Comparable silicon doesn't win design-ins. The SDK does.

Q: What does UWB SDK development include?

A production UWB SDK spans four layers: register-level drivers and hardware abstraction with MCU and RTOS ports; a ranging and session stack implementing TWR/TDoA/AoA with FiRa and CCC session management; the developer-experience layer of APIs, examples, demo apps, and documentation; and the quality and release machinery that keeps every version from breaking customers. needCode builds and owns all four - the same scope behind the public Qorvo QM35 SDK.

Q: Can needCode build an SDK for our UWB chipset?

Yes - needCode develops SDKs on UWB silicon including Qorvo QM33/QM35, legacy Decawave DW1000/DW3000, and NXP Trimension, and takes on other transceivers per engagement, starting from chipset-level bring-up rather than the datasheet. With 9 hardware-platform bring-ups completed, the errata, timing corners, and undocumented behaviours are familiar territory. Engagements start with an NDA and a technical scoping call.

Q: Why does the SDK decide the design-in?

Because UWB silicon has converged on comparable performance, the evaluating engineer's experience becomes the differentiator - and that experience is the SDK: how fast the first range appears, whether the API matches their mental model, whether the docs answer the next question. A chipset whose SDK fights back loses to a spreadsheet-equal competitor whose SDK doesn't. For silicon vendors, SDK quality is a sales function wearing an engineering badge.

Q: Do you implement FiRa and CCC in the SDK?

Yes - FiRa session management with DS-TWR, SS-TWR, and one-way ranging for AoA and TDoA, and CCC Digital Key sessions including dynamic STS, multi-anchor behaviour, and frame hopping, implemented to hold under real radio conditions. needCode is an active FiRa contributor with interoperability test events across two continents, so the stack tracks the spec rather than trailing it. Certification support is available through the Standards & Certification service.

Q: Can you port our existing SDK to a new MCU, RTOS, or silicon generation?

Yes - port and platform expansion is a standing engagement: extending an SDK to new MCUs, Zephyr or FreeRTOS targets, or the next silicon revision while the full automated test battery stays green across the existing board matrix. The discipline is protecting what ships today while the platform grows. Nine bring-ups across hardware generations is exactly this muscle.

Q: How do you keep an SDK release from breaking customers?

Every release runs an automated battery on real hardware across the full supported-board matrix, with protocol-level verification captured by our own UWB sniffer as evidence, plus versioning and compatibility discipline in the release pipeline. An SDK is judged by whether the update breaks the customer - so the release machinery is built as a first-class layer, not an afterthought. This is the methodology from an 8-year silicon-vendor programme.

Q: Who owns the IP of the SDK you build?

The client owns the SDK - source, documentation, and tooling are delivered as the client's property, with needCode operating under NDA from the first scoping call. For silicon vendors, white-label delivery under the vendor's brand is the normal model, as with the Qorvo programme.

Q: Does the SDK support IEEE 802.15.4ab?

needCode contributes to the IEEE 802.15.4ab standardisation effort and designs current SDKs so the 4ab transition - MMS ranging, sensing packets, higher data rates - extends the architecture rather than restarting it. 4ab support lands as silicon ships; roadmap planning for it is part of SDK architecture engagements today. The 802.15.4ab-vs-4z e-book covers what changes.

Q: Can you fix an underperforming SDK rather than rebuild it?

Yes - the SDK & Developer-Experience Audit exists for exactly that: a 2-4 week technical and DX review against design-in criteria (time-to-first-range, API coherence, docs coverage, release stability), producing a prioritised fix roadmap. Many SDKs need surgery, not replacement. The audit tells you which, before you commit to either.

Q: How is needCode's UWB SDK work different from a typical firmware agency?

Three things are hard to replicate: the proof is public (the Qorvo QM35 SDK on GitLab), the depth is silicon-side (30+ engineers embedded in Qorvo R&D for 8 years, 9 bring-ups), and the tooling is proprietary (a UWB protocol sniffer in the release pipeline that no vendor ships). An agency can claim UWB experience; a public repo, a named programme, and an in-house instrument are checkable.

When a customer evaluates UWB chipsets, the silicon specs are a spreadsheet - the decision is made in the first thirty minutes with the SDK. needCode builds production UWB SDKs from the register level up: drivers, ranging stacks, FiRa and CCC session management, developer experience, and release ownership. The proof is public – the Qorvo QM35 SDK we build is on GitLab – behind it, 9 platform bring-ups and an 8-year partnership inside Qorvo R&D. From the largest dedicated UWB team in Central Europe.

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What a production UWB SDK takes

We work with Industry Leaders

The design-in is decided in the SDK's first thirty minutes

UWB silicon has converged: comparable ranging performance, comparable power, comparable price. What hasn't converged is the experience of building on it. When an evaluation engineer flashes the demo, gets a first range in minutes, finds the API that matches their mental model, and reads docs that answer the next question before they ask it - that chipset stays on the shortlist. When the SDK fights back, the spreadsheet loses to frustration. For a silicon vendor, the SDK is the product surface; for a product company, it's the foundation every sprint stands on.

