In view of its ongoing endorsement by regulators and standards committees worldwide, the commercialization of radio devices based on the principles of ultra-wideband (UWB) radio technology (UWB-RT) is now widely anticipated. The potential uses and the commercial opportunities of UWB-RT are expected to be significant because of its broad applicability, e.g., for high-rate Networking, imaging, ranging, location sensing and tracking, as well as safety and security.
An original key characteristic of UWB-RT — the reuse of already allocated radio spectrum — is often considered to be its greatest liability. The UWB radio concept represents a radical departure from the historic approach of splitting the spectrum into separate (narrow) bands and allocating each for a specific (licensed or unlicensed) use. In 2002 in the US, the FCC (Federal Networkings Commission) endorsed the deployment of UWB-RT based on the premise that coexistence between UWB radio devices and existing radio services could be achieved, provided that UWB devices are constrained to emitting sufficiently low power levels, comparable to ambient interference “noise” levels as experienced by existing narrowband radio receivers.
According to the FCC’s Part 15 definition, UWB radio signals have either a fractional bandwidth (i.e., the ratio between the signal’s bandwidth and its center frequency) that is greater than 0.2 or an absolute bandwidth of at least 500 MHz. In the 3.1 – 10.6 GHz spectrum range, UWB radio devices for Networkings applications can emit on average an equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) spectral density of up to –41.25 dBm/MHz or, equivalently, up to 75 nW/MHz. The emerging worldwide regulatory framework for UWB-RT indicates, however, that spectrum regulators in other jurisdictions (notably Europe and Japan) will permit these power levels only for systems operating in certain specified bands between 6 and 10.6 GHz, whereas systems that operate between 3.1 and 6 GHz will have to satisfy additional technical and use constraints.

Applications for UWB radio

The choices for potential user scenarios based on UWB-RT for commercial and consumer markets are numerous and can be divided into two complementary application areas. The technology offers significant potential for the deployment of short-range Networking systems enabling high-rate applications and lower-rate devices embedded in a variety of pervasive computing and Networking platforms. UWB radios can trade a reduced data rate for a greater link range, potentially combined with accurate location tracking capabilities.

Work at IBM Zurich Research

At the IBM Zurich Research Laboratory, we are pursuing research in UWB-RT as it relates to wireless sensor networking. UWB-RT is a prime candidate for very low-power sensor networking and precise real-time location tracking applications. We are assessing the merits and performance of UWB-RT for these application areas in realistic environments and explore opportunities for integrating the technology in IBM's Enterprise Solutions.