A mysterious “wireless device” from Google recently surfaced in the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) documents, suggesting new application possibilities for Soli radar technology. This device features short-range 60GHz Soli radar technology, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity, and includes a base plate.
A Mysterious Device with 60GHz Soli Radar Technology
According to IT Home, Soli radar is a 60GHz mm-wave radar technology created by Google and Infineon for close-range perception tasks. Google is responsible for the signal processing and software components, while Infineon Technologies owns the intellectual property rights to the chip hardware. A similar product first emerged in 2016, with a second generation debuting in 2018, utilized in the Pixel 4’s gesture recognition module and the Nest Hub’s sleep monitoring feature.
Through its developer program, Google has managed to introduce a series of innovative applications globally.
Potential New Nest Thermostat
ITHome speculates that the mysterious product might be a new Nest Thermostat. FCC documents indicate that the device lacks other radio modules apart from the 2.4GHz and 60GHz bands.
The Nest Thermostat released in 2020 also only supports these two frequency bands and employs Soli radar to automatically illuminate the display when a user approaches. The device will likely need a constant power supply since there is no mention of a battery. It supports only 802.11n Wi-Fi on the 2.4GHz band, making it unlikely to be a smart speaker, as even the more affordable Nest Mini supports the 5GHz band.
Possibility of a Smartwatch
It could also be a smartwatch from Google, given that they don’t use the 5GHz band in this product category. For the Wi-Fi-only version of the watch, 2.4GHz, Bluetooth, and the new radar technology should suffice. However, the device will maintain a distance of at least 20 cm from the human body during normal use, making it unlikely to be a smartwatch and more akin to the Nest Thermostat released in 2020.