The catch is that a production UWB SDK is not a demo that grew. It's register-level driver work across MCU and RTOS ports, a ranging stack that implements FiRa and CCC sessions correctly under real radio conditions, a developer-experience layer that has to feel effortless, and release machinery that keeps the next version from breaking the customer. needCode builds all four - and has, publicly, for one of the world's leading UWB silicon vendors.

Publicly verifiable

The Qorvo QM35 SDK we build is public on GitLab - proof you can clone, not a claim you have to trust.

Register level up

Drivers, HAL, ranging stack, sessions - built from silicon knowledge earned across 9 platform bring-ups.

Release after release

SDKs judged by whether the next version breaks the customer - ours ship through an automated battery on real boards.

What a production UWB SDK takes

Four layers, each one a different discipline. Demos need the first; design-ins need all four.

Drivers & HAL

Register-level control of the transceiver, clean hardware abstraction, and ports across the MCUs and RTOS targets your customers actually use - the layer where silicon knowledge either exists or gets faked. Nine platform bring-ups mean we've met the errata, the timing corners, and the undocumented behaviour before your customers do.

Platform Bring-Up & SDK

Ranging & Session Stack

TWR, TDoA, and AoA ranging with FiRa and CCC session management - dynamic STS, scheduling, multi-anchor behaviour - implemented to hold under real radio conditions, not just in the spec's happy path. This is where SDKs quietly fail in the field, and where standards-body depth pays for itself.

Ultra-Wideband

Standards & Certification

Developer Experience

APIs that match the developer's mental model, examples that run on the first try, demo apps that show the product's best self, and documentation that answers the next question - the thirty minutes where the design-in is won. DX isn't polish on top of an SDK; for the evaluating engineer, it is the SDK.

SDK Design & Development

Quality & Release Machinery

Automated test batteries running every release across the full supported-board matrix, versioning and compatibility discipline, and release ownership - because an SDK is judged by whether the update breaks the customer. Protocol-level verification runs on our own UWB sniffer, an instrument the silicon vendors don't ship.

Automated Testing & CI/CD

UWB Sniffer

Building or rescuing a UWB SDK?

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What your SDK powers

The SDK is the layer everything above it inherits - get it right once, and every product on your silicon gets it for free.

Digital Keys & Secure Ranging

CCC Digital Key and secure-ranging products stand on the SDK's session and STS implementation - the difference between a phone-as-key that ships and one that fails interop.

Digital Keys & Access

Automotive & SDV

Indoor Positioning & RTLS

Ranging quality, update rates, and multi-anchor behaviour set the ceiling for every RTLS built on the chipset - accuracy is inherited from the SDK long before it's tuned on-site.

Indoor Positioning (RTLS)

Sensing & Radar Modes

Channel-impulse data and sensing packet support in the SDK open the radar-mode applications - presence detection, child presence, gesture - that turn one radio into several products.

Child Presence Detection

Your Customers' Design-Ins

For a silicon vendor, every layer above serves one commercial goal: the evaluating engineer at a customer picks your chip. The SDK is where that decision actually happens - which is why it deserves a dedicated team, not leftover capacity.

Semiconductor Manufacturers

Why UWB SDK work comes to needCode

The proof is public

The Qorvo QM35 SDK we build and maintain is publicly available on GitLab - the rare case where an engineering claim can be cloned and inspected. No slide deck substitutes for a repo.

Eight years inside silicon R&D

30+ engineers embedded in Qorvo R&D across Belgium, France, and Ireland, with 9 hardware-platform bring-ups and a stable core team across the programme - the continuity an SDK roadmap actually requires

We debug at the protocol level

Our own UWB Protocol Sniffer - the tool no silicon vendor ships - sits in our SDK pipelines as the evidence layer: every release verified against live radio traffic, not just unit tests.

Standards depth, spec-current

Active FiRa contributor with interoperability test events across two continents, UWB Alliance member, contributing to IEEE 802.15.4ab - the SDKs track the spec instead of trailing it.

Four ways to bring needCode in

From an audit of the SDK you have to a standing team behind the SDK you need.

01 SDK & Developer-Experience Audit

Duration:
2-4 weeks
Best for:
An SDK that exists but underperforms - evaluations stall, support tickets repeat, releases break customers
Deliverable:
Technical and DX audit against design-in criteria, prioritised fix roadmap, leadership readout

02 SDK Build

Duration:
Phased
Best for:
Building the production SDK on your UWB silicon - drivers, ranging stack, sessions, examples, docs
Deliverable:
An integrated SDK on target silicon with demo applications, test harness, documentation, and release ownership

03 Port & Platform Expansion

Duration:
Phased
Best for:
Extending an existing SDK to new MCUs, RTOS targets, or the next silicon generation without breaking what ships today
Deliverable:
Ported SDK with the full test battery green across the extended board matrix

04 Embedded Team

Duration:
Multi-year, retainer-based
Best for:
Silicon vendors and platform companies who want the SDK owned continuously, inside their cadence
Deliverable:
An embedded team in your cadence - the model behind the 30-FTE, 8-year Qorvo programme

What we ship on

We build on the silicon and standards your product targets - starting from chipset-level knowledge, not from the datasheet.

