SCMS School of

Engineering and
Technology

UWB &
APPLICATION
S
Thomas George. C
S7 ECE

TOPICS COVERED
Introduction

to UWB
Comparison of UWB with other wireless
technologies
Advantages
Applications in various fields
conclusion

Introduction to UWB
FREQUENCY
RESPONSE

Narrow

pulses have a wide frequency

response.

Introduction to UWB

Sinusoidal signals are narrow in frequency and "wide" over time

A pulse is narrow in time and wideband in frequency

Introduction to UWB
Limitations of narrowband
communication

Narrowband Problems

Multipath fading

Destructive interference of CW signals causes signal loss

Insecure

Narrow Band signals are easily detected and jammed

Poor range resolution

Range resolution for tracking applications is a function of
RF bandwidth

Limited data rate

Narrow RF bandwidth means narrow data bandwidth

Introduction to UWB
So what is ultra wide band
technology?

Uses narrow pulses(pulse width = nS) of very

low duty cycles.
Very high band width ( in GHz range)
The first ever radio(spark gap radio) was a form
of UWB radio, but found no use
UWB technology gained strength when FCC
provided 3.1 to 10.6GHz for unlicensed use in
2002.
UWB
3.1-10.6 GHz

The history of UWB

Technology

Before 1900: Wireless Began as UWB

1900-40s: Wireless goes tuned

Analog processing: filters, resonators

Separation of services by wavelength
Era of wireless telephony begins: AM / SSB / FM
Commercial broadcasting matures, radar and signal processing

1970-90s: Digital techniques applied to UWB

Large RF bandwidths, but did not take advantage of large

spreading gain

Wide band impulse radar

Allows for realization of the HUGE available spreading gain

Now: UWB approved by FCC for commercialization

Introduction to UWB
Definitions and regulations of
UWB

A low energy level, short-range & large bandwidth

technology in radio frequency spectrum
Very large bandwidth, >500MHz
Very low average power:

Should not exceed -43.1 dBm

Fractional bandwidth > 0.25

(fh and fl are highest and lowest frequency)

Comparison of UWB ,NB

and SS

Properties of UWB

Extremely difficult to detect by unintended users

Non-interfering to other communication systems

Highly Secured
It appears like noise for other systems

Both Line of Sight and non-Line of Sight operation

Can pass through walls and doors

High multipath immunity

Common architecture for communications, radar &
positioning (software re-definable)
Low cost, low power, nearly all-digital and single chip
architecture

Summary of the FCC Rules

Significant

protection provided for sensitive

systems

GPS, Federal aviation systems, etc.

Lowest

emission limits ever by FCC

Allows UWB technology to coexist with existing
radio services without causing interference
FCC opened up new spectrum for UWB
transmissions

One of the bands is from 3.1GHz to 10.6GHz

Maximum power emission limit is - 41.3dBm/MHz

Comparison

Power radiated
Device type

Transmit Power (Watts)

Allowed leakage from a MicroWave oven

1.00000 Watt

Typical mobile phone transmit power

0.25000 Watts up to 1 Watt

Class 1 Bluetooth device (100 m range)

0.10000 Watts

Class 2 Bluetooth device (10 m range)

0.00250 Watts

Sunlight reflecting from the head of a pin (on 0.00100 Watts

a sunny day)
UWB device

0.00005 Watts

FCC UWB Device

Classifications
Report

and Order authorizes 5 classes of devices

with different limits for each:

Imaging Systems
Ground

penetrating radars, wall imaging, medical

imaging
Thru-wall Imaging & Surveillance Systems

Communication and Measurement Systems

Indoor

Systems
Hand-held Systems

Vehicular Radar Systems

collision

avoidance, improved airbag activation,

suspension systems, etc.

FCC Limitations
Class / Application

Communications and
Measurement Systems

Frequency Band for Operation at

Part 15 Limits

User
Limitations

3.1 to 10.6 GHz

(different out-of-band emission limits for
indoor and hand-held devices)

No

<960 MHz or 3.1 to 10.6 GHz

Yes

Imaging: Through-wall

<960 MHz or 1.99 to 10.6 GHz

Yes

Imaging: Surveillance

1.99 to 10.6 GHz

Yes

22 to 29 GHz

No

Imaging: Ground
Penetrating Radar, Wall,
Medical Imaging

Vehicular

Modulation techniques
DS

UWB modulation techniques

Pulse Position Modulation (PPM)

Bipolar Signaling (BPSK)
Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM)
On/Off Keying (OOK)
Pulse-Shape Modulation

Multi

band OFDM suggested for data

transmission

Use FFT to achieve high data rates.

