Channel Sounding: Bluetooth can locate devices better in future
Future Bluetooth devices can be located more precisely: The umbrella organization SIG has announced Channel Sounding, a new feature of Bluetooth 6.0.
Thanks to Bluetooth 6.0, future Bluetooth trackers should work even more precisely.
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Upcoming Bluetooth devices can be located and found more precisely. The Bluetooth umbrella organization SIG announced a technology called Channel Sounding for the Bluetooth specification 6.0 at IFA. The Bluetooth SIG promises that this technology will allow distances between Bluetooth devices to be measured with centimeter-level accuracy.
Channel Sounding is the new name for "High Accuracy Distance Measurement", which Bluetooth has already been testing for several years. The Bluetooth umbrella organization has now announced that the technology will be used in future Bluetooth devices as part of the Bluetooth 6.0 specification.
"Find my" and digital keys
The obvious field of application is "Find my device" solutions on iPhones or Android devices, which can track tagged objects such as wallets or keys more precisely than before. In addition to specially designed Bluetooth tags, devices that are already equipped with Bluetooth, such as in-ear headphones, can also be tracked.
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But so-called digital keys could also benefit from channel sounding, Bluetooth promises. These are digital keys that open vehicle doors or safes, for example, as soon as you bring your cell phone close to them. The more precise distance measurement could ensure that such mechanisms are not accidentally triggered from too great a distance.
Analyst Andrew Zignani from ABI Research is quoted by the Bluetooth SIG with further application scenarios. "Imagine mice, keyboards and game controllers with Bluetooth that can automatically switch between active and inactive states depending on the distance to the laptop," writes Zignani in a press release. "In industrial environments, Bluetooth human-machine interface (HMI) solutions can increase personnel safety by only allowing use from a safe distance. "
Bluetooth plans to announce further innovations in Bluetooth 6.0, including improvements to audio streaming, later on at IFA.
(dahe)