FiRa® Consortium has recently announced the availability of a major advancement of its technical specifications to Version 2.0, to prescribe hardware, RF communications, ultra-wideband (UWB) ranging protocols, and behavior of ranging devices. While the original FiRa Certification Program provided the groundwork for supporting interoperable UWB systems and consistent performance, the Certification Program 2.0 expands on it with additional features to support a growing number of diverse use cases. The certification can be done “à la carte,” opening the door for specific certifications for dedicated devices.
The FiRa Certification Program 2.0 includes a focus on feature sets which are represented by a combination of a feature component and one or more devices. Depending on the targeted use case, a device can claim conformance with at least one of the below feature components:
- One-Way Ranging Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (OWR DL DToA), for the Untracked Indoor Navigation use case.
- One-Way Ranging Angle of Arrival measurement (OWR AoA), for the Point-and-Trigger Control use case.
- Contention-based ranging using Two-Way Ranging (TWR), for the Find Someone. Find Something. use case.
- Time-schedule-based TWR, for Physical Access Control Systems PACS and generic distance measurements.
Depending on the chosen feature component, a product may claim to support different device roles, which results in the feature set aimed for certification. Certification Release 2.0 further facilitates certification for optional features, enhancing the flexibility of UWB-enabled products.
Optional features include:
- Non-deferred mode for Double-Sided TWR
- Data transfer with ranging
- Dynamic STS
- Provisioned STS
FiRa members can submit their products for FiRa certification based on defined processes to validate candidate devices that meet FiRa Consortium Test Specifications. Compliant implementations are eligible to obtain FiRa Certified® status and display the FiRa Certified® logo. The FiRa Certified logo will thus prove to users that the FiRa-enabled device will function correctly for the certified feature set and that it will be fully compatible with other certified devices for the same feature set.
“The FiRa Certification Program 2.0 builds upon the rich interoperability foundation FiRa tirelessly supports,” remarked Clint Chaplin, FiRa Consortium Board Chair. “Our updated Certification Program empowers FiRa members to develop UWB-enabled products, support new use cases, and propel the adoption of this soon-omnipresent technology.”
FiRa 2.0 Technical Specifications, along with the related Test Specifications, are available to FiRa Consortium members. For information on joining the FiRa Consortium, please visit https://www.firaconsortium.org/membership/information.
To learn more about product certification, visit https://firaconsortium.org/certifications.
About FiRa Consortium
The FiRa Consortium is a member-driven organization dedicated to transforming the way we interact with our environment by enabling precise location awareness for people and devices using the secured fine-ranging and positioning capabilities of Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology. FiRa does this by driving the development of technical specifications and certification, advocating for effective regulations, and by defining a broad set of use cases for UWB. To learn more about UWB and the FiRa Consortium, visit www.firaconsortium.org.
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