CEVA, Inc., a licensor of wireless connectivity and smart sensing technologies, has launched the RivieraWaves UWB, an extremely power-efficient ultra-wideband (UWB) IP core. This turnkey UWB MAC and PHY platform intellectual property (IP) is compliant with the IEEE 802.15.4z standard and is in accordance with FiRa consortium specifications. The RivieraWaves UWB platform IP delivers secure, centimeter-level accuracy and robust location information through Time-of-Flight (ToF) ranging and Angle-of-Arrival (AoA) processing. Extending CEVA's wireless connectivity IP portfolio for IoT devices, the new RivieraWaves UWB platform IP is ideal for a broad range of ultra-low power applications and products such as tags for pinpoint asset finding, secure digital key functionality for door locks, real-time location services (RTLS) and payment systems.
UWB is experiencing explosive growth fueled by its recent adoption in leading smartphone brands, with ABI Research forecasting annual shipments of nearly 1 billion devices by 2025. Aimed at lowering the entry barrier and accelerating time-to-market for semiconductor and IoT companies looking to develop UWB-enabled devices, the RivieraWaves UWB platform IP consists of a power-optimized hardware PHY along with a flexible, low latency hardware and software MAC layer. The MAC layer software can be implemented on the CEVA-BX1 DSP when deployed in combination with other connectivity workloads or modes such as direction finding, localization or radar, or as a standalone UWB MAC on commercial Arm and RISC-V MCUs. A flexible radio interface enables the RivieraWaves UWB platform IP to be deployed with customers' RF technology or with CEVA partners' RF IP. Furthermore, RivieraWaves UWB platform IP is designed for ultra-low power use-cases, offering best-in-class performance and cost-efficiency, particularly when combined with RivieraWaves Bluetooth IP. This unique combined IP offering is an industry-first and addresses emerging applications and use cases that leverage both standards.
Ange Aznar, Vice President and General Manager of the Wireless IoT Business Unit at CEVA said that the demand for UWB technology is at an all-time high, driven by emerging use cases in smartphones, accessories and other consumer and IoT devices. CEVA’s new RivieraWaves UWB platform IP addresses this burgeoning market by offering a licensable solution that lowers the entry barrier for companies looking to leverage this technology in their chip designs. He also said that as the only company capable of providing a combined UWB and Bluetooth licensable product, CEVA has extended its industry-leadership position as the world's foremost developer and licensor of wireless connectivity IP.
Key Features of the RivieraWaves UWB IP Core:
- MAC and PHY with support of enhanced ranging and security based on IEEE 802.15.4z HRP in accordance with the FiRa Consortium requirements
- Low power hardware PHY, implementing a high sensitivity coherent receiver with power optimized synchronization, supporting centimeter-level accuracy ranging and AoA estimation based on multiple antennas
- Portable MAC layer software, with hardware offloading for encryption/authentication (CCM AES) and key management, autonomous ACK handshaking and other real-time critical operations
- Flexible low power modes applicable to FiRa ranging scenarios
- FiRa standard UWB Command Interface (UCI) simplifies the interface to the application level software
- Flexible digital radio interface, designed to accommodate various radios
- Available as a standalone UWB IP or in combination with RivieraWaves Bluetooth platform IP
CEVA's RivieraWaves UWB platform IP is part of the wider Location Solutions portfolio of CEVA, spanning Wi-Fi (for Access Point scanning), Bluetooth (for AoA/AoD and HADM location), Dragonfly-GNSS (for GNSS snapshot positioning for Cellular-IoT/LPWA), VSLAM (for camera based localization), and MotionEngine Scout (for IMU based dead reckoning).
RivieraWaves UWB is available for licensing now.
