Ultrawideband

This topic provides an overview on ultrawideband in your Mist Location Services deployments.

Juniper Mist access points (APs) support ultrawideband (UWB) in your Mist Location Services deployments.

Ultrawideband provides precise accuracy by using 500 MHz channel bandwidths which do not interfere with other Wi-Fi channels. Mist ultrawideband operates on channel 9 to avoid overlap and co-exist with other Wi-Fi channels. It produces time series signals, rather than signals in the frequency domain.

Mist AP47s work in conjunction with the following to provide ultrawideband:

• Third-party vendor tags—Mist AP47s work in conjunction with ultrawideband tags from third-party vendors. Mist uses SICK (formerly known as Zigpos) tags.

• Ultrawideband standards—Mist currently supports and adheres to the Fira and Omlox ultrawideband standards. Omlox uses Uplink Time Difference of Arrival (ULTDoA).

AP47s act as passive UWB sensors for Omlox-compliant asset tracking deployments. The APs collect UWB tag blink data and forward it to a third-party (SICK/Coriva) real-time location system (RTLS). In other words, the AP47 participates as a passive listener while timing synchronization and broader RTLS control remain with the external SICK-based infrastructure.

Ultrawideband provides precise measurement using Two-Way Ranging (TWR) and Time Difference of Arrival (TDoA), which turn timing into position and provides sub-meter accuracy.

• TWR involves:

  • Message exchanges between the tag and an anchor, either single-sided or double-sided.
  • The round-trip time, minus the response delay, directly measures the distance.
  • Each side measures its own round trip, so anchors don't need time synchronization.
  • Trilateration determines position as the tag ranges with three or more anchors and intersects circles.
  • Provides sub-meter accuracy.
  • Also suitable for single-anchor use cases like access control, secure ranging (IEEE 802.15.4z), and hands-free entry, since one exchange provides a distance.

• TDoA involves:

  • The tag sends a single blink, which multiple anchors hear and timestamp.

  • The location engine calculates position from the differences in arrival times (hyperbolic multilateration).

  • The tag only transmits briefly, improving battery life, but requires tightly synchronized anchors, either wired or wireless, and must stay within anchor geometry for accuracy.

  • Provides sub-meter accuracy.

The combination of Mist's ultrawideband with third-party vendor tags enables you to extend sensor density and improve tracking coverage in environments that already use an external Omlox infrastructure, making it ideal for deployments that use AP47s together with a pre-existing Omlox setup.