Qorvo : Lights, Camera, Action! UWB is the Star Supporter in Le Premier Royaume

With all the potential use cases for ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, it's not surprising that it's often found in the most unexpected places. Case-in-point: the Puy du Fou theme park in France. A recent article in blooloop outlines how UWB rescued its show "Le Premier Royaume" ("The First Kingdom"), a multi-sensory walkthrough experience set in fifth-century France, in which guests journey through the history and legend of the Frankish King Clovis.

According to the article, "During the experience, five hundred theater goers move through the sets, as eight actors execute perfectly timed entrances and exits. This is supported by lights, sound, and special effects." The show cycles for seven hours a day, using 14 different sets throughout roughly 24,000 square feet on two levels. The challenge for the show producers was to keep pace with the visitors moving through the spaces and timing the activation of the show's effects.

That's where UWB came in. Puy du Fou turned to Eliko's UWB RTLS system, which integrates Qorvo's UWB devices and can track hundreds of objects in real-time.

Here we explore why UWB technology is conducive for precision-dependent use cases.

Eliko's UWB RTLS system integrates Qorvo's UWB devices and can track hundreds of objects in real-time.

UWB: Solving the 'Where'

In show business, timing is everything. Especially for the Le Premier Royaume performance. What's also critical for the show's success is the 'where.' The timing of the lighting, special effects, actors are all based on where the audience is located in relation to its location within the theater. We have many technologies-BLE, Wi-Fi, RFID, etc.-and apps built into so many of our devices that accurately track the 'when' and inform us of 'what.' But they're not designed to track the 'where,' the precise location in real-time-second by second. However, this is exactly what ultra-wideband does.

With UWB, the show's production could synch all the devices so the apps always know precisely where things are-down to the centimeter and the second. Being a low-power, ultra-wide bandwidth radio technology, UWB offers characteristics that make it ideal for use cases such as Puy du Fou's-the most important in this case are precision ranging, precise location, and fast data communication.

Why UWB?

To better understand why UWB, in particular, is the most conducive for applications like Puy du Fou's - a challenging environment for RF technologies - let's take a look at how it compares to other technologies like BLE and Wi-Fi. This table shows that UWB has all the ingredients to overcome the show's challenges.

A scene from "Le Premier Royaume" ("The First Kingdom"), a multi-sensorywalkthrough experience set in fifth-century France.

	UWB	Bluetooth® Low Energy	Wi-Fi
Accuracy	Centimeter	1-5 meters	5-15 meters
Reliability	Strong immunity to multi-path and interference	Very sensitive to multi-path, obstruction and interference	Very sensitive to multi-path, obstruction and interference
Range/coverage	Typ. 70m Max 250m	Typ. 15m Max 100m	Typ. 50m Max 150m
Data Communications	Up to 27 Mbps	Up to 2 Mbps	Up to 1 Gbps