Sensing Beyond Limits: Transforming User Experience With UWB Radar

Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology is widely recognized for delivering highly accurate short-range localization through time-of-flight and angle-of-arrival measurements. What is less well known—and increasingly transformative—is UWB’s ability to perform advanced radar sensing using the same compact, low-power hardware. This white paper explores how UWB radar sensing extends the technology beyond positioning to enable presence detection, motion tracking, and even physiological monitoring.

Operating in the 3.1–10.6 GHz spectrum and standardized under IEEE 802.15.4a/4z, UWB combines wide bandwidth, short pulses, and spread-spectrum signaling to achieve centimeter-level resolution with exceptional immunity to interference and multipath effects. These characteristics make UWB uniquely effective in cluttered indoor environments and close-range applications where other sensing technologies struggle.

The paper explains how UWB radar systems transmit short pulses and analyze reflected signals to generate channel impulse responses (CIRs), which capture a time-domain “fingerprint” of the surrounding environment. By processing CIRs over time, advanced algorithms can filter out static objects and isolate dynamic motion—including subtle periodic movements such as human breathing. Phase-coherent measurements further enhance sensitivity, enabling vibration analysis and reliable detection in noisy RF conditions.

With power consumption under 10 mW and the ability to see through obstacles like furniture or walls, UWB radar sensing is well suited for always-on applications. Key use cases include in-cabin child presence detection, driver monitoring, smart-home occupancy sensing, gesture recognition, and non-contact healthcare monitoring.

By unifying precise ranging and intelligent sensing in a single platform, UWB radar is redefining what low-power wireless systems can achieve—and opening the door to a new generation of context-aware, responsive user experiences.