Performance Evaluation of Bluetooth Channel Sounding on Commercial Hardware

Abstract

This paper presents a performance evaluation of Bluetooth Channel Sounding, a feature introduced in Bluetooth 6.0, tested on commercially available hardware. The evaluation includes a publicly accessible dataset containing raw Channel Sounding measurements annotated with millimeter-accurate ground truth, and metadata of the measurement campaign. Results demonstrate that Channel Sounding is well-suited for its primary envisioned use case, which is secure proximity detection in keyless entry systems. Its accuracy at close range ensures reliable unlocking when the user is truly nearby, while errors at longer distances are less critical, as access would not be granted regardless. Moreover, it also shows promise for indoor localization, offering encouraging initial results for future deployment of localization with Channel Sounding. However, the presence of outliers can significantly affect accuracy and must be accounted for in practical applications. The evaluation underscores the impact of algorithm choice, configuration parameters, and environmental conditions on performance. While the approach is promising, single-antenna setups currently lack the robustness needed for high-precision localization, highlighting the need for more accurate algorithms and system-level improvements. The dataset and analysis provide a foundation for future improvements through advanced signal processing and machine learning techniques.