The smart home of the future will be significantly smarter than today because it knows more about us. UWB could be the right technology, which is already in the first Pixel phone.
“Contextual awareness” is rarely heard, but is extremely important for smart products today. That’s why modern cars know when you’re nearby with your phone in order to be able to open the car.
Based on such factors, Google Home knows when you leave your home and can then turn off all smart devices. However, features based on ultra-wideband are also conceivable with even greater detail.
Random thing I want to happen:
UWB chips used in your phone to determine what room you are in.
Little UWB stations sit in a room so the phone can tell where it is, and apps like Google Home could react to that by showing controls specific to that room
Do it @madebygoogle
— Ben Schoon (@NexusBen) March 7, 2022
A colleague brought up the idea that thanks to UWB, our Pixel phones could know which room we’re in. Based on this, Google Home can always present the right smart home devices on the lock screen that belong to the respective room. Similar to how voice control works when devices and smart speakers are assigned to common rooms.
A few months ago, Xiaomi also presented how to imagine the use of UWB. You imagine a virtual remote control on your smartphone that automatically matches the device you are pointing the phone at.
According to the Chinese manufacturer, UWB makes this possible. Google had already started similar experiments with Bluetooth beacons but had long since discarded them all.
But Google could now implement such ideas more easily than ever. Theoretically, it would be enough if you also integrated UWB into your own WiFi devices. Anyway, I’m excited to see what’s going to happen with UWB in the future. The new module is currently only integrated into a few devices, at Google for example only in the Pixel 6 Pro. Apple uses it for its AirTags, for example, and Samsung is already using it for the Digital Car Key.