Abstract
The report researches the UWB technology and market landscape by examining the current state of the technology, standards, market and the industry. The study looks to provide a deeper understanding to wide audience UWB specifics, advantages and limitations. It also looks further, until 2010-2011, with market forecast and technology progress.
UWB technology includes not only low-power wireless networks linking phones, computers, and televisions without the need for hard-wiring, but, potentially, also cell phones that could help determine a user's location for a 911 emergency operator. With UWB, radio signals can penetrate nearby surfaces while reflecting off surfaces that are farther away. This capability allows radar-type applications to detect objects, such as people or weapons, behind walls or under surfaces, such as a collapsed building. UWB technology also can precisely measure distance and movement to within few inches.
Precision localization systems, based on UWB, locate a person or vehicle by attaching locator beacons that send out signals to receivers so that a precise location can be determined. Beacons could be inserted into pagers, cellular phones, or a vehicle.
This technology could aid emergency responders in locating victims, team members, and medical supply trucks, for example. Unlike GPS, such a localization system could operate indoors, underground, in foliage, in noisy environments, and through bad weather.
Utilizing time-modulated digital pulses, UWB allows the use of very low-powered and relatively inexpensive equipment to broadcast signals at very high rates over a large part of the spectrum. This technology enables the use of public safety devices and wireless communications in areas that suffer from severe multipath and/or high levels of industrial noise and interference. UWB could conceivably be used to provide high-speed Internet access similar to today's wireless modems.
This technology could radically change how national security and emergency preparedness personnel operate in search and rescue efforts and other crisis events.
In particular, this report goal was to addresses the following UWB aspects:
- UWB products market characteristics, their specifics, and market segmentation
- Technology standards and associated issues
- Market barriers
- Applications, with emphasis on Homeland Security and first responders application
- Current implementation
- Market players and their products.
The major obstacles for UWB wide acceptance are:
- Regulatory issues. Only in 2002, FCC opened spectrum for the commercial use of UWB devices, but imposed many restrictions. The industry is still dealing with a situation when each new type of the UWB devices needs special approval to be manufactured. The similar or worse situation observed outside of the U.S.
- Competing standards. The standard bodies are unable to reach consensus for UWB. Two major groups of vendors manufacture UWB chipsets based on their developed specifications.
- Some technical issues that are in a process of resolution.
It looks like opponents of UWB are gradually losing their positions. Their major argument that UWB transmission may create interference and degrade the performance of the incumbent technologies (such as, for example, GPS) is being thoroughly investigated by the regulatory bodies, and so far, in the majority cases, was not sustained. This, together with utilization numerous UWB benefits, opens bright perspective for UWB.
We described in this report a number of current UWB applications, and stressed the importance of utilization of this technology in homeland security applications. This technology is, so far, the only one that allows to:
- Combine effective radar with short-range communications
- Support high-speed wireless transmission (in Gb/s)
- Support unprecedented long transmission time without changes of batteries
- Support transmission where other technologies failed, i.e., in the multipath conditions.
In the marketing part of this report, we provided our estimates of the market for UWB circuitry. Currently, this market is just at the beginning of its dynamic evolving, but a number of companies are already being involved in the manufacturing process. The majority of them produce chipsets that can be used in RFID, security devices, radars and communications.
1.0 Introduction 7
- 1.1 General 7
- 1.2 History 7
- 1.3 Brief Description 8
- 1.4 Scope 10
- 1.5 Structure 10
- 1.6 Research Methodology 11
- 1.7Target Audience 11
2.0 Technology Specifics 12
- 2.1 General 12
- 2.2 Definition 13
- 2.2.1 Rates 14
- 2.3 Spectrum Allocation 14
- 2.3.1 Choices 15
- 2.4 Major Features 16
- 2.4.1 Communications Features 19
- 2.5 Standards and Regulations 20
- 2.5.1 Multiband OFDM 20
- 2.5.2 DS-UWB 21
- 2.5.3 Standards Bodies 22
- 2.5.4 Groups 22
- 2.5.4.1 Forces 22
- 2.5.5 FCC and ETSI 23
- 2.5.6 ECMA International 25
- 2.5.7 ITU and International 25
- 2.5.8 Intel Efforts 26
- 2.5.9 Comparison 26
- 2.5.9.1 Impulse Radio- Pulse Link, Time Domain 26
- 2.5.9.2 DS-CDMA - Motorola and other 26
- 2.5.9.3 Multi-Band OFDM (FH) - MBOA 27
3.0 Applications 28
- 3.1 General 28
- 3.2 Home Security 29
- 3.3 Phones 29
- 3.4 RFID 29
- 3.5 Communications and Imaging 30
- 3.5.1 WPAN 31
- 3.5.2 Imaging systems 31
- 3.5.3 Sensor networks 32
- 3.5.4 Vehicular radar systems 32
- 3.5.5 Ranging 32
- 3.6 Impacts on Public Safety 33
- 3.6.1 General 33
- 3.6.2 Five Elements of Interoperability 34
- 3.6.2.1 Coordination and Partnerships 34
- 3.6.2.2 Spectrum 35
- 3.6.2.3 Standards and Technology 38
- 3.6.2.4 Security 39
- 3.6.2.5 Funding 40
- 3.6.3 Emergency Communications: Support Features 40
- 3.7 Issues 41
4.0 Examples 42
- 4.1 Transceiver (military) 42
- 4.2 Ground Wave Propagation Device 42
- 4.3 25 Mb/s UWB Radio 43
- 4.4 Tagging Device 43
- 4.5 Aircraft Intercom 43
- 4.6 Ad Hoc Network 44
- 4.7Positioning Systems-EUROPCOM-First Responders Gear 44
- 4.8 Summary 45
5.0 Market 48
- 5.1 General 48
- 5.2 Major Segments 48
- 5.3 Forecast 48
6.0 Industry 52
- Aether (localization devices) 52
- Alereon (chipsets) 53
- Artimi (chipsets) 53
- BBN (radio, first responders) 54
- Camero (radar, equipment for first responders) 55
- decaWave (chipsets) 56
- Focus Enhancement (chipsets) 56
- Freescale (chipsets, systems) 57
- General Atomics (chipsets) 58
- Multispectral (RFID and others) 59
- Parco (RFID) 60
- Pulse~ Link (chipsets) 61
- Staccato (chipsets) 63
- TriQuint (chipsets - homeland security applications) 64
- Time Domain (chipsets-fusion of communications & radar) 64
- Tzero (chipsets) 68
- Ubisense (RFID-tracking) 68
- Wisair (chipsets) 70
- WiQuest (chipsets) 71
7.0 Competition 73
- 7.1 Bluetooth 73
- 7.2 IEEE802.11a, b, g, n 73
- 7.3 WiMax - 802.16 and 802.16e 75
- 7.4 Summary 76
8.0 Conclusions 78
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- Figure 1: UWB Spectrum 15
- Figure 2: Market Estimate: UWB Circuitry ($B) 47
- Figure 3: Market Estimate: Multiband OFDM UWB Circuitry ($B) 48
- Figure 4: Market Estimate: DS UWB Circuitry ($B) 48
- Figure 5: Estimate of UWB Market - Communications Applications ($B) 49
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- Table 1: Comparison: DS-UWB and MB-OFDM 22
- Table 2: FCC Emission Limits 24
- Table 3: UWB Applications: Summary 47
- Table 4: Market Segments 48
- Table 5: IEEE802.11 Parameters 75
