NearLink

NearLink
NearLink logo
Developed byNearLink Alliance
Introduced4 November 2022; 2 years ago (2022-11-04)
IndustryPersonal area networks
Compatible hardwareSmartphones
Personal computers
Audio devices
Embedded devices
Internet of things
Internet of vehicles
Websitehttp://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]

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "星闪联盟". www.sparklink.org.cn. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  3. ^ "NEARLINK: THE REVOLUTIONARY WIRELESS STANDARD". aiforsocialgood.ca. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  4. ^ "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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference modes230806 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference modes230928 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Li, Deng (2023-08-04). "Huawei Nearlink launched, new wireless technology far ahead of Bluetooth". Huawei Central. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  9. ^ Ganji, Hamid (2023-08-09). "Huawei NearLink is here to replace Bluetooth". Android Headlines. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  10. ^ Harmony, Living In (2024-04-02). "NearLink Alliance releases NearLink 2.0 standard series". Living In Harmony. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ "Huawei Mate 60 series now supports StarLight connection".
  13. ^ Harry McKerrell (2023-10-18). "Huawei's latest earbuds continually analyse your ears for an optimised listening experience". whathifi. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ Głogulski, Roman (2024-04-19). "Huawei Introduces Pura 70 Series with Cutting-Edge NearLink Technology". Smartphone Magazine. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  16. ^ "Unlike Huawei Pura 70 Pro models, the standard Pura 70 doesn't support Huawei NearLink".