uwb News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

July 17, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Espressif releases SDK for Aliro smart door locks based on ESP32-C or ESP32-H SoCs

Espressif Systems has just released the SDK for Aliro, designed for smart Matter door locks and other access control solutions built around ESP32-C (WiFi) or ESP32-H (Thread) microcontroller and third-party NFC chips. We recently wrote about the Aliro vendor-agnostic digital access control standard working over NFC, Bluetooth LE, or BLE+UWB. It’s basically the equivalent of Matter, but for smart locks, instead of the broader Smart Home ecosystem. The ultimate goal is to reduce fragmentation and allow users to use compliant wallets from Google, Apple, Samsung, and others to work with Aliro-compatible devices. Espressif’s SDK for Aliro (ESP-Aliro) currently supports the following features of Aliro-over-NFC: Standard Expedited Phase Fast Expedited Phase Reader Certificate Sending via AUTH1/LoadCert Command Keyslot to Look up Access Credential Public Key Mailbox of Exchange command Step-up Phase Espressif’s solution currently only works with Aliro NFC for tap-to-unlock applications, although Bluetooth LE and Bluetooth LE + UWB support […]

July 9, 2026July 9, 2026 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Makerfabs MaUWB for Home Assistant – An ESP32-S3 UWB module with PoE and enclosure

Makerfabs MaUWB for Home Assistant is an ESP32-S3-based Ultra-Wideband (UWB) module designed for indoor positioning and Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS). It runs ESPHome for Home Assistant integration, enabling it to be used as part of a UWB-based positioning system to track tagged devices in homes, offices, and other indoor environments. The module combines an ESP32-S3 with a MaUWB UWB module based on the Qorvo DW3000, featuring a PA/LNA for long-range ranging. Compared to the earlier ESP32-S3 version, it drops the OLED and adds a WIZnet W5500 Ethernet controller that supports PoE. The module also supports Wi-Fi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0, and comes in an enclosure for fixed installations. Makerfabs MaUWB for Home Assistant specifications: Wireless Module – ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 up to 240 MHz with vector extension for AI/ML workloads RAM – 512KB SRAM; 8MB PSRAM Wireless – WiFi 4 and Bluetooth LE 5 […]

June 24, 2026July 17, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Aliro is a vendor-agnostic standard for digital access control working over NFC, Bluetooth LE, or UWB

Managed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance, Aliro is a smart lock/access control standard that works over NFC, Bluetooth LE, or UWB and is designed to be vendor-agnostic. While Matter is designed for Smart Home applications, Aliro specifically targets access control, and both aim to address market fragmentation. It was brought to my attention when we wrote about the Nordic nRF54L15 Tag, but we had already mentioned it for chips from other vendors such as STMicro (ST64UWB) and Qualcomm (FastConnect 8800), as well as earlier wireless MCUs from Nordic Semi such as the nRF54LM20A and nRF54LM20B. It appears to be adopted across the industry, so let’s have a closer look. Aliro 1.0 was first released in February 2026 with the following highlights: Leverages existing smartphones and wearables Framework utilizes asymmetric cryptography to ensure secure and trusted interactions between user devices and readers Integration with digital wallets from Apple, Google, Samsung, etc… […]

March 13, 2026June 23, 2026 by Debashis Das - No Comments

ST ST64UWB Cortex-M85 ultra-wideband SoC supports IEEE 802.15.4z and 802.15.4ab UWB standards, radar sensing

STMicroelectronics ST64UWB UWB solution for Automotive Consumer and Industrial Applications

STMicroelectronics ST64UWB Arm Cortex-M85 ultra-wideband (UWB) SoC family supports both the current IEEE 802.15.4z and the upcoming IEEE 802.15.4ab UWB standards for longer-range, more reliable positioning and secure proximity-based interactions. It mainly targets digital car keys, hands-free access, and smart-device detection. The family includes the ST64UWB-A100 (automotive entry), ST64UWB-A500 (automotive premium), and ST64UWB-C100 (industrial/smart home), all built on an 18 nm FD-SOI process that improves the RF link budget by ~3 dB, yielding roughly 50% additional range beyond what IEEE 802.15.4ab alone provides. The automotive-focused A-series offers ASIL-A(B) safety support, while the ST64UWB-C100 targets consumer and commercial applications. ST64UWB family specifications: MCU Core 32-bit Arm Cortex-M85 CPU with DP-FPU, MVE, and ETM Frequency Up to 100 MHz (ST64UWB-C100, ST64UWB-A100) Up to 256 MHz (ST64UWB-A500) Memory/Storage Integrated PCM Memory SRAM and Back-up SRAM Wireless Connectivity Ultra-wideband (UWB) Radio IEEE 802.15.4z-2020 and IEEE 802.15.4ab support UWB channels 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, […]