DS Modulation techniques
A

number of modulation schemes may be used

with UWB systems. The potential modulation
schemes include both orthogonal and antipodal
schemes.

Pulse Position Modulation

(PPM)

Pulse Amplitude Modulation

(PAM)

On-Off Keying (OOK)

Bi-Phase Modulation (BPSK)

Band Plan for MB OFDM

Group the 528 MHz bands into 4 distinct groups

GROUP B

GROUP A

GROUP C

GROUP D

Band
#1

Band
#2

Band
#3

Band
#4

Band
#5

Band
#6

Band
#7

Band
#8

Band
#9

Band
#10

Band
#11

Band
#12

Band
#13

3432
MHz

3960
MHz

4488
MHz

5016
MHz

5808
MHz

6336
MHz

6864
MHz

7392
MHz

7920
MHz

8448
MHz

8976
MHz

9504
MHz

10032
MHz

Group
Group
Group
Group

A: Intended for 1st generation devices (3.1 4.9 GHz)

B: Reserved for future use (4.9 6.0 GHz)
C: Intended for devices with improved SOP performance (6.0 8.1 GHz)
D: Reserved for future use (8.1 10.6 GHz)

Advantages of UWB
Advantage

Benefit

Coexistence with current narrowband and

Avoids expensive licensing fees.

wideband radio services

Large channel capacity

High bandwidth can support real-time

high-definition video streaming.

Ability to work with low SNRs

Offers high performance in noisy

environments.

Low transmit power

Provides high degree of security with low

probability of detection and intercept.

Resistance to jamming

Reliable in hostile environments.

High performance in multipath channels

Delivers higher signal strengths in

adverse conditions.

Simple transceiver architecture

Enables ultra-low power, smaller form

factor, and better mean time between
failures, all at a reduced cost.

More advantages
The

low power requirement eliminates

the need of a power amplifier in the
transmitter
Adding security for data transmission is
easy.
Simple CMOS transmitters at very low
power available, suitable for battery
driven devices

UWB Major Application Areas

a) Communications
Wireless Audio, Data & Video Distribution
RF Tagging & Identification
b) Radar
Collision/Obstacle Avoidance
Precision Altimetry
Intrusion Detection (see through wall)
Ground Penetrating Radar
c) Precision Geolocation
Asset Tracking
Personnel localization

Some of Military & Commercial

Applications of UWB

Source:MSSI

Applications of UWB
1. WPANs

WPAN:

wireless personal area network

Small network of devices and host

Bluetooth

was previously used

Bandwidth of bluetooth is very low ( 1
MbPS)
UWB can replace bluetooth for WPANs

UWB can enable a wide variety of WPAN applications.

Replacing IEEE1394 cables between portable

multimedia CE devices, such as camcorders, digital
cameras, and portable MP3 players, with wireless
connectivity
Enabling high-speed wireless universal serial bus
(WUSB) connectivity for PCs and PC peripherals,
including printers,scanners, and external storage devices
Replacing cables in next-generation Bluetooth
Technology devices, such as 3G cell phones, as well as
IP/UPnP-based connectivity for the next generation of IPbased PC/CE/mobile devices
Creating ad-hoc high-bit-rate wireless connectivity for
CE,PC, and mobile devices

Content Transfer: Mobile Devices

Applications

Smartphone/PDA, MP3, DSC

Media Player, Storage,
display
Requirements

Mobile device storage sizes

Low Power Use Cases

Images from
camera to
storage/network

MP3 titles to
music player

Flash 5, 32, 512, 2048 MB

HD 4, , 60+ GB

Range is near device (< 2m)

User requires xfer time < 10s

Low Power & High Data Rate Use

MPEG4 movie
(512 MB) to player

Mount portable HD

Exchange your
music & data

Print from handheld

Wireless USB

Inadequacy of current wireless solutions:

Bluetooth

Bandwidth of 3 Mbps is not enough for most of the applications which needs very high
bandwidth. The applications like video, HDTV, monitor etc. are good examples.

