Back to Home11/13/2025, 11:58:43 AM

Bluetooth Channel Sounding: The Next Leap in Bluetooth Innovation

JoachimS

78 points

36 comments

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thoughtful

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mixed

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Moderate engagement

First comment

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Day 6

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Comment distribution14 data points

Based on 14 loaded comments

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01Story posted
11/13/2025, 11:58:43 AM
6d ago
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02First comment
11/19/2025, 6:07:15 AM
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10 comments in Day 6
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11/19/2025, 5:12:05 PM
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Discussion (36 comments)

Showing 14 comments of 36

avidiax

13h ago

2 replies

Edit: It seems I'm wrong. Channel sounding requires an encrypted connection. It's not something that can be done between a passive device and your phone.

It will allow things like secure entry (walk up to a door and it opens, be near your car and you can open it), finding your devices (lost keys, headphones, remotes, etc.), auto-unlocking for your laptop, and more.

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This is a really cool technology that is going to allow essentially indoor GPS. Imagine going to a mall, and you open a map on your phone, and it immediately knows where you are to under 1m error.

halapro

13h ago

2 replies

Do you still need "satellites" installed indoors to work? Because then you'd have to convince every business that this cost has a direct positive effect on their sales.

A lot of brick and mortar stores are based on the assumption that a lost customer will buy more things, so I don't see this happening.

jacquesm

11h ago

Indeed, screw IKEA.

rtutz

13h ago

Think about how this information could be used. As a store owner you can precisely track movement of customers and optimize the shop layout.

BT hardware is also rather affordable.

jesperwe

13h ago

1 reply

I can imageine that. Although not using Channel Sounding, as it has a accuracy of +/- 200mm according to TFA. Which is still very good, though.

flowerthoughts

12h ago

I don't follow your reasoning. (+-)200 mm is better accuracy than 1000 mm.

srcmax

12h ago

1 reply

New devices, such as Pixel 10 already support channel sounding. Basically it's alternative to UWB. One phone sends signals on multiple frequencies, another receives them. Obviously devices should be connected via BT. Also tracking people already works with BT/WiFi RSSI (signal strength). Channel Sounding works better because it works even when the signal line of sight is obstructed, for ex. headphones lost under pillow.

styanax

7h ago

How do they compare in actual use? I have a Pixel 6a connected to $40USD bone conducting headphones and the range and punch-through are incredible; the phone is sitting in the living room playing music and I can almost make it to my mailbox at the end of the block (about 3 houses away) before it starts to degrade or cut out.

Do these alternatives compare with just how well UWB serves regular, normal daily activity like this? Because to me, what I have is absolutely excellent in use with daily routine.

olirex99

11h ago

2 replies

I am pursuing a PhD in indoor localization, and UWB is still far superior. That is the reason why major phone companies still include a UWB chip and are not switching to BLE 6.0.

I have compared them, and because BLE is a narrowband signal, it is highly susceptible to Non-Line-of-Sight (NLOS) conditions compared to UWB.

I also attended a prototype presentation by a large European silicon company. I noticed that even in their demo, BLE did not achieve 30 cm accuracy, but rather hovered around 1 m.

I have only tested PBR and RTT ranging with a simple Kalman Filter, so maybe someone has found a clever combination of these data sources (I hope).

pwarner

5h ago

1 reply

Is there a good list of cars that support UWB? Seems like a requirement for my next car...

olirex99

5h ago

All the new car have the keyless option and use UWB to open and close.

skzv

2h ago

Cool, I worked on indoor localization, particularly with RTT, at Google for many years :)

throwaway1627

8h ago

1 reply

What an unfortunate name.

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sounding

    > Sounding is the act of inserting a metal rod into your urethra.

toxik

2h ago

Sounding in this usage is far, far older than the sounding you're talking about.

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ID: 45913870Type: storyLast synced: 11/19/2025, 7:26:53 PM

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