Guest Editorial Special Section on Ultra-Wideband Wireless Communications - A New Horizon

ULTRA-WIDEBAND (UWB) transmission has recently received significant attention in both academia and industry for applications in wireless communications. UWB technology has many benefits, including high-data rate, availability of low-cost transceivers, low-transmit power, and low interference. It operates with emission levels that are commensurate with common digital devices such as laptops, palm pilots, and pocket calculators. The approval of UWB technology made by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of the United States in 2002 reserves the unlicensed frequency band between 3.1 to 10.6 GHz (7.5 GHz) for indoor UWB wireless communication systems. Industrial standards such as IEEE 802.15.3a (high-data rate) and IEEE 802.15.4a (very low-data rate) have been introduced based on UWB technology. On the other hand, the Department of Defense (DoD) UWB systems are different from commercial systems in that jamming is a significant concern. Although R&D efforts in recent years have demonstrated that UWB radio is a promising solution for high-rate short-range, and moderate-range wireless communications and ranging, further extensive investigation, experimentation, and development are necessary towards developing effective and efficient UWB communication systems. In particular, UWB technology has found a new application for lower-data rate moderate-range wireless communications, illustrated by IEEE 802.15.4a and DoD systems with joint communication and ranging capabilities unique to UWB technology. Unlike the indoor environment in 802.15.3a (WPAN), the new environments for sensors, IEEE 802.15.4a, and DoD systems will be very different, ranging from dense foliage to dense urban obstructions. The application of UWB radio to low-cost, low-power sensors has promise. The centimeter accuracy in ranging and communications provides unique solutions to applications, including logistics, security applications, medical applications, control of home appliances, search-and-rescue, family communications and supervision of children, and military applications. Fundamental techniques and concepts of UWB radio have been included in many books. Some special issues in technical journals also collect scattered research papers. There seems to be a gap between the basic books and advanced special issues. In particular, with the rapid growth of UWB technology, we need a special session that systematically reviews the state-of-the-art and reports the latest development in some areas unique to UWB radio. We are fortunate to have eleven experts to realize our vision. This special session will be very timely and valuable for future development of UWB. It will thus be unique from the ve-