NearLink
![]() NearLink logo | |
Developed by | NearLink Alliance |
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Introduced | 4 November 2022 |
Industry | Personal area networks |
Compatible hardware | Smartphones Personal computers Audio devices Embedded devices Internet of things Internet of vehicles |
Website | http://www.sparklink.org.cn/ |
NearLink (Chinese: 星闪), also known as SparkLink and formerly Greentooth is a short-range wireless technology standard, which was developed by the NearLink Alliance, led by Huawei to set up on September 22, 2020.[1][2][3] As of September 2023, the Alliance has more than 300 enterprises and institutions on board, which include automotive manufacturers, chip and module manufacturers, application developers, ICT companies, and research institutions.[4][5]
On November 4, 2022, the Alliance released the SparkLink Short-range Wireless Communications Standard 1.0, which incorporates two modes of access, namely, SparkLink Low Energy (SLE) and SparkLink Basic (SLB),[6][7] to integrate the features of traditional wireless technologies, such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, with enhanced prerequisites for latency, power consumption, coverage, and security.[8][5][9]
The Alliance unveiled the Standard 2.0 on March 30, 2024, which enhances end-to-end protocol system and extends application standards, supporting native audio and video capabilities, human-computer interaction, and positioning applications.[10]
NearLink employs the Cyclic Prefix-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (Cyclic Prefix-OFDM) waveform to address latency issues in various applications. The waveform features an ultra-short frame structure and a flexible scheduling scheme of time-domain resources, reducing transmission latency to approximately 20 microseconds. In addition, NearLink applies polar codes and adopts Hybrid Automatic Repeat-reQuest (HARQ) schemes to support applications with high reliability requirements, such as industrial closed-loop control applications for automated assembly lines, where reliability requirements are at least 99.999%.[1]
The first product to feature NearLink technology was the Huawei Mate 60 series smartphone introduced by Huawei on August 29, 2023,[11][12] followed by FreeBuds Pro 3 on November 25, 2023, M-Pencil 3rd gen with the MatePad 13.2 tablet on 14 December 2023,[13][14] and the Pura 70 series on April 18, 2024.[15][16]
History
[edit]On September 22, 2020, the SparkLight Alliance was established to formulate the NearLink short-range wireless technology standard.[17]
By the end of 2021, the NearLink 1.0 standards were finalized, establishing a core end-to-end architecture that includes the NearLink access layer, basic service layer, and basic application layer.[18]
On November 4, 2022, the SparkLink Alliance officially released the SparkLink Short-range Wireless Communications Standard 1.0 , which covers two modes of access: SLB (SparkLink Basic) and SLE (SparkLink Low Energy). They also unveiled "The White Paper for Promotion of SparkLink Short-Range Wireless Communication (SparkLink 1.0) for Industrial Use."[19][20]
On August 4, 2023, Huawei officially unveiled the NearLink short-range wireless communication technology at the Developer Conference, providing a new wireless communication method for HarmonyOS.[21][22]
On August 29, 2023, Huawei released the Huawei Mate 60 series smartphones, which are equipped with NearLink technology.[11]
On September 25, 2023, at Huawei's Autumn Full-Scenario New Products Launch event, a new range of products supporting NearLink technology were unveiled. These products include the Huawei MatePad Pro 13.2-inch tablet, the third-generation M-Pencil stylus, and the FreeBuds Pro 3 earbuds.[23][24][25]
On March 30, 2024, the Intelligent Car Connectivity Industry Ecosystem Alliance ("ICCE Alliance") and the NearLink Alliance jointly released the ICCE Alliance Digital Key System Part 6: NearLink System Requirements during the 2024 International NearLink Alliance Industry Summit". The Requirements were formulated by various parties including Huawei, BYD, Changan, GAC, FAW, etc.[26]
System structure
[edit]The system structure of NearLink technology mainly consists of three layers: the physical layer, the data link layer, and the network layer.[27][28]
- Physical Layer: the core layer of NearLink technology, primarily responsible for the transmission and reception of high-frequency signals. The physical layer uses GFSK modulation and PSK modulation of different orders. In addition the physical layer has forward error correction (FEC) based on Polar codes.
- Data Link Layer: primarily responsible for packaging and unpacking data, as well as data validation and error correction.
- Network Layer: mainly responsible for data routing and forwarding, ensuring that data is correctly transmitted to its intended destination.
Access modes
[edit]NearLink incorporates two access modes, namely SparkLink Low Energy ("SLE")[Note 1] and SparkLink Basic ("SLB").[Note 2][6][7]
- The SLE mode is mainly aimed at low-power, low-latency, and high-reliability application scenarios, such as wireless headsets, mice, car keys, etc. It reportedly offers a data transmission rate of up to 12 Mbit/s, or six times that of Bluetooth, and supports bidirectional latency of 250 microseconds, simultaneous access by 256 users, and a power consumption of less than 2mA.
