![]() 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, 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]
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]
The system structure of NearLink technology mainly consists of three layers: the physical layer, the data link layer, and the network layer.[27][28]
NearLink incorporates two access modes, namely SparkLink Low Energy ("SLE")[Note 1] and SparkLink Basic ("SLB").[Note 2][6][7]
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. |