Antennaware Ltd, a company that specializes in solving the body-blocking problems normally associated with close-range RF designs, has launched a new addition to its Bodywave antenna range that specifically targets the Ultra Wide Band(UWB) radio market.

Ideally suited to the IoT, wearable, sports, professional, and consumer electronics markets, Antennaware’s robust UWB Bodywave elevates wearable performance by extending range and drastically reducing drop out. This results in more coverage, unbeaten wireless reliability, and the best signal performance for effective data capture – even in demanding outdoor environments.

Antennaware’s expertise has already been deployed in the 2.4GHz for Bluetooth arena where its Bodywave antenna resulted in improvements of between 10 and 20dB. This new UWB version is recording over 25dB improvement in link budget when compared to printed or ceramic chip antennas – an improvement that is so dramatic it is allowing UWB radios to successfully address market sectors where Body Blocking was previously very difficult to overcome.

“A major problem with wireless wearables is the issue of body shadowing,” says Dr. Gareth Conway, CEO of Antennaware. “This is when the human body blocks the wireless transmission path, meaning the signal can drop out because the radio waves created by existing antennas are reflected or absorbed by the human body. BodyWave™ solves this by generating waves that flow efficiently around the body, supporting a communication link even when the body is blocking the signal.”

The new version of Bodyware, which supports both 6.5GHz (Ch 5) and 8GHz (Ch 9), deals with the issues surrounding UWB that have historically caused data drop outs, especially when devices were used “cross body” (back pocket to headset) or in Auto and Asset Tracking applications.