STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) has introduced the ST64UWB, a family of ultra-wideband (UWB) system-on-chip devices that support the next-generation IEEE 802.15.4ab wireless standard for localising and tracking devices at distances of up to several hundred metres, with the chips now sampling to major Tier 1 suppliers and original equipment manufacturers.
The three SoCs — ST64UWB-A100, ST64UWB-A500, and ST64UWB-C100 — are built on ST's 18 nm FD-SOI process, which the company says boosts link budget by nearly 3 dB over standard bulk technologies, extending range by approximately 50% beyond what the IEEE 802.15.4ab standard itself delivers. The new standard supports multi-millisecond ranging (MMS) and narrowband assistance (NBA), which extend operating range, improve non-line-of-sight performance for devices carried in bags or pockets, and enable direction finding at close range.
"The ST64UWB family we announce today is an industry-first system-on-chip supporting the latest ultra-wideband specification, IEEE 802.15.4ab including narrow-band assistance radio, with ultra-precise ranging and sensing," said Rias Al-Kadi, General Manager, Ranging and Connectivity Division, STMicroelectronics. "These chips are tailored for automotive, consumer, and industrial applications, providing innovators with a powerful platform for the next wave of ultra-wideband use cases."
The ST64UWB-A100 targets automotive digital key and vehicle localisation use cases and features an Arm Cortex-M85 core with ASIL A(B) safety support. The ST64UWB-A500 adds AI acceleration and digital signal processing for radar applications including child presence detection, kick sensing, and parking sensors — a capability that benefits from the new IEEE 802.15.4ab Kaiser pulse shape and 1.3 GHz bandwidth of UWB channel 11, delivering twice the accuracy of 500 MHz channels. The ST64UWB-C100 targets commercial and consumer applications with full Aliro standard compatibility.
"IEEE 802.15.4ab is set to become the backbone of next-generation ultra-wideband," said Andrew Zignani, Senior Research Director at ABI Research. "By 2030, we expect the vast majority of ultra-wideband equipped vehicles to migrate to this new standard, leveraging a rapidly growing installed base of hundreds of millions of compatible smartphones. Meanwhile, backward compatibility with IEEE 802.15.4z allows the industry to adopt these enhancements quickly without disrupting existing deployments, while enabling valuable new user experiences and services across multiple end markets."
Partners including Forvia Hella, LG Innotek, Marquardt, and Nuki Home Solutions cited the standard's extended range — more than eight times that of IEEE 802.15.4z — and its backward compatibility as key factors in their endorsement of the platform.
"IEEE 802.15.4ab is the foundation for enabling a new generation of key fobs as part of a digital key system," said Daniel Siekmann, Head of Car Access HW D&D Team, Forvia Hella. "It offers more than eight times the range of 802.15.4z and significantly better non-line-of-sight performance, which allows for key fob functionality to reliably perform from a back-pocket or inside a bag. With backward compatibility to 802.15.4z, it provides a practical path to replace legacy HF/LF key fobs with a modern ultra-wideband based architecture, a transition that is further enabled by STMicroelectronics' new ST64UWB chips."
"By adopting 802.15.4ab, car access systems can simultaneously improve performance, cost efficiency, and robustness. The more than eightfold increase in range effectively mitigates back-pocket and other obstructed-signal conditions. At the same time, backward compatibility with 802.15.4z gives OEMs like LGIT the flexibility to either enhance reliability using their existing fixed reference points or reduce the number of reference points to lower overall system cost," said William Jung, Team Leader, LG Innotek.
"With IEEE 802.15.4ab, the ability to drastically increase UWB performance, especially when the smartphone is left in the rear pocket, is highly appreciated," said Bernd Bär, Expert Product Line Technology, Marquardt. "At the same time, operating within tight global homologation limits while remaining backward compatible with existing IEEE 802.15.4z ecosystems tremendously extends the applicability of UWB systems."
"Over the last decade, Nuki has helped establish and shape the smart lock category in Europe. We firmly believe Ultra-Wideband is a transformative technology for precise, hands-free unlocking," said Jürgen Pansi, Chief Innovation Officer, Nuki Home Solutions. "Together with STMicroelectronics and their ST64UWB solution, we are showcasing how the IEEE 802.15.4ab standard can bring the power of Aliro and UWB to our region."
ST is offering a development kit that includes a UWB stack (PHY/MAC), radar toolbox, development boards, antenna reference designs, and application examples for automotive and consumer markets. Further details are available at www.st.com/uwb.