NXP Semiconductors, Samsung Electronics, Bosch and ASSA ABLOY have partnered to create the new FiRa Consortium. The FiRa Consortium is these vendors’ attempt to create a connectivity standard that can intelligently determine the location of a device. The term “Ultra-wideband” (UWB) was introduced in the early 2000s the purpose of transmitting large amounts of data wirelessly at close range. The main reason it never took off was that it was a technology in search of a market. The good news is that as a result of the IoT, that market has finally emerged. The article below does an excellent job of describing the applications and the use cases for it.
A new consortium has launched to drive ultra-wideband (UWB) technology for accurate fine ranging applications, and to ensure interoperability across the ecosystem of chipset, device and service infrastructure through standards and certifications.
The FiRa Consortium, driven by four sponsor members, aims to build on the IEEE 802.15.4/4z standard for low-data-rate wireless connectivity and enhanced ranging. It says it will develop an interoperability standard based on the IEEE’s profiled features, defining mechanisms that are out of scope of the IEEE standard, and pursuing activities that support rapid development of specific use cases.
