I’m Chris Chinnock here for Insight Media, reporting from the Garmin booth at CES 2025. Garmin is showcasing proof-of-concept technologies for the automotive space—this is their fourth year doing so.
Ultrawide Band (UWB) Positioning Technology
Garmin’s demo uses Ultrawide Band (UWB) technology, which I had to research a bit. UWB is a millimeter-wave radio frequency positioning system, similar to 5G but operating at even higher frequencies—tens of gigahertz. It’s short-range and requires transmitters or markers to establish a positioning field.
- Last year: 10 markers were needed for horizontal and vertical positioning.
- This year: Only 4 markers are required for horizontal positioning, reducing complexity.
Key Application: Child Presence Detection
One compelling use case is child presence detection. Cameras or IR sensors in cars can fail to detect a child in a rear-facing car seat if visibility is blocked. UWB solves this by creating a positional field inside the cabin that detects motion through time-ranging pulses.
By processing these pulses, the system can detect chest movements of a baby, distinguishing them from adults based on motion patterns.
Scenario:
- If a driver forgets a child in the car, the system issues a warning.
- If the driver exits, additional alerts can be sent—such as a notification to the driver’s phone or even triggering actions like turning on air conditioning or opening windows to mitigate risk.
Other Demonstrations
- Headphone Tracking: Garmin showed a demo tracking headphones from the driver to another passenger—less critical but demonstrates versatility.
- Digital Twin & Interior Customization: Garmin can create a digital twin of the car interior, allowing OEMs or end users to:
- Change lighting themes.
- Modify dashboard display designs.
- Apply AI-driven themes (e.g., “waterfalls,” “jungles,” “mountains”) rendered locally without cloud processing.
- Lighting can auto-adjust based on the chosen theme or be customized separately.
Summary
Garmin’s CES 2025 showcase highlights UWB-based positioning for safety applications like child presence detection, along with immersive customization features for future automotive interiors.