Wireless technology is quietly transforming the way we interact with our cars and devices. At the 2025 IEEE International Symposium on Personal, Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications, researchers from imec at Holst Centre presented a new proof-of-concept showing how the latest Ultra-Wideband (UWB) radio technology can do much more than secure keyless entry. Their system can detect whether seats in a car are occupied and even measure a person’s breathing rate. In tests inside a small car, the technology accurately identified both driver and passenger presence and monitored breathing with very high precision.

One of the key advantages is that this solution can build on hardware that already exists in many modern vehicles. The same radio architecture used for keyless entry can be adapted for in-cabin sensing. This means car manufacturers could add new safety and comfort features without significantly increasing costs. For example, the system could help monitor passengers, support child presence detection, or enhance health-related features inside the vehicle.

Imec at Holst Centre also developed a new UWB chip capable of extremely fast wireless data transmission. With speeds up to 124.8 megabits per second, it is around 20 times faster than the data rates currently used in many UWB applications. At the same time, it consumes very little energy, even less than common technologies such as Wi-Fi in certain scenarios. This combination of high speed and low power opens the door to new uses such as wireless audio and video streaming for smart glasses or augmented and virtual reality devices.

With these advances, imec at Holst Centre continues to expand the role of UWB technology in safer mobility, smarter devices, and future connected environments.