FiRa Consortium Publishes UWB MAC Technical Requirements to Build Ultra-Wideband Interoperable Ecosystem

New Requirements Specify the Normative Behavior and Supported Feature Set of the MAC Layer of FiRa Certified^TM UWB-Enabled Devices Under Development

BEAVERTON, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As the second step in ensuring an interoperable UWB ecosystem across chipsets, devices and services infrastructures, the FiRa™ Consortium today announced the availability of the FiRa Consortium UWB MAC Technical Requirements that prescribes UWB ranging protocols and behavior of the ranging devices.

The UWB MAC Technical Requirements and the recently released PHY Technical Requirements Specification have been developed by the FiRa Consortium using the High Rate Pulse (HRP) portion of the IEEE 802.15.4-2015 technical specification and 802.15.4z/D08 draft amendment for fine-ranging UWB technology. The IEEE defines the MAC and PHY lower protocol layers which are then used by the FiRa Consortium to develop profiles on top of the IEEE defined protocol layers.

The FiRa Consortium UWB MAC Technical Requirements defines elements such as how ranging protocol works, types of ranging that are supported, the parameters and format of the messages that are exchanged, and how ranging messages are encrypted.

Similarly, the FiRa Consortium PHY Technical Requirements Specification document that was released in early April 2020 leverages select portions of the IEEE specification to facilitate interoperability between FiRa Consortium Certified UWB-enabled products.

The FiRa Consortium Compliance and Certification Working Group will use these Requirements as a foundational element in the development of the FiRa Consortium Certification Program. This Certification Program will define processes for validating that a candidate device meets the FiRa Consortium test specifications. Conforming implementations will be eligible to apply for FiRa Certified^TM status for their products and, once approved, display a compliance certification logo.

The UWB MAC Technical Requirements and previously released PHY Technical Requirements Specification are available to FiRa Consortium members. To learn more about membership in the FiRa Consortium, visit https://www.firaconsortium.org/membership.

About FiRa Consortium

Headquartered in Beaverton, OR, the FiRa Consortium is a member-driven organization dedicated to the development and widespread adoption of seamless user experiences using the secured fine ranging and positioning capabilities of Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technologies. To learn more about the FiRa Consortium, visit www.firaconsortium.org.

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