UWB &

APPLICATIONS
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
10.6 GHz for unlicensed use in 2002.

UWB
3.1-10.6 GHz
The history of UWB Technology
Before 1900: Wireless Began as UWB
Large RF bandwidths, but did not take advantage of large spreading gain
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
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

Highly Secured
Non-interfering to other communication systems
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 everby 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 a sunny 0.00100 Watts
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 Frequency Band for Operation at User
Part 15 Limits Limitations

Communications and 3.1 to 10.6 GHz

Measurement Systems (different out-of-band emission limits for No
indoor and hand-held devices)

Imaging: Ground
Penetrating Radar, Wall, <960 MHz or 3.1 to 10.6 GHz Yes
Medical Imaging

Imaging: Through-wall <960 MHz or 1.99 to 10.6 GHz Yes

Imaging: Surveillance 1.99 to 10.6 GHz Yes

Vehicular 22 to 29 GHz No
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 A GROUP B GROUP C GROUP D

Band Band Band Band Band Band Band Band Band Band Band Band Band
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12 #13

3432 3960 4488 5016 5808 6336 6864 7392 7920 8448 8976 9504 10032
MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz f

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

Group B: Reserved for future use (4.9 6.0 GHz)
Group C: Intended for devices with improved SOP performance (6.0 8.1 GHz)
Group D: Reserved for future use (8.1 10.6 GHz)
Advantages of UWB
Advantage Benefit

Coexistence with current narrowband and wideband Avoids expensive licensing fees.
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 IP-based PC/CE/mobile devices
Creating ad-hoc high-bit-rate wireless connectivity for CE,PC,
and mobile devices
 Content Transfer: Mobile Devices
Applications Low Power Use Cases
Smartphone/PDA, MP3, DSC
Media Player, Storage, display MP3 titles to
Images from
Requirements music player
camera to
Mobile device storage sizes
Flash 5, 32, 512, 2048 MB
storage/network
HD 4, , 60+ GB
Range is near device (< 2m)
User requires xfer time < 10s

Low Power & High Data Rate Use

Exchange your
MPEG4 movie music & data
(512 MB) to player

Print from handheld

Mount portable HD
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 in game controllers, printers, scanners, digital

cameras, portable media players, hard disk drives and flash 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 non-metallic 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 systems that better respond to road conditions.
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-wideband communications: fundamentals and applications-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.