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The technology is called ultra-wideband (UWB) and when approved the standard is expected to have a profound effect on the wireless industry. Although the versatile technology has a variety of interesting capabilities, some of its more touted applications include wireless local area networks, search and rescue as well as collision avoidance systems.
Unlike more common wireless systems used in the US and Europe which emit radio waves on specific frequencies, UWB devices send out up to 1 billion pulses of radio waves per second on random frequencies. By timing returning pulses, UWB-enabled devices can determine where objects and people are and can measure their position, with impressive accuracy.
The multiple frequencies allow UWB enabled devices to operate high speeds and very low power levels, thus making it able to penetrate walls and other obstacles more easily.
On the surface, the technology seems to be more like radar than a wireless communication technology and it is thought that the technology could threaten global positioning system makers. But in addition to its ability to track objects' locations, UWB can also be used to establish wireless Local Area Networks similar to Bluetooth and 802.11.
But the technology has been opposed by airlines and mobile phone companies who claim that its multi frequency standards will cause interference with their systems. The Federal Communications Commission in the US is thought to be negotiating with opponents, but reports in the US are suggesting that the FCC is dismissing these interference claims and it is thought that approval will be reached by next month. New consumer products using ultra-wideband could be on the market as early as this year.
In 2001 the FCC granted temporary permission for the use of ultra-wideband devices to locate victims of the World Trade Center disaster in New York. Approval for the new technology may come under the same FCC regulations that unlicensed wireless devices, such as cordless phones and baby monitors, must adhere to. Nevertheless, it is thought that the FCC will initially limit ultra-wideband networks to small areas such airports, offices or shopping centres.
TimeDomain, a leader in the currently small UWB market, is already selling products to the US Navy to detect possible dangers in ammunition stores and says that if the technology receives approval, consumer products will be launched soon. In April of last year, the company announced a deal, along with General Electric Corporate Research and Development, for the formation of a multi-million dollar technology partnership to develop an innovative indoor wireless tracking and communications network using Ultra Wideband Radio Frequency (RF) technology. That partnership included the execution of a potential USD3.2 million contract with the US Department of Commerce that spans three years.
TimeDomain's network, known as the Integrated Communication and Tracking System (ICATS), is one of 54 new technology research and development projects awarded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Advanced Technology Program, a programme designed to provide Federal assistance to high-risk, high pay-off technologies that offer significant benefits to the US economy.
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