AWARE: UWB (Ultra-Wideband)

This sensor module measures the distance and direction between an iPhone and nearby UWB-capable Apple devices using the NearbyInteraction framework. It supports two peer discovery transports:

• iPhone ↔ iPhone via MultipeerConnectivity
• iPhone ↔ Apple Watch via WatchConnectivity

Ranging data (distance, direction vector, horizontal angle) is recorded for each discovered peer.

UWB ranging is available on iPhone 11 and later (U1 chip) and Apple Watch Series 6 and later.

Requirements

iOS 15 or later (iPhone target)
watchOS 7 or later (Apple Watch target)

Installation

1. Open Package Manager Windows

   • Open Xcode -> Select Menu Bar -> File -> App Package Dependencies...

2. Find the package using the manager

   • Select Search Package URL and type https://github.com/awareframework/com.awareframework.ios.sensor.uwb.git

3. Import the package into your target.

4. Add the following keys to your Info.plist:

   • NSNearbyInteractionUsageDescription
   • NSLocalNetworkUsageDescription
   • NSBonjourServices: _aware-uwb._tcp, _aware-uwb._udp

Public functions

UWBSensor

• init(_ config: UWBSensor.Config): Initializes the sensor with the given configuration.
• start(): Starts MultipeerConnectivity and/or WatchConnectivity peer discovery and NearbyInteraction sessions.
• stop(): Stops all peer connections and invalidates all NI sessions.
• sync(force:): Syncs stored data to the configured host.
• set(label:): Sets a custom label applied to all subsequent data points.

UWBSensor.Config

Class to hold the configuration of the sensor.

Fields

• sensorObserver: UWBObserver?: Callback for live data updates.
• enableiPhoneRanging: Bool: Enable peer discovery and ranging with other iPhones via MultipeerConnectivity. (default = true)
• enableAppleWatchRanging: Bool: Enable ranging with a paired Apple Watch via WatchConnectivity. (default = true)
• enabled: Bool: Sensor is enabled or not. (default = false)
• debug: Bool: Enable/disable logging. (default = false)
• label: String: Label for the data. (default = "")
• deviceId: String: Id of the device associated with the events. (default = "")
• dbEncryptionKey: Encryption key for the database. (default = nil)
• dbType: Engine: Which db engine to use for saving data. (default = Engine.DatabaseType.NONE)
• dbPath: String: Path of the database. (default = "aware_uwb")
• dbHost: String: Host for syncing the database. (default = nil)

Broadcasts

Fired Broadcasts

• UWBSensor.ACTION_AWARE_UWB: fired when a new UWB ranging measurement is recorded.

Received Broadcasts

• UWBSensor.ACTION_AWARE_UWB_START: received broadcast to start the sensor.
• UWBSensor.ACTION_AWARE_UWB_STOP: received broadcast to stop the sensor.
• UWBSensor.ACTION_AWARE_UWB_SYNC: received broadcast to send sync attempt to the host.
• UWBSensor.ACTION_AWARE_UWB_SET_LABEL: received broadcast to set the data label. Label is expected in the UWBSensor.EXTRA_LABEL field of the notification userInfo.

Data Representations

UWBData

Contains a single ranging measurement between the local device and a peer.

Field	Type	Description
peerIdentifier	String	Peer device identifier (UUID string for iPhone, "apple_watch" for Watch)
peerDeviceType	String	Peer type: "iPhone", "AppleWatch", "Accessory", or "Unknown"
distance	Double	Distance to the peer in meters (-1.0 if not yet measured)
directionX	Double	X component of the direction unit vector (0 if unavailable)
directionY	Double	Y component of the direction unit vector (0 if unavailable)
directionZ	Double	Z component of the direction unit vector (0 if unavailable)
horizontalAngle	Double	Horizontal angle to the peer in radians (-999 if unavailable)
label	String	Customizable label. Useful for data calibration or traceability
deviceId	String	AWARE device UUID
timestamp	Int64	Unixtime milliseconds since 1970
timezone	Int	Timezone of the device
os	String	Operating system of the device (iOS)
jsonVersion	Int	JSON schema version

Example usage

import com_awareframework_ios_sensor_uwb

let sensor = UWBSensor(UWBSensor.Config().apply { config in
    config.sensorObserver = Observer()
    config.enableiPhoneRanging = true
    config.enableAppleWatchRanging = true
    config.debug = true
})

sensor.start()

// Later...
sensor.stop()

class Observer: UWBObserver {
    func onDataChanged(data: UWBData) {
        print("Peer:", data.peerIdentifier, "Distance:", data.distance, "m")
    }

    func onPeerDiscovered(peerIdentifier: String, deviceType: String) {
        print("Discovered:", peerIdentifier, "(\(deviceType))")
    }

    func onPeerLost(peerIdentifier: String) {
        print("Lost peer:", peerIdentifier)
    }
}

Author

Yuuki Nishiyama (The University of Tokyo), nishiyama@csis.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Related Links

• Apple | NearbyInteraction
• Apple | MultipeerConnectivity
• Apple | WatchConnectivity

License

Copyright (c) 2018 AWARE Mobile Context Instrumentation Middleware/Framework (http://www.awareframework.com)

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at

http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.