Dialog Unveils Wireless Ranging SDK for Precise BLE Distance Measurement, Enhancing COVID‑19 Contact Tracing

Dialog Semiconductor plc has launched a cutting‑edge Wireless Ranging (WiRa) Software Development Kit (SDK) that unlocks highly accurate distance measurement for its DA1469x family of BLE SoCs.

The new SDK enables reliable point‑to‑point wireless distance tracking, a critical feature for precise contact tracing as businesses resume operations amid the COVID‑19 pandemic.

“Current Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) solutions typically rely on Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) metrics to estimate distance,” explains Dialog. “However, RSSI can be unreliable when obstacles or reflections distort the radio path.”

The WiRa SDK incorporates a proprietary, radar‑like approach that fuses BLE data packets with continuous tone exchanges. This technique harnesses the DA1469x’s on‑chip 2.4‑GHz radio to generate phase‑based ranging signals.

On‑chip sampling captures high‑resolution IQ data, which the SDK processes with advanced filtering algorithms to remove noise, interference and multipath reflections. The result is the shortest over‑the‑air path length, delivered as a precise distance output.

Because the BLE stack and WiRa software run entirely in‑chip, no external hardware or host processor is required. This seamless integration ensures that standard Bluetooth communication can coexist with real‑time distance measurement.

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