Key Advantages

Time-of-Flight (ToF) ranging, not signal strength

One of UWB's key advantages is that it uses the time of flight of a signal to work out the distance between devices. This is far more accurate than the RSSI (received signal strength indicator) method typically used by Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

High time resolution

UWB signals occupy far more bandwidth than common narrowband technologies. Because time and bandwidth are inversely related, UWB pulses are extremely short and their time resolution is very high, so ToF can be determined accurately. The high time resolution and short wavelength also make UWB signals far more resistant to multipath interference and fading.

Centimetre-level accuracy

Compared with radio technologies such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), UWB is 100× more accurate, delivering precision in centimetres rather than metres. That matters when tracking small objects, or when you need to know which side of a wall something is on.

Ultra-low latency for real-time positioning

UWB has very low latency — on the order of microseconds to nanoseconds, versus tens or even hundreds of milliseconds for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. UWB is 50× faster than GPS and can update up to 1,000 times per second, three thousand times faster than a standard BLE beacon. That makes it ideal for automation systems and applications involving fast-moving objects such as drones.

Wide bandwidth, high-speed communication

The wide bandwidth also makes UWB suitable for high-speed communication. And because UWB uses the ToF information and distance-bounding techniques defined in IEEE 802.15.4a/z, it offers stronger security than other wireless technologies that sense distance and position.