Not So Stupid Question: 332: What Is UWB?

Last week I went to the playground with my kids, my 5-year-old and my 2-year-old. It’s a gigantic the playground, and it’s also close to the street that is quite busy. The 5-year-old was so excited to go there because we go don’t go there often, so he just ran off immediately and disappeared into the crowd. I cannot put into words how anxious I got as I desperately was looking for him while carrying my very heavy 2-year-old who was crying because he wanted to play. The five-year-old usually doesn’t run off like that, but my youngest does. And that’s how I made the decision to get them air tags and bracelets so I could locate them if this was to happen again. I would only use the air tag bracelets in situations like this. However, when you use air tags, if you’ve used one before, you know you can’t see a very accurate position on the map. I was discussing this with my colleague today, the same colleague who had recommended the air tags, and he told me about something called Ultra-wideband (UWB) signaling. Ultra-wideband signaling has propagation that is accurate within 10 centimeters and can even penetrate walls period. My phone, which is an iPhone, has this. What this means is that when I locate my air tags or iPods, I have the option to locate within 10 centimeters. On screen I get an arrow that points and direction and how far away I am, and although when I tested this it lost its connectivity at approximately 17 meters, but it’s still very helpful when you’re looking for a lost child on a playground. So, I guess this makes today’s stupid question also a tip of the day, for locating important things and people. And although I’m sure I shouldn’t have to say this, don’t use this to track and stalk people.

Not So Stupid Question: 332: What Is UWB?

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