FiRa Consortium Unveils FiRa Core 3.0 Specifications and Certification Program

Advancing UWB technology with enhanced scheduling and data transfer

BEAVERTON, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The FiRa® Consortium announces the release of its Core 3.0 Specifications and Certification Program, notable milestones in ultra-wideband (UWB) technology development. These updates enhance UWB’s capabilities, enabling seamless interoperability and unlocking new possibilities for precise and secure ranging and positioning in diverse applications.

Features of the FiRa Core 3.0 Specifications and Certification Program

FiRa is introducing three major UWB features in its Core 3.0 Specifications. Advancements designed to enhance the efficiency and versatility of UWB systems include:

• Hybrid UWB Scheduling (HUS): This feature – detailed in the FiRa MAC and FiRa UCI Technical Specifications – enables advanced UWB applications that require various combinations of FiRa features to work together deterministically, ensuring optimized performance in complex environments such as public transport systems.
• Dedicated Data Transfer: Designed to use UWB for dedicated data transfer, this advancement allocates airtime exclusively for data transfer, independent of ranging operations. This is also detailed in the FiRa MAC, FiRa Link Layer, and FiRa UCI Technical Specifications.

The third enhancement adds the Car Connectivity Consortium® (CCC) Digital Key UWB feature to the Certification Program:

• CCC Digital Key UWB: The CCC Digital Key UWB feature is used to measure the proximity of a mobile device to a car, employing a one-to-many double-sided two-way ranging protocol defined by the CCC. This enables drivers to unlock their car doors securely by deterring relay attacks.

FiRa Certification Program 3.0 – A Flexible Path to Interoperability

Building on these technical advancements, the Certification Program 3.0 allows devices to select specific features for certification. Devices certified under FiRa 3.0 can leverage these new capabilities, ensuring interoperability and enabling a broader scope of UWB-enabled applications.

The Certification Program 3.0 assures end users of the reliability and interoperability of FiRa-enabled devices, driving adoption and innovation across industries. Its rollout covering PHY, MAC, Link Layers, and Interoperability testing further solidifies UWB’s position within the IoT ecosystem.

“FiRa Core 3.0 represents an innovative step forward in advancing UWB technology,” said Clint Chaplin, FiRa Consortium Board Chair. “By addressing the need for simultaneous application support and improved data handling, these updates empower our members to innovate and meet the demands of increasingly nuanced use cases such as public transport fare collection, tap-free mobile payment, or logical access.”

FiRa Core 3.0 Specifications and Certification Program are available to FiRa Consortium members; nonmembers are able to purchase specifications. For more information about becoming a FiRa member, visit: https://www.firaconsortium.org/membership.

Learn more about what’s new with the Certification Program here.

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 by 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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