imec has developed a narrowband receiver chip that complies with the upcoming IEEE 802.15.4ab ultra-wideband standard, supporting a fourfold increase in ranging distance for UWB systems in dense wireless environments.
The Belgian research and innovation hub unveiled the chip at the IEEE MTT-S RF Integrated Circuits Symposium. The receiver validates the narrowband assistance mechanism defined in the forthcoming IEEE 802.15.4ab standard, which combines narrowband signalling with UWB’s precise ranging and localisation capabilities.
The narrowband receiver is implemented in a 22nm CMOS process and uses a second-order transimpedance amplifier with controlled filtering. The design suppresses out-of-band interference, including nearby Wi-Fi signals, early in the signal chain while preserving the desired signal and maintaining a low noise figure.
The architecture also integrates a high dynamic-range clip detector that monitors operating conditions. When strong interference is detected, the system can switch into a more robust mode using additional filtering and gain control. In cleaner conditions, it remains in a low-power operating mode. imec says the design consumes less than 6mW, achieves a 9dB improvement in dynamic range, maintains a 3.2dB noise figure, and tolerates Wi-Fi blockers around -32dBm.
The organisation has also demonstrated a full IEEE 802.15.4ab-compliant transceiver architecture, combining receiver, transmitter, and standard-level innovations to deliver up to a 32x improvement in ranging performance. Potential applications include robot-to-robot coordination, augmented reality glasses, industrial IoT devices, wearables, and automotive platforms.
The work addresses one of the practical limits of impulse-radio UWB. The technology has become established for precise ranging and secure localisation, yet range, robustness, and scalability remain difficult in crowded wireless environments. Factories, warehouses, vehicles, hospitals, and urban infrastructure are increasingly filled with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, private networks, sensors, and connected equipment.
The upcoming IEEE 802.15.4ab standard introduces narrowband assistance in the 5GHz to 6GHz range for device discovery, synchronisation, and coordination. UWB can then be used for precise ranging and localisation. By separating some coordination tasks from the UWB link, systems can operate more efficiently, support more users, and maintain reliable communication at lower signal levels and longer distances.
Industrial applications depend on that reliability. Asset tracking, autonomous mobile robots, tool positioning, worker safety systems, vehicle access, indoor navigation, and collaborative robotics all require location data that remains accurate under interference. The more crowded the wireless environment becomes, the harder it is to maintain accuracy and latency without increasing power consumption or system complexity.
The chip also sits within Europe’s wider effort to strengthen electronics and semiconductor capability. Policy work around chips and AI sovereignty and manufacturing activity around power semiconductor scale-up both show how attention is moving towards enabling technologies beneath automation, mobility, energy, and digital infrastructure. UWB is one of those layers because it provides secure distance measurement and positioning where GPS is unavailable or insufficient.
Industrial electronics developers need more than peak chip performance. They need standards-based components that can be integrated into commercial platforms with predictable interoperability, power behaviour, antenna design, firmware support, and regulatory compliance. A receiver that validates narrowband assistance gives system developers an early view of how next-generation UWB devices may behave in production hardware.
Robotics is a strong application area. As mobile robots and fixed automation systems operate closer together, relative positioning and synchronisation become more important. Robot-to-robot coordination can reduce reliance on centralised infrastructure and improve local decision-making, but only if the underlying wireless ranging system remains robust under interference and can support multiple devices.
Automotive and wearable applications provide additional scale routes. UWB is already used in secure access and ranging, but longer-range, lower-power, and more interference-resistant architectures could broaden its use in sensing, in-cabin monitoring, cooperative mobility, industrial tracking, and connected safety systems. imec’s receiver demonstrates an early implementation of a standard direction that could shape how positioning and coordination are built into the next generation of connected devices.
