The FiRa Consortium announced the release of its Core 3.0 Specifications and Certification Program, marking a milestone in ultra-wideband (UWB) technology development. These latest updates enhance UWB’s capabilities, enabling interoperability and unlocking new possibilities for precise and secure ranging.
FiRa is introducing three major UWB features:
- Hybrid UWB Scheduling (HUS): This feature – detailed in the FiRa MAC and FiRa UCI Technical Specifications – enables advanced UWB applications that require various combinations of FiRa features to work together deterministically, ensuring optimised performance in complex environments such as public transport systems.
- Dedicated Data Transfer: Designed to use UWB for dedicated data transfer, this advancement allocates airtime exclusively for data transfer, independent of ranging operations. This is also detailed in the FiRa MAC, FiRa Link Layer, and FiRa UCI Technical Specifications.
The third enhancement adds the Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC) Digital Key UWB feature to the Certification Program:
- CCC Digital Key UWB: The CCC Digital Key UWB feature is used to measure the proximity of a mobile device to a car, employing a one-to-many double-sided two-way ranging protocol defined by the CCC. This enables drivers to unlock their car doors securely by deterring relay attacks
The Certification Program 3.0 allows devices to select specific features for certification. Devices certified under FiRa 3.0 can leverage these new capabilities, ensuring interoperability and enabling a broader scope of UWB-enabled applications.
The Certification Program 3.0 also assures end users of the reliability and interoperability of FiRa-enabled devices, driving adoption and innovation across industries. Its rollout covering PHY, MAC, Link Layers, and Interoperability testing further solidifies UWB’s position within the IoT ecosystem.
“FiRa Core 3.0 represents an innovative step forward in advancing UWB technology,” said Clint Chaplin, Board Chair, FiRa Consortium. “By addressing the need for simultaneous application support and improved data handling, these updates empower our members to innovate and meet the demands of increasingly nuanced use cases such as public transport fare collection, tap-free mobile payment, or logical access.”
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