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Bluetooth® Channel Sounding Media Kit

Bluetooth® Channel Sounding

Bluetooth® Channel Sounding is a new secure, fine-ranging capability that promises to enhance the convenience, safety, and security of many Bluetooth connected devices. By infusing billions of everyday devices with true distance awareness, Bluetooth® Channel Sounding unlocks a world of possibilities for developers, freeing them to imagine and create innovative experiences. From increasing the security of digital keys to improving the performance of ‘find my’ solutions, Bluetooth® Channel Sounding will enhance our connection with our devices, one another, and the world around us.

2408 Event IMG Update Channel Sounding 2

Bluetooth® Channel Sounding will apply to consumer, enterprise, and industrial settings alike. Imagine Bluetooth mice, keyboards, and game controllers that can automatically switch between active and inactive states based on their distance from a laptop. In industrial settings, distance aware Bluetooth Human-Machine Interface (HMI) solutions can increase personnel safety by only allowing usage from a safe distance. Meanwhile, Bluetooth device networks, such as those used for networked lighting control, can more easily self-configure to enhance system performance using this innovative technology. With 1.35 billion Bluetooth connected devices forecasted to ship in 2024 alone, the opportunities are significan

Andrew Zignani, Senior Research Director, ABI Research

We look forward to adding this new feature to our upcoming Bluetooth Digital Key specification. The adoption of Bluetooth® Channel Sounding will help the ICCOA continue to deliver greater convenience, performance, and security to drivers and passengers worldwide.

Feng, Yunsheng, Chief Secretary, Intelligent Car Connectivity Open Alliance (ICCOA)

The ICCE is committed to developing industry standards and fostering cross-industry collaboration to enable seamless intelligent in-car services. We are therefore studying the addition of Bluetooth® Channel Sounding technology as one of the ranging methods in the ICCE car key standard and we look forward to integrating it.

Ren Feng, Chief Secretary, Intelligent Car Connectivity Industry Ecosystem Alliance (ICCE)

We applaud the Bluetooth SIG for the release of Bluetooth® Channel Sounding, a groundbreaking advancement that marks the beginning of a new era in connected devices and stands as a testament to the innovation, dedication, and teamwork of DENSO and our fellow Bluetooth SIG members. Extending an already rich ecosystem, the Bluetooth® Channel Sounding standard enables connected devices to more precisely and securely locate each other, paving the way for the design of new low-cost, energy-efficient, location-aware solutions. It also has the potential to provide a more secure and convenient user experience for automotive digital key solutions and we look forward to leveraging this technology inside and outside of automotive areas to enable more seamless user experiences for all.

Kyle Golsch, Senior RF System Engineer, DENSO

Ellisys is proud to have collaborated with dedicated Bluetooth SIG member companies to bring today’s release of Bluetooth® Channel Sounding to life. With qualification testing available from day one, alongside advanced capture and analysis features introduced over a year ahead of this official release, early adopters and innovators are now fully empowered to unlock the vast potential this new feature offers to the Bluetooth ecosystem.

Mario Pasquali, President and CEO, Ellisys

Bluetooth® Channel Sounding is a big step forward for Bluetooth technology. As a leader in automotive and IoT, Infineon is excited to bring accurate, secure, fine ranging with Bluetooth® Channel Sounding to car access and smart home markets.

Shantanu Bhalerao, Vice President of Bluetooth Product Line, Infineon

Nordic Semiconductor is extremely excited by the release of Bluetooth® Channel Sounding. This technology will open up a wide range of new opportunities to create new product types and greatly improve the user experience of existing devices with location aware user interfaces.

Oyvind Strom, EVP BU Short-Range, Nordic Semiconductor

Bluetooth® Channel Sounding is poised to bring true distance awareness to a vast array of Bluetooth devices, unlocking new possibilities for distance-aware applications across various industries. With Bluetooth® Channel Sounding, we’re able to elevate the performance of ‘Find My’ applications by delivering centimeter-level accuracy, helping our customers find important items with greater ease. Additionally, Bluetooth® Channel Sounding enhances the security of digital key solutions, providing an extra layer of protection for keyless entry users. These are just a few examples of the transformative potential of Bluetooth® Channel Sounding, with many more possibilities waiting to be realized.

