UWB Finding a Place in the RTLS Market

Wednesday December 5th, 2007
Finding a needle in a haystack isn't considered a challenge, at least not by those familiar with ultra-wideband (UWB) real-time location systems (RTLS). UWB differs from traditional RTLS technologies primarily by the frequencies it uses and the precision it provides -- one vendor says its systems can locate tagged objects within 15 centimeters.

"There is no technology like UWB for highly accurate RTLS tracking," Raghu Das told RFID Update. Das is a leading authority on the UWB RTLS market and is CEO of IDTechEx, which produces research and events in the RFID and RTLS industries. "We think it's quite exciting."

The overwhelming majority of currently deployed RTLS systems use 433 MHz or WiFi technology, with location accuracy typically expressed in meters.

The UWB market is very young and small, with few commercial products and no standards to support interoperability among vendors. Despite these obstacles, UWB RTLS is seen as a viable, growing technology, primarily because it provides highly accurate location data and works effectively indoors or out.

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