As reported by In-Stat, this year the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) saw Ultrawideband (UWB), a high data rate, short-range wireless technology, getting very close to market.
While the first UWB-enabled products were shipped in the fourth quarter of 2006 in Japan, wide commercial availability of UWB products should be available worldwide in 2007.
At CES, there were several companies demonstrating UWB-based solutions in their booths and suites, and UWB chip companies were well represented, including WiQuest, Staccato, Intel, WiLinx, Alereon, Wisair, NEC, NXP, Focus Enhancements and Artimi.
The first manifestation of UWB chip solutions will be in wireless USB solutions in the first half of 2007. The specifications that govern certified Wireless USB (WUSB) products are overseen by both the Wi-Media Alliance and the USB Implementer’s Forum.
The first WUSB products will be dongle and wireless hub solutions for PCs and PC peripherals, such as printers, multifunction devices and external hard disc drives. By late 2007, embedded WUSB solutions should begin to be shipped in PCs. In total, In-Stat expects 10.4 million WUSB-enabled devices to be shipped in 2007. The future of UWB extends beyond WUSB.
For example, there were companies at CES that were demonstrating UWB as a medium for high definition video transmission, including wireless transmission. These companies include Pulse-LINK, Tzero Technologies, WiQuest and Radiospire. Looking at the number of UWB companies at CES, in addition to the quality of their demos, the future of UWB looks extremely bright.