Joonsuk Kim, Executive Vice President of the System LSI Connectivity Team, Samsung Electronics

In a world where location awareness is critical, Bluetooth® Channel Sounding revolutionizes proximity and location capabilities, propelling Bluetooth technology into a new era. With a legacy of empowering developers with the full potential of Bluetooth technology, Silicon Labs looks forward to helping create an accelerated path to groundbreaking Bluetooth products equipped with Bluetooth® Channel Sounding.

Ross Sabolcik, Senior Vice President of the Industrial and Commercial Business Unit, Silicon Labs

Videos

Bluetooth® Channel Sounding: A Technical Overview

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FAQ

Why is the feature called Bluetooth® Channel Sounding?

Channel sounding is a well-established term in radio frequency (RF) engineering that describes a technique used to characterize the properties of a radio communications channel. Since this new Bluetooth feature is used to calculate the precise distance between devices by characterizing the phase and time delay of a radio signal sent between them, Bluetooth® Channel Sounding was deemed an appropriate feature name.

What is the expected accuracy of Bluetooth® Channel Sounding?

The Bluetooth® Channel Sounding feature was designed to achieve centimeter-level accuracy, which means the accuracy of a distance measurement should be plus or minus tens of centimeters of the actual distance. In early implementations of the Bluetooth® Channel Sounding feature, we are already seeing accuracy levels of +/- 20 cm.

What is the maximum range Bluetooth® Channel Sounding can accurately measure distance?

The maximum range of Bluetooth® Channel Sounding depends on several factors, with one of the most significant being the transmission power of the Bluetooth devices involved. If both devices can transmit at the maximum allowed power level, accurate measurements at distances up to 150 meters can be achieved.

Can existing products be upgraded to add support for Bluetooth® Channel Sounding?

This is manufacturer dependent. Bluetooth® Channel Sounding introduces an entirely new protocol stack, including a Physical Layer (PHY) which may require a Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) integrated circuit (IC) upgrade to enable support for the feature. However, you should check with your device and/or product manufacturers to ultimately make this determination.

Does the Bluetooth® Channel Sounding feature define a distance measurement algorithm?

No. The Bluetooth® Channel Sounding feature does not include a distance measurement algorithm. It provides standardized techniques to determine signal phase and time delay information which can be used by an algorithm to calculate the distance between two devices. Since the appropriate distance measurement algorithm needed may vary depending on the use case, it was determined the Bluetooth® Channel Sounding specification would not define a specific algorithm. The necessary algorithm for the use case can be sourced or developed independently.

Will not having a single standardized algorithm impact the interoperability between devices from different manufacturers?

No. The algorithm only needs to be implemented by one side of the channel sounding session. The absence of a specified algorithm does not affect interoperability between two devices.

Are there use case specific Bluetooth profile specifications that use the Bluetooth® Channel Sounding feature?

There is a new Bluetooth® Ranging Profile specification in development. However, the ranging profile is not designed to be use case specific. This GATT specification will define how an application can configure and read results from a channel sounding procedure. The profile targets a broad range of use cases, including digital keys, locks, Find My solutions, and HMI (human machine interface) control solutions, to name a few.

Can Bluetooth® Channel Sounding be used in conjunction with other Bluetooth positioning features such as Bluetooth® RSSI and Bluetooth® Direction Finding?

Yes. Bluetooth® Channel Sounding can be used in conjunction with other Bluetooth positioning features, including RSSI and direction finding. For example, we are aware of upcoming solutions that plan to combine the use of Bluetooth® RSSI and Bluetooth® Channel Sounding, where RSSI will be used to determine presence, proximity, and course ranging when the devices are farther apart and Bluetooth® Channel Sounding will be used to increase accuracy as the two devices approach each other.

When are Bluetooth® Channel Sounding products expected to be available in the market?

We expect to see initial enabling technology products (e.g., chips, modules, and stacks) available this year and end-use products (e.g., mobile phones, tags, and fobs) supporting Bluetooth® Channel Sounding starting in 2025.

Bluetooth® Channel Sounding Media Kit