How it Works: UWB, WPAN and WiMedia Radio Space

Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology is the foundation on which the WiMedia Alliance has built an ecosystem that promotes multimedia connectivity within the personal networking space. Based on a superior Multi-Band OFDM modulation scheme, the WiMedia Common Radio Platform (WiMedia Radio) was developed to ensure that compliant devices not only coexist with complementary networking technologies but interoperate regardless of vendor. This platform enables WiMedia-certified devices to automatically discover each other and rapidly transfer bandwidth-intensive files or streaming media within its secure environment. Using a mere fraction of the power required by other wireless technologies, battery drain in the ever-present portable devices of a highly mobile and always-connected society is a thing of the past.

This paper presents an introduction to WiMedia technology and the WiMedia Alliance. It provides a detailed decription of the WiMedia Common Radio Platform and an in-depth look at other technology behind WiMedia Radio, including Multi-Band Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (MB-OFDM), the WiMedia MAC layer, and the protocol adaptation layers WiMedia supports, including Wireless USB and Bluetooth.