History
Back in 2021, there was much excitement around Tesla FCC filings for UWB (Ultra-Wideband) and an article theverge ran. Of course, Tesla now allows you to unlock your car with your phone in your pocket without UWB using just Bluetooth...so is it even needed? Did these UWB devices ever make it into currently shipping HW4 vehicles?
Since then, there's been almost no new news about Tesla and UWB despite Tesla having current-year FCC filings (including that B-Pillar which has action dates in Sept 2023). I don't have access to a spectrum analyzer to try and figure out if the vehicles are transmitting in UWB frequency ranges above the typical 2.4Ghz used by Bluetooth and don't want to tear down my B-Pillar looking for a UWB chip.
Why does UWB matter?
The real value in UWB for keyless entry is the improvement in security especially with the round of RF Relay Attack news bytes going around (like this one). More specifically, use of the Time of Flight measurement capabilities built into UWB allow "centimeter level accuracy" which would easily thwart relay attacks. It's important to note that this doesn't appear to work to drive a Tesla but can be used to unlock one (PIN to drive was also added to help improve 'security' but that's a pain).
Separately, UWB would be useful for understanding distance to the vehicle in an environment without GPS. A good example would be a parking garage with Tesla Superchargers a few levels underground to help you find your vehicle after shopping or something (today on iOS - your 'parked car' is only a GPS location based on your disconnect from your vehicle's handsfree bluetooth). Go a step further, and Teslas could understand their position relative to other Teslas.
Tesla's absence from UWB working bodies
Finally, while the various consortiums that are interested in the relevant standards are consolidating and forming working groups, Tesla is noticeably absent from all of them. Most of the car manufacturers have joined the Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC) while most of the chip and hardware manufacturers have joined the FiRa Consortium. Just last month, the two consortiums formed a joint working group together (here and here) but most of this is around the CCC Digital Key and related use cases.
Maybe Tesla's absent because they already handle all of the use cases for CCC Digital Key without needing UWB and it's everyone else just trying to catch up with Tesla?
Hardware Support for UWB
Regardless, Apple iPhones since iPhone11 (minus the SE) support UWB and Apple has done solid work with their newer Nearby API designed for UWB devices. They also have the best example of UWB in the wild with Airtags (directionality is not possible using bluetooth alone but UWB solves this limitation). Android added UWB support in Android 13, and more and more Android hardware will support it over time.
Bottom line, it's at least interesting to consider use cases Tesla may consider for UWB especially where Tesla Vision may fall short of expectations. Sadly though -- I can't figure out how UWB solves my HW4 auto-wiper problem
. Anyone have other cool use cases they can think of? Useful for assembly lines? Service Center lots? Very accurate distance measurement between vehicles and superchargers?
Back in 2021, there was much excitement around Tesla FCC filings for UWB (Ultra-Wideband) and an article theverge ran. Of course, Tesla now allows you to unlock your car with your phone in your pocket without UWB using just Bluetooth...so is it even needed? Did these UWB devices ever make it into currently shipping HW4 vehicles?
Since then, there's been almost no new news about Tesla and UWB despite Tesla having current-year FCC filings (including that B-Pillar which has action dates in Sept 2023). I don't have access to a spectrum analyzer to try and figure out if the vehicles are transmitting in UWB frequency ranges above the typical 2.4Ghz used by Bluetooth and don't want to tear down my B-Pillar looking for a UWB chip.
Why does UWB matter?
The real value in UWB for keyless entry is the improvement in security especially with the round of RF Relay Attack news bytes going around (like this one). More specifically, use of the Time of Flight measurement capabilities built into UWB allow "centimeter level accuracy" which would easily thwart relay attacks. It's important to note that this doesn't appear to work to drive a Tesla but can be used to unlock one (PIN to drive was also added to help improve 'security' but that's a pain).
Separately, UWB would be useful for understanding distance to the vehicle in an environment without GPS. A good example would be a parking garage with Tesla Superchargers a few levels underground to help you find your vehicle after shopping or something (today on iOS - your 'parked car' is only a GPS location based on your disconnect from your vehicle's handsfree bluetooth). Go a step further, and Teslas could understand their position relative to other Teslas.
Tesla's absence from UWB working bodies
Finally, while the various consortiums that are interested in the relevant standards are consolidating and forming working groups, Tesla is noticeably absent from all of them. Most of the car manufacturers have joined the Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC) while most of the chip and hardware manufacturers have joined the FiRa Consortium. Just last month, the two consortiums formed a joint working group together (here and here) but most of this is around the CCC Digital Key and related use cases.
Maybe Tesla's absent because they already handle all of the use cases for CCC Digital Key without needing UWB and it's everyone else just trying to catch up with Tesla?
Hardware Support for UWB
Regardless, Apple iPhones since iPhone11 (minus the SE) support UWB and Apple has done solid work with their newer Nearby API designed for UWB devices. They also have the best example of UWB in the wild with Airtags (directionality is not possible using bluetooth alone but UWB solves this limitation). Android added UWB support in Android 13, and more and more Android hardware will support it over time.
Bottom line, it's at least interesting to consider use cases Tesla may consider for UWB especially where Tesla Vision may fall short of expectations. Sadly though -- I can't figure out how UWB solves my HW4 auto-wiper problem
. Anyone have other cool use cases they can think of? Useful for assembly lines? Service Center lots? Very accurate distance measurement between vehicles and superchargers?
