Car Connectivity Consortium and FiRa Consortium Partner on UWB Technology Used in the CCC Digital Key

The formation of the Joint UWB MAC PHY Working Group will focus on the certification of Ultra-Wideband technology in the CCC Digital Key.

BEAVERTON, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Car Connectivity Consortium^® (CCC) and the FiRa^® Consortium are pleased to announce the formation of the Joint Ultra-Wideband (UWB) MAC PHY Working Group (JUMPWG) to jointly develop and maintain the UWB technology specifications used in the CCC Digital Key and will be led by Chair Jinjing Jiang from Member company Apple.

The CCC brings automotive and consumer technology industries together to develop industry standards for solutions to address the future of vehicle-to-smart device connectivity. FiRa is dedicated to transforming how we interact with our environment by enabling precise location awareness for people and devices.

“This collaboration between the two consortia is critical for maturing UWB in the CCC Digital Key,” said CCC President Alysia Johnson. “As the underlying IEEE 802.15.4 standards evolve, this new working group will ensure long-term interoperability and scalability of the advanced UWB technology developed for the CCC Digital Key, encouraging broader adoption of UWB technology for secure and accurate ranging for vehicle access.”

The CCC Digital Key uses Near-field Communication technology and UWB technology combined with Bluetooth^® Low Energy. UWB in the CCC Digital Key uses secure distance bounding with cryptographically secured Time-of-Flight (ToF) measurements. Distance measurements between the device and multiple transceivers in vehicles are combined to accurately localize the device to the vehicle and determine whether the device is in close proximity to authorize vehicle access or drive the vehicle.

“We’re excited to collaborate to advance the development of UWB as it is the most effective available technology for delivering accurate ranging and positioning in challenging real-world environments,” said FiRa Consortium’s Board Chair Clint Chaplin. “Including UWB in the CCC Digital Key is an essential layer of technology with real-world applications, making it highly convenient for consumers to consistently access their vehicles using their smart devices.”

Interested participants in the joint working group must be members in both organizations (at least Core member level in CCC and at least Contributor member level in FiRa). However, if your company is not a member of both organizations at these levels, the CCC and FiRa have each created a special JUMPWG-only membership class. Please reach out to [e-mail] if you are interested in learning more or joining today.

About the Car Connectivity Consortium:

The Car Connectivity Consortium® (CCC) is a cross-industry organization advancing technologies for smartphone-to-car connectivity solutions. The CCC represents a large portion of the global automotive and smartphone industries with more than 200 member companies. The CCC member companies include smartphone and vehicle manufacturers, automotive tier-1 suppliers, silicon/chip vendors, security product suppliers, and more. Its Board of Directors includes individuals from charter member companies Apple, BMW, DENSO, Ford, General Motors, Google, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, NXP, Panasonic, Samsung, Thales, Volkswagen, and Xiaomi. For more information, visit www.carconnectivity.org.

About FiRa Consortium:

The FiRa Consortium is a member-driven organization dedicated to transforming the way we interact with our environment by enabling precise location awareness for people and devices using the secured fine-ranging and positioning capabilities of Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology. FiRa does this by driving the development of technical specifications and certification, advocating for effective regulations, and defining a broad set of use cases for UWB. To learn more about UWB and the FiRa Consortium, visit www.firaconsortium.org.

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