March 3, 2026March 3, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Elite wearable platform offers 5G RedCap, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 6.0, built-in AI accelerator

Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Elite is described as the “world’s first Personal AI wearable platform”, and features an NPU for on-device AI delivering up to 12 TOPS of performance at low power, supporting 2B parameter models. It delivers up to 5x single-core CPU improvement and up to 7x faster GPU compared to the previous-generation Snapdragon W5+ Gen 2 Wearable Platform while offering up to 30% more battery life for multi-day battery life, thanks to a 3nm architecture. The new Snapdragon Wear Elite platform also supports fast charging with up to 50% charge in under 10 minutes. Snapdragon Wear Elite specifications: CPU – Up to 2.1 GHz GPU Qualcomm Adreno 3D GPU supporting OpenGL ES 3.2, Vulkan 1.2, and OpenCL 2.0 APIs 2.5D GPU co-processor clocked at up to 500 MHz ISP – Qualcomm Spectra AI accelerator – Qualcomm Hexagon NPU; up to 12 TOPS of AI performance; support for up tp 2B […]

March 3, 2026June 23, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Qualcomm Wi-Fi 8 solutions – FastConnect 8800 Mobile Client and Qualcomm Dragonwing Networking Platforms

Qualcomm has unveiled its Wi-Fi 8 (802.11bn) portfolio, which includes the FastConnect 8800 “Mobile Connectivity System”, also integrating Bluetooth 7 wireless technology, Ultra Wideband (UWB), and Thread, and five Dragonwing Networking platforms for access points and routers. The Dragonwing NPro A8 Elite features a 5×5 Wi-Fi 8 radio system for high-performance enterprise access points and premium home routers, the Dragonwing FiberPro A8 Elite offers similar features but adds 10G fiber access (PON) for fiber-to-the-home gateways, the Dragonwing FWA Gen 5 Elite is designed for fixed wireless access using the Qualcomm X85 5G Modem-RF System, and the Qualcomm Dragonwing N8 and F8 platforms offer mainstream tier options for Ethernet and fiber broadband CPEs. Qualcomm FastConnect 8800 Wi-Fi 8 mobile client Qualcomm FastConnect 8800 (WCN885x) specifications: Wi-Fi 8 with advanced features like UWB, including and RADAR Support for Snapdragon Sound™ Technology Suite, Bluetooth® High Data Throughput (HDT), and Qualcomm XPAN Proximity AI […]

April 23, 2025April 23, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

SPARK Microsystems SR1120 UWB ultra-low-power transceiver delivers up to 41 Mbps throughput

SPARK Microsystems SR1120 is the company’s second-generation ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless transceiver capable of up to 41 Mbps throughput at ultra-low power and up to 100 times lower power ranging than UWB competitors. The Canadian company also highlights the outperformance of their UWB solution over Bluetooth with the new SR1120 offering 40 times higher data rates than Bluetooth chips, while consuming 25 times less power than Bluetooth and offering 60 times lower latency. However, readers should note that Bluetooth LE is supposed to support up to 2 Mbps, so it should (only) be up to about 20 times faster, and Bluetooth HDT is coming soon with data rates of up to 7.5 Mbps to further narrow the gap. SPARK SR1120 key features and specifications: Compliant with the upcoming IEEE 802.15.4ab low-energy UWB PHY standard Dynamically reconfigurable UWB spectrum 6.2–9.5 GHz band Up to 3 dBm TX power RX sensitivity of -81 […]

September 20, 2024September 19, 2024 by Debashis Das - No Comments

NXP Trimension SR250 short-range UWB radar supports secure ranging for Smart Homes and Industrial IoT

NXP Semiconductors has recently introduced Trimension SR250 UWB radar, which NXP is calling the industry’s first single-chip solution that combines on-chip processing with short-range ultra-wideband (UWB) radar and secure UWB ranging. Operating at 6-8.5 GHz, the SR250 supports features like 3D angle-of-arrival (AoA), time difference of arrival (TDOA), and time of flight (ToF) measurements accurate to within ±5 cm. The integrated on-chip radar processing reduces power consumption, which increases efficiency and it can work with AI/ML algorithms on host processors like NXP’s i.MX, RW61x, and MCX families. The SR250 is supported by firmware, middleware, and sample applications, simplifying development and deployment. Applications for this device include smart home automation (e.g., turning devices on/off based on presence), secure access, and safety monitoring, as well as industrial uses such as worker tracking, collision avoidance, and danger zone detection. Trimension SR250 UWB radar specification 3D secure ranging Fully interoperable with IEEE 802.15.4z HRP […]