NXP Semiconductors has announced its SR100T secure fine-ranging chipset, designed to provide precise positioning for ultra-wideband (UWB)-enabled mobile devices. With the SR100T, mobile devices will be able to communicate with connected doors, points of entry and cars in order to open them upon approach. Lights, audio speakers and other connected devices with UWB sensing capability will be able to follow users from one room to another.
The SR100T is part of NXP’s connectivity, security ecosystem and security architecture, which the company says can be found in many current mobile payment-enabled devices featuring Near Field Communication (NFC) and Secure Element (SE) hardware. Adding UWB functionality brings the use case of spatial awareness and relative positioning among multiple devices, the firm reports, whether indoors or outdoors, with little interference.
According to NXP, the UWB implementation delivers a high level of accuracy, even in crowded, multipath signal environments containing numerous walls, individuals and other obstacles. The system uses angle-of-arrival (AoA) technology to accurately indicate the direction of a signal for added precision. The SR100T expands NXP’s mobile wallet solution to include spatial awareness for handsfree-access applications.
“The use cases that UWB enables is one of the most highly anticipated developments, and NXP is the first out of the gate to bring seamless, interoperable experiences with an all-in-one solution for mobile devices,” said Rafael Sotomayor, NXP’s senior VP of mobile technologies, in a prepared statement. “Today, NXP’s mobile wallet solutions already impact millions of consumers around the world. The SR100T is an evolution of our secure connected offerings and is designed to complement existing standards like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. This is a major step forward in allowing developers to deliver ubiquitous UWB experiences to people around the globe.”
The chipset operates at 6 to 9 GHz, with 500 MHz bandwidth per channel. It offers high accuracy of AoA estimates with dual-Rx for AoA functionality, and a range accuracy in non-line-of-sight scenarios of ±10 centimeters, with an angle accuracy of ±3 degrees. The device complies with the IEEE 802.15.4z technical standard and comes with multiple integrated security mechanisms for the protection of keys and software security.