NXP Semiconductors has unveiled its omlox Starter Kit, a turnkey development platform designed to simplify the deployment of ultra-wideband (UWB) real-time location systems (RTLS) in industrial environments. The kit brings together NXP’s Trimension UWB silicon with software from SynchronicIT and Flowcate, giving system integrators and factory operators a fast path from evaluation to production-ready positioning.
At the heart of the kit are UWB anchors and tags built on NXP’s Trimension SR048 UWB system-on-chip paired with the MCX W72 wireless microcontroller. The hardware was co-developed with SynchronicIT, whose real-time localization engine and omlox Core Zone V2.1 protocol stack handle the positioning calculations. Flowcate’s DeepHub middleware sits on top, providing analytics, device management, and integration with enterprise systems.
The SR048 is an industrial-grade UWB SoC rated for operation from -40 degrees Celsius to 115 degrees Celsius, making it suitable for harsh factory floors, cold storage, and outdoor yards. Its low-power architecture is particularly relevant for battery-powered tags that need to run for months without replacement. The chip supports multiple ranging modes including Time Difference of Arrival (TDoA), Round-Trip Time of Flight (RToF), and Downlink TDoA (DL-TDoA), allowing engineers to choose the best trade-off between accuracy, infrastructure cost, and power consumption for their specific application.
Target use cases span asset tracking on production lines, autonomous mobile robot (AMR) positioning, worker safety zone enforcement, workflow optimization, and indoor navigation. These are all areas where GPS falls short and where sub-metre accuracy from UWB can deliver measurable returns.
The timing looks right. According to ABI Research, UWB-based RTLS deployments are projected to grow at a 21 percent compound annual growth rate between 2025 and 2030, driven by Industry 4.0 initiatives and tightening workplace safety regulations. The omlox standard, backed by the omlox consortium, is central to this growth because it promises interoperability between vendors, freeing end users from proprietary lock-in that has historically slowed RTLS adoption.
By packaging standards-compliant hardware, a certified protocol stack, and enterprise middleware into a single starter kit, NXP is lowering the barrier to entry for companies that want to pilot UWB positioning without committing to a full-scale deployment upfront. The kit is available for pre-order through SynchronicIT.nl.
Read more at https://www.nxp.com/company/about-nxp/newsroom/NW-NXP-ADVANCES-REAL-TIME-INDUSTRIAL