en.Wedoany.com Reported - UWB (Ultra-Wideband) technology, leveraging nanosecond-level pulses, a 500MHz ultra-wide bandwidth, and TOF high-precision ranging, is penetrating from consumer electronics into core industrial sectors, becoming a foundational technology driving industrial digital transformation. Industry 4.0's demand for centimeter-level precise positioning, high-security interaction, and strong anti-interference communication provides application space for UWB in scenarios such as smart manufacturing, intelligent warehousing, and industrial and mining security.
According to market research forecasts from Techno Systems, UWB has market potential comparable to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, with global UWB chip shipments expected to exceed 1.2 billion units by 2027.
UWB data transmission technology first emerged in the 1960s, primarily used in military radar, positioning, and communication systems. In 2002, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opened the 3.1GHz-10.6GHz frequency band for indoor communication UWB, marking the technology's entry into the civilian domain. Early UWB solutions based on the 802.15.3a protocol focused on short-range high-speed data transmission but exited the commercial market due to high power consumption, high costs, and fragmented industry standards. The 802.15.4a/z standard, introduced in 2004, established centimeter-level high-precision positioning as a core capability while supporting data transmission rates up to 27Mbps, becoming the mainstream technological paradigm for current industrial implementation.
Before being adopted by the Apple iPhone 11, UWB had already been deployed in over 8 million devices across more than 40 vertical sectors (industrial, automotive, consumer). UWB's positioning advantage stems from its TOF (Time of Flight) technology. Compared to other RF technologies relying on RSSI, UWB achieves centimeter-level positioning accuracy with over 99% reliability, whereas other technologies offer only meter-level accuracy with approximately 70% reliability. The extremely high bandwidth of 500MHz is key to achieving this precision. Additionally, UWB's very short data packet air exchange time (10 milliseconds) and distance bounding protocol enable position update rates of up to 100 times per second under the AES encryption system, forming a multifunctional matrix of "positioning + secure access + radar."
In January 2020, RF solutions provider Qorvo acquired Decawave, a company specializing in UWB technology, incorporating its products, IP portfolio, and team. Qorvo's third-generation product, the QM35826, launched in 2025, adopts an open programmable architecture and RF performance, targeting the industrialization of industrial UWB technology. Earlier products, including the DW1000, DW3000, QPF5100Q (automotive-grade), and QM3582x (general-purpose) chips, have been applied in industrial asset tracking, indoor high-precision positioning, intelligent radar sensing, and factory personnel safety management, with cumulative shipments exceeding 10 million chips and module shipments surpassing one million units.
As a UWB SoC chip, the QM35826 is based on the QM3582x architecture iteration, adopting an "All-in-One" hardware architecture design that changes the traditional binding of UWB chip firmware with system architecture, providing industrial equipment manufacturers with full-chain technical autonomy. This chip supports customers in flexibly embedding proprietary protocol stacks and differentiated algorithms, adaptable to scenarios such as industrial asset traceability tracking, indoor high-precision navigation, intelligent radar sensing, and factory personnel safety management. The QM35826 is configured with a 2-transmit, 4-receive four-antenna configurable architecture, supporting receive diversity technology and the industrial-specific omlox standard, with ranging error controlled within ±5 centimeters, angle of arrival (AoA) accuracy of ±2 degrees, and support for 2D-AoA, 360-degree omnidirectional AoA, and 3D-AoA multi-dimensional positioning capabilities.
In terms of security, the QM35826 integrates dedicated encryption accelerators for RSA, ECC, SHA, and AES, along with a True Random Number Generator (TRNG) at the chip hardware level, enabling data encryption, device identity authentication, and dynamic key management. Its core ranging security layer incorporates Scrambled Time Stamp and enhanced Time of Flight (ToF) security mechanisms to mitigate threats such as ranging spoofing, data tampering, and man-in-the-middle attacks. In terms of peripherals, the QM35826 is equipped with a full set of industrial general-purpose peripheral interfaces, allowing direct connection to industrial sensors, programmable logic controllers, display terminals, and actuators. The deep sleep mode current is only 2 microamps (without data retention), while the normal sleep mode current is 38 microamps (supporting SRAM data retention), making it adaptable to long-term coin cell battery power supply solutions.
Qorvo serves customers by integrating chips, modules, algorithms, and production resources, fostering the growth of the UWB ecosystem. The company builds its technology roadmap around full-stack solutions, standardization, and scenario adaptation, establishing an industrial collaboration loop of "original manufacturer support—local solution partners—end customers." The technology roadmap focuses on "turnkey" solutions, covering hardware components required for the service layer, infrastructure layer, and personnel and asset tracking layer, and provides full-chain support including antenna design, finished modules, white-label devices, and positioning engines through a partner network. The development strategy adheres to standardization, developing scalable solutions centered on FiRa and omlox standards, while retaining flexible customization space through the transceiver product line. Recently, Qorvo organized specialized online training for over ten core Independent Design Houses (IDHs) to more directly respond to the needs of Chinese industrial customers.