Silicon

Qorvo QM33 / QM35

NXP Trimension

legacy Decawave DW1000 / DW3000

other UWB transceivers per engagement

Standards

IEEE 802.15.4z / 4ab

FiRa

CCC Digital Key 3.0 / 4.0

Aliro

omlox

Ranging

DS-TWR / SS-TWR

TDoA (UL/DL)

AoA

dynamic STS

multi-anchor sessions

RTOS & platforms

Zephyr

FreeRTOS

ThreadX

bare-metal

embedded Linux (host side)

Quality & tooling

Board-matrix CI

HIL rigs

UWB Protocol Sniffer (in-house)

Wireshark dissectors

reproducible builds

Deliverables

Drivers & HAL

ranging stack

examples & demo apps

documentation

release pipeline

Case studies

SDK claims are cheap; repositories aren't. This page's proof is unusual for an agency - it's public.

Qorvo: RF Leadership

Context: Rapid scaling for new chipset bring-up.

Scale: Grew from <10 to 30 FTEs.
Output: Supported bring-up of 9 new hardware platforms (SDKs, Drivers, Stacks).
Retention: Zero-churn core team retained for 5+ years.

Dedicated Development Center for RF Solutions

Bluetooth Mesh Smart Lighting Control System

Smart Lighting: Core R&D Extension

Context: Client needed deep, specialized expertise to pivot from proprietary tech to a new global standard.

Service: Deployed a dedicated squad of embedded engineers to function as the client's core R&D team.
Output: Co-authored official Bluetooth SIG protocols and delivered the world’s first certified BLE Mesh stack.
Value: Enabled the client to secure Series A funding and defined the industry standard for smart buildings.

Creative Werks: Innovation rescue

Context: Hardware obsolescence threatened production shutdown.

Action: Full-stack takeover (PCB redesign + Firmware + Mobile App).
ROI: 1230% ($1.6M value generated).
Speed: Payback period of 2–3 months.

NeedCode-case study - IoT Solution for Boat Lift Modernization - cover2s

PowerPollen: AgTech automation

Context: Lack of internal expertise stalled a critical automation project.

Action: Re-architected system using unified MCU and ISOBUS standards.
ROI: 13.8x ($2.9M value generated).
Impact: Enabled $1.9M increase in harvester value.

Strategic Partnership

needCode is an official business partner of Qorvo, bringing over 8 years of proven expertise and trusted service to the technology sector.

Check our performance

Members of the UWB Alliance

In 2025 we became a member of the UWB Alliance. This strategic step reinforces our commitment to pioneering Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology.

Proudly Certified for Excellence and Security

needCode is officially certified for:
ISO 9001:2015 – Quality Management
ISO/IEC 27001:2022 – Information Security

ISO certifications reflect our focus on delivering reliable IoT solutions, smart product development, and secure technology services.

Testimonials

“I think the key takeaway from needCode is their ability to adapt and understand the customer's requirements. That took away probably a large portion of what could have been a lot of development time and expense for both companies.”

Bob Folkestad

President at Creative Werks

“One aspect that truly sets needCode apart is its profound expertise in firmware development. Their proficiency in various programming languages, embedded systems and hardware architecture is truly impressive. When faced with difficult problems, their strong problem-solving skills and analytical mindset shine through, allowing them to overcome obstacles with remarkable ease.”

Semeh Sarhan

CEO at Xtrava

“I worked with needCode while leading the NWTN-Berlin team in 2018. A big chunk for our FW development has been outsourced to them and they had proven to iterate very quickly, following specs and deliver on time. It was great working with them. I recommend working with needCode’s team on any Embedded SW development.”

Marco Salvioli Mariani

CTO at NWTN Berlin GmbH

“needCode Team proved to be one of the best engineers I have ever met. The part I like the most about the team is the more difficult an obstacle seems to be, the more motivated they were to find a solution and a way forward.”

Szymon Słupik

CTO at Silvair

“needCode is an outstanding partner. Their quick follow-up, scalability, and extensive professional network set them apart. Their expertise in wireless technologies has been valuable, supporting us from low-level drivers to architecture discussions.”

Tim Allemeersch

Director at Qorvo, Inc.

“needCode did a great job improving the firmware of the Vai Kai connected toys and developing new features, surpassing our expectations multiple times. I would definitely recommend hiring Bartek and needCode for the embedded software projects!”

Matas Petrikas

CEO & Co-founder at Vai Kai UG

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