Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Challenger UWB is powered by the Raspberry Pi Pico 2040 chip.
- It allows for tracking accuracy down to 10cm.
- Low power consumption makes it perfect for mobile applications.
Asset tracking is a big thing, whether that be vehicles, tools, or even people moving about a site, and while there are a number of off-the-shelf solutions available — the Apple AirTag being one that’s very commonly used — some want to build their own systems.
And you can. You just need some hardware, some software know-how, and you’re ready to go. A bit of kit I’ve been experimenting with recently is the iLabs Challenger RP2040 UWB.
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As the name suggests, this board is an Adafruit Feather format microcontroller board equipped with a DWM3000 ultra-wideband (UWB) module and powered by the Raspberry Pi Pico 2040 chip with 8MB of flash storage and 264KB of RAM.
Great for small-scale systems
These boards aren’t cheap at about $65 to $75 each, but they’re a great option for small-scale systems or something bespoke that would otherwise cost a lot of money (or just not be doable).
iLabs Challenger RP2040 UWB board.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
The DWM3000 allows for object tracking down to a precision of 10cm/4 inches. The module is compatible with Apple’s U1 and U2 first- and second-generation ultra-wideband chips, and also FiRa-compatible devices.
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The board is built to be mobile, capable of being powered by a LiPo battery with a JST connector or USB-C. Power consumption is super low at only 75mA when active and a minuscule 1.5 μA during sleep mode. This means you can have this running off a small battery for an extended period of time.
The board is an excellent bit of kit. But it’s just a board.
You need to add the smarts
That means knowing how to handle Arduino code. A lot of the code you need is available from iLabs, and if Arduino is all new to you, there are some great primers to get you started.
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If you’re used to getting elbows-deep into Raspberry Pi and Arduino projects, this will all be a doddle for you. If you’re a newbie and you’re interested in learning, this is a great project to sink your teeth into.
But if you’re not interested in coding and messing about with batteries and possible soldering, you’re best sticking to off-the-shelf solutions — either consumer finder tags for iOS or Android (or both) where the cost is in the tens or hundreds of dollars, or go full-on pro and spend several hundred to several thousand dollars.
