Impact

1. Impact

This project introduces a UWB-based middleware that transforms raw radio-frequency data into a high-resolution spatial grid, enabling precise indoor localization. This technology empowers Bang & Olufsen (B&O) to create seamless, spatially adaptive audio experiences that respond intuitively to a listener’s position. The middleware addresses the key challenges of precision and connection drops that are common with UWB technology, leveraging the multi-device environment that B&O owners often have.

Bridging the Gap in the B&O Ecosystem

While B&O has a strong reputation for creating high-quality audio products, their ecosystem has lacked the real-time location awareness needed for truly seamless and intuitive user experiences. Our middleware bridges this gap by providing a robust and reliable solution for indoor localization, enabling a new generation of smart audio applications.

Key Achievements:

~32% Accuracy Improvement: Our middleware consistently improves position accuracy by approximately 32% compared to the worst-anchor baseline. This level of accuracy is crucial for creating convincing and immersive audio experiences.
3-4x Error Reduction: The system significantly reduces the mean error by a factor of 3 to 4. This is achieved through a combination of sensor fusion, outlier detection, and other optimization techniques.
Enhanced Reliability: By rejecting roughly 10% of noisy data, our solution provides a stable, high-fidelity location data feed suitable for responsive multi-room sound experiences. This addresses a core need for a reliable system that doesn’t suffer from “deadzones” or grossly wrong measurements.
New User Experiences: This technology paves the way for innovative features such as “Follow-Me” audio sweet-spots, adaptive multi-room speaker switching, and localization-based playlist transitions. These features have the potential to transform the way users interact with their audio devices, making the experience more personal, intuitive, and immersive.

Future Potential

The middleware is designed to be extensible and can be leveraged for future UWB improvements. As the quality of raw UWB data improves, the accuracy and reliability of our system will also increase, opening up even more possibilities for innovative applications. The system’s modular design also allows for the integration of new features, such as anchor-health gating and calibration of UWB boards to tame directional biases.