Thomas Dietrich
Samsung has announced a new brand called Exynos Connect. In the future, all of the company’s wireless communication solutions for short distances will run under this label. This includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth as well as Ultra-Wideband (UWB). The first product is already finished – the first in-house UWB chipset called Exynos Connect U100. The naming scheme is quite similar to Apple’s U1 chip built into the AirTags.
The Samsung Exynos Connect U100 has distance measuring capabilities that are accurate to less than 10 cm and five degrees. The device is optimized for use in mobile, automotive and Internet of Things (IoT) devices that receive precise distance and location information via the chip. Because the U100 combines radio frequency, baseband, flash memory and power management in a single chip, it is ideal for use in compact devices.
The Exynos Connect U100 uses Time of Arrival (ToA) and 3D Angle of Arrival (AoA) measurements to achieve the above values. According to Samsung, this is particularly useful for indoor location tracking and for AR and VR applications. The latter need accurate real-time tracking of moving people.
The chip has a power-saving mode and is equipped with an STS (Scrambled Timestamp Sequence) function. Also, a secure hardware encryption engine is on board to prevent external hacking. The Exynos Connect U100 has been certified by the FiRa Consortium for interoperability with UWB standards. In addition, it complies with the Digital Key Release 3.0 of the Car Connectivity Consortium. Therefore, Samsung smartphones with the U100 chip can also be used as digital car keys.
It is not yet known when the first devices will come with the chip. However, various product categories are conceivable.