Wi-Fi

One of the main disadvantage of Wi-Fi is its high expense to set up a network and make it
working. It is not always feasible to install Wi-Fi for home or personal networks.

Another draw back of Wi-Fi is the higher power consumption. Power

consumption is one of the important hurdles of wireless designers. As the
wireless devices work on their own power, almost always battery power, the
high power consumption becomes a big drawback.

Wireless USB

Wireless USB

Wireless USB is used ingame controllers,printers,

scanners,digital cameras,portable media players,
hard disk drivesandflash drives. It is also suitable for
transferring parallel video streams.
Due to high data rate, HD videos can be transmitted
live without wires.
As in USB 2.0 a WUSB hub supports 127 devices
It frees the USB devices from cables.
To back support the devices, a WUSB hub is also
developed

Wireless USB
Due to absence of physical ports port
expansion is easy
Host
USB interface of host computer system Host
Controller
Wire Adapters

Belkin Wireless USB

hub

Bluetooth 3.0
In

2006 it was predicted that

Bluetooth 3.0 will have data rates

Up to 480 Mbps using UWB
But

due to standardization issues, it

accepted the 60-GHz technology, which
provides a data rate of 24 Mbps.

Applications of UWB
RADAR
application
Due

to high bandwidth and short pulse

duration, UWB radars can be used for
penetration RADARs.
As it is spread over a wide range
jamming is not possible

Ground and Ice Penetrating

RADAR

A system used to detect objects buried in the ground.

A special directional antenna to transmit the stimulus signal into

the ground and receive the reflected waves.
Depth of penetration is typically between 0.5 and 10 m, very short
pulses are needed to resolve typical buried targets.

Wall Imaging Radar System

To detect the location of objects contained within a "wall," such as a
concrete structure, the side of a bridge, or the wall of a mine.
Operation is restricted by FCC to law enforcement, fire and rescue
organizations, to scientific research institutions, to commercial mining
companies, and to construction companies.

Through Wall Radar System

Uses very short pulses to provide detection
of objects on the opposite side of a nonmetallic wall.
The stimulus signal is transmitted into the
wall. A portion of the signal incident on the
wall is transmitted through the wall and into
the space on the far side.
Objects in the field then reflect the signal back to the wall
where part of the signal is transmitted through the wall to the
receiver.
Freq of Operation: below 960 MHz or 3.1-10.6 GHz band.

Vehicular Radar Systems

Potential applications include
collision avoidance,
proximity aids,
intelligent cruise control systems,
improved airbag activation
suspension
conditions.

systems

that

better

respond

to

road

FCC limits operation of vehicular radar to the 22-29 GHz

band
using
directional
antennas
on
terrestrial
transportation vehicles provided the center frequency of
the emission and the frequency at which the highest
radiated emission occurs are greater than 24.075 GHz.

Medical application
Penetrating through obstacles
High precision ranging at the centimeter level
Low electromagnetic radiation

Low processing energy consumed

Used for

Patient monitoring( movement, vital signs, medical store

security)
Medical imaging ( cardiac imaging, pneumology, ENT,
Obstretrics)

Medical imaging

Other applications

Wireless Sensor networks( military and commercial use)

Automotive industry (collision avoidance, roadside assistance)
Tagging and identification
Non LOS communication
Intrusion detection

Challenges in UWB
Main challenge is in the standardization. Different
countries allocated different spectral regions for
unlicensed use.
Design of antenna
Due to power limit set by FCC, the high data rate is
available only in short range ( <10 m)

Conclusion
UWB

technology has very high potential

in real life applications, due to its high
bandwidth and low power.
Very interesting application in wireless
content transfer, especially for HD
videos.

References

Ultra-widebandcommunications: fundamentals
andapplications-F Nekoogar 2005
K. Siwiak and D. McKeown, Ultra-Wideband Radio
Technology, Wiley: UK, 2004.
J. McCorkle, A Tutorial on Ultrawideband Technology, Doc.
IEEE 802.15-00/082r0, March 2000.
Young Man Kim. Ultra Wide Band (UWB) Technology and
Applications. Ohio State University NEST group.