Following in Apple’s footsteps, Xiaomi has demonstrated a new technology that will enable gadgets to use short-range, high-bandwidth ‘Ultra Wide Band‘ (UWB) radio waves in the 500MHz frequency range to communicate with one another. While the UWB technology is often used by wireless monitors, routers, and other gadgets for communication purposes, Xiaomi says it is using UWB technology to give devices ‘spatial awareness’.
The wide bandwidth and pulse radio characteristics make UWB a great choice for such communications between the phone and various smart home devices. Xiaomi seems to be prepared to press ahead with the idea. The promise of controlling a bunch of IoT devices without any need for Bluetooth or internet connectivity is surely an idea worth exploring, so it will be interesting to see if this technology will become mainstream in the coming days.