- The SLB mode focuses on high-speed, high-capacity, and high-precision application scenarios, such as video transmission, large file sharing, and precise positioning. It reportedly provides a data transmission rate of up to 1.2 Gbit/s, or twice that of Wi-Fi, and supports latency of 20 microseconds and simultaneous access by 4096 users.
Modules
[edit]NearLink Module H383U[29] | NearLink Module H383S[30] |
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Dimensions | |
12.00mm X 12.00mm X 2.2mm | 12.20mm X 13.00mm X 1.8mm |
Protocols | |
Supports 802.11b/g/n/ax, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), NearLink, USB communication interface, coexistence of WiFi and BLE, as well as coexistence of WiFi and NearLink. | Supports 802.11b/g/n/ax, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), NearLink, SDIO communication interface, coexistence of WiFi and BLE, as well as coexistence of WiFi and NearLink. |
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Gao, M.; Wan, L.; Shen, R.; Gao, Y.; Wang, J.; Li, Y.; Vucetic, B. (2023). "SparkLink: A short-range wireless communication protocol with ultra-low latency and ultra-high reliability". Innovation (Cambridge (Mass.)). 4 (2). doi:10.1016/j.xinn.2023.100386. PMC 9958389. PMID 36852210.
- ^ "星闪联盟". www.sparklink.org.cn. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
- ^ "NEARLINK: THE REVOLUTIONARY WIRELESS STANDARD". aiforsocialgood.ca. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
- ^ "星闪应用前景广阔上市公司争相布局|上海证券报". paper.cnstock.com. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
- ^ a b Keumars Afifi-Sabet (2023-09-24). "Some of the world's biggest tech firms have built rival for Bluetooth AND Wi-Fi – here's why you should be worried". TechRadar. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
- ^ a b "全面升级近距离无线体验!华为推出星闪NearLink技术PK蓝牙:功耗降低60%、传输速率提升6倍! – 芯智讯" (in Chinese (China)). 2023-08-06. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
- ^ a b ""星闪"无线连接技术优势、场景及发展思考_通信世界网". www.cww.net.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 2023-09-28.
- ^ Li, Deng (2023-08-04). "Huawei Nearlink launched, new wireless technology far ahead of Bluetooth". Huawei Central. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
- ^ Ganji, Hamid (2023-08-09). "Huawei NearLink is here to replace Bluetooth". Android Headlines. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
- ^ Harmony, Living In (2024-04-02). "NearLink Alliance releases NearLink 2.0 standard series". Living In Harmony. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
- ^ a b "华为Mate 60 Pro+突然发售,不到十秒就被抢光!华为概念股大涨-览富财经网". www.lanfucaijing.com. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
- ^ "Huawei Mate 60 series now supports StarLight connection".
- ^ Harry McKerrell (2023-10-18). "Huawei's latest earbuds continually analyse your ears for an optimised listening experience". whathifi. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
- ^ updated, Lizzie Wilmot last (2023-12-14). "Portable productivity hits new heights with Huawei's latest smart office and audio products". T3. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
- ^ Głogulski, Roman (2024-04-19). "Huawei Introduces Pura 70 Series with Cutting-Edge NearLink Technology". Smartphone Magazine. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
- ^ "Unlike Huawei Pura 70 Pro models, the standard Pura 70 doesn't support Huawei NearLink".
- ^ "星闪联盟". www.sparklink.org.cn. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
- ^ "刚刚,"星闪"正式发布商业化路标,开辟无线短距通信新赛道 - 智东西". zhidx.com. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
- ^ "星闪联盟发布新短距通信技术1.0标准- DoNews". www.donews.com. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
- ^ "新一代无线短距通信技术,星闪 1.0 系列标准正式发布_产业_接入_测试". m.sohu.com. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
- ^ "華為新機相繼展開預購 「星閃」技術引市場熱議". Yahoo Finance (in Chinese). 2023-09-11. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
- ^ Castro. "Huawei Nearlink launched, new wireless technology far ahead of Bluetooth - HUAWEI Community". huawei consumer. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
- ^ "华为新品发布会万众瞩目 逾百家媒体下午现场直播 | 国际". 東方網 馬來西亞東方日報 (in Simplified Chinese). 2023-09-25. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
- ^ 每日经济新闻 (2023-09-25). "全球首款!华为发布新品,采用星闪技术!余承东:正加班加点紧急生产Mate 60系列_手机网易网". www.163.com. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
- ^ "【视频回顾】华为秋季全场景新品发布会_证券要闻_财经_中金在线". news.cnfol.com. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
- ^ "国内星闪数字车钥匙标准发布,华为、比亚迪、长安、广汽、一汽等参与起草 - IT之家". www.ithome.com. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
- ^ "华为"星闪"到底是什么?可以秒杀蓝牙!-电子工程专辑". www.eet-china.com. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
- ^ "标准 - 星闪联盟". sparklink.org.cn. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
- ^ "NearLink Module H383U". VLink.
- ^ "NearLink Module H383S". VLink.