We are living in the tech age where we can conveniently control smart home appliances using a smartphone. This is however possible through some connectivity medium like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. But if Xiaomi can eventually roll out a technology it has just demonstrated, we are seeing a future where controlling smart home appliances will be as easy as pointing a smartphone toward it and adjusting its functions on the fly.
The new technology Xiaomi is calling the Ultra-Wideband technology (Xiaomi UWB), was demonstrated by Zeng Xuezhong, company’s head of the phone division. This is low energy, short-range ultra-wideband communication with 500MHz bandwidth for transmitting data.
For the video demonstration, Xiaomi UWB that uses an array of antennas was installed on the Mi 10 smartphone. According to Xiaomi, the Ultra-Wideband tech gives the smartphone and devices some spatial awareness, somewhat like an indoor GPS. When the smartphone is pointed toward a smart device, its control options can instantly show up on the phone screen for the user to play with.
Xuezhong can be seen pointing the Mi 10 toward a smart TV and its control card can be seen instantly appearing on the phone screen – no additional connectivity mediums required. The new technology may look cool and everything, but there is no information on when it will be implemented into Xiaomi’s line of devices – we are though hopeful, it wouldn’t be too long from now.
