My name is Ali Yasser, and I’m a computer engineering student at Ain Shams University working on an R&D-based graduation project that focuses on developing a “Phone as a Key” system for modern vehicles. This system aims to use Bluetooth Channel Sounding for secure, high-accuracy in-vehicle localization and access control, such as door unlocking or trunk opening based on the phone’s position.
Bluetooth Channel Sounding is a new feature introduced in Bluetooth Core Specification v6.0, which enables precise distance and angle estimation using physical-layer Channel Impulse Response (CIR) measurements. This significantly enhances BLE-based localization and positioning capabilities beyond traditional RSSI or AoA-only methods.
Learn more on Bluetooth.com
It has been confirmed that Android 16 includes support for this feature at the OS level. However, its functionality still depends on chipset and firmware-level support within the mobile device.
To proceed with development and real-world testing, I would appreciate your assistance in answering the following:
- Hardware Support:
- Do any of your current or upcoming mobile phones support Bluetooth Channel Sounding at the firmware and chipset level?
- API Access and Driver Enablement:
- Are the required Bluetooth APIs (for channel sounding) available for use in Android 16 or iOS via your devices?
- Supported Models:
- Could you share a list of models (existing or upcoming) that will be the first to support this feature?
- Future Availability:
- Is there a known timeline or roadmap for rolling out support for Bluetooth Channel Sounding in your products?
- Technical Contact:
- If possible, could you connect me with the appropriate engineering or developer relations team to discuss technical details further?
Thank you very much for your time and support. This information will be invaluable to our work and help guide device selection for further system development.