision. Samsung has begun adding UWB to their smartphones as well, starting with the Galaxy S21 with a view to building a competing smart tag system.
Apple and Samsung are members of the FiRa Consortium, an industry group dedicated to advancing the use of UWB in ranging and positioning applications. Apple recommends developers join the FiRa Consortium in order to utilize their UWB tech for applications and devices using their new ‘Nearby Interaction’ framework. This framework provides the means for developers to use Apple’s U1 hardware to create new and interesting interaction methods for games, AR experiences, and yes, the smart home.
We haven’t seen much movement on this, however. An iOS developer by the name of Bastian Andelefski developed a proof-of-concept app that used UWB for smart home control, basically allowing you to point your phone at a smart device and have it present the relevant controls for you. It wasn’t viable at the time due to various limitations, and a subsequent attempt by start up Fluid One to make it a commercial product failed to gain traction on Kickstarter.
The new FP2 presence sensor from smart home brand Aqara seems to deliver on some of the automation benefits of UWB, but actually uses mmWave radar for location detection instead. This falls short of the full potential of UWB as it doesn’t provide for gesture detection, although it can detect falls and the location of up to five individual occupants in one of 30 ‘zones’ within a room.
Change is coming
The most promising move is the new Aliro protocol coming from the Connectivity Standards Alliance, a consortium of major tech companies that is also responsible for the Matter smart home standard. This effort is intended to standardize the communication between digital keys and access control systems. In a smart home context this means smart phones, smart watches, and smart locks.
Presently there is no interoperability between these systems, meaning that every smart lock uses a proprietary method of handling keyless unlocking. This goes along with different apps and no broad support between smart home platforms for handling key creation or sharing. Aliro intends to fix this by standardizing support for Bluetooth, NFC, and yes, UWB between mobile devices and locks (and other door control readers for that matter).
Aliro focuses only on the communication at the end point - between the device holding the digital key and the reader/lock. Communication between the lock and the smart home can be through any other protocol as it is now, but Matter provides direct integration to provide a standardized connection that completes the picture.
As for actual smart home UWB devices and apps outside of object tracking, we’re still waiting. U-Tec has announced the first smart lock to feature UWB support, but this model doesn’t support anything outside their own U-Home app. There is an intention to release an upgraded version with Matter and Aliro support once the new standard is released in 2025.
The potential is there, but specific hardware needs to be integrated into smart home devices in order to take advantage of the capability on our smartphones, and as with all new standards, that uptake can be painfully slow at first.
