Are You Prepared for IEEE 802.15.4? An overview of the technology and test requirements for HRP UWB
White Papers
The ultra-wideband (UWB) communications technology development started at the end of the 1990s and got a boost in 2002 when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published new regulations for the commercial market. Soon after, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.15 working group specifies wireless personal area network (WPAN) standards. Task groups (TG) in IEEE 802.15 leverage UWB technologies for 802.15.3 high-rate and 802.15.4 for low-rate communication applications. Key technologies include multiband orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MB-OFDM) and pulsed direct sequence UWB (DS-UWB).
Today, these technologies are still widely used in the wireless industry, such as IEEE 802.11ad/ay using MB-OFDM for a multiple gigabit wireless system and IEEE 802.15.4/4z using pulsed DS-UWB for indoor positioning, ranging, and security applications. Among these technologies, the applications and signal characteristics of IEEE 802.15.4 high-rate pulse repetition frequency (HRP) UWB are the most different from other UWB standards and are adopted by major mobile phone makers. This white paper focuses on the test requirements, challenges, and solutions associated with IEEE 802.15.4 HRP UWB.