Bluetooth was born in Skåne - and it never left

Bluetooth was born in Skåne – and it never left

In the mid 1990s, engineers at Ericsson in Lund set out to solve a growing problem: how to connect devices wirelessly and reliably, without proprietary cables. Among them was Sven Mattisson, who, together with colleague Jaap Haartsen, developed the concept of a short-range radio standard that would come to define personal connectivity.
Their work led to Bluetooth, named after the Viking king Harald “Blåtand” who united Denmark and Norway. The name reflected the goal: a unifying standard for wireless communication across manufacturers, platforms, and applications.
More than 25 years later, Bluetooth is built into billions of devices – and it is still evolving, right here in Skåne where it all began.

Bluetooth just got smarter – and knows how far away you are

Bluetooth is entering a new era. A recently finalised feature called Bluetooth Channel Sounding adds a powerful new capability to the standard: the ability to measure precise distance between devices, using radio signals.

It brings to mind technologies like Apple’s AirTags and the “Find My” network – but those rely on custom hardware and proprietary protocols. What is new is that similar precision will now become possible through standard Bluetooth, built into a wide range of devices.

It marks the next generation of Bluetooth – one that adds spatial awareness without changing how we use it day to day. The technology requires updated hardware and software, but once in place, it enables decimeter-level accuracy in everything from phones to sensors.

New Android phones are already prepared for the technology, and broader support is expected to roll out gradually over the next few years.

Measuring distance – far beyond 10 metres, with precision and efficiency

Channel Sounding uses two complementary methods to estimate the distance between devices. One is based on round-trip time – measuring how long it takes a signal to travel to the other device and back. The other, more precise method is called phase-based ranging, which analyses signal phase shifts across all Bluetooth frequency channels to calculate distance.
While many still associate Bluetooth with a 10-metre range, the new generation can measure distances beyond 50 metres – with decimeter-level accuracy at close range. What once required high power and dedicated hardware can now be done in a compact, low-power chip.
It enables secure access when a user is at a chosen distance, precise tracking of lost items, and smarter behaviour from nearby devices like keyboards or controllers that activate based on proximity.

u-blox in Malmö: Making Bluetooth precision easy to use

u-blox is a global company in positioning and wireless communication. Its Malmö office focuses on developing short-range modules, including Bluetooth, that are ready to integrate into customers’ products.

Rather than designing their own chips, u-blox in Malmö sources components from partners like Nordic Semiconductor. What makes them unique is how they turn complex Bluetooth data – like the raw distance values from Channel Sounding – into something useful.

They add software, develop the algorithms, handle certification, and deliver complete modules that manufacturers can drop into their products without needing deep radio expertise.

u-blox is the only company in Sweden doing this kind of advanced Bluetooth module design – and collaboration is a key part of making it possible. “This is the kind of technology you don’t build alone. Being in Skåne, close to both research and industry, makes it possible to take Bluetooth further – together,” says Peter Karlsson, Senior Director Technology at u-blox.

A local ecosystem driving global tech

Since joining OpenTech (formerly Mobile Heights) in 2016, u-blox has been a part of Skåne’s broader tech ecosystem. The company collaborates with Lund University (LTH) to continuously improve the algorithms behind Bluetooth ranging.

“This is a great example of how established technologies can be reinvented through local collaboration,” says Sven Mattisson, Bluetooth co-inventor and member of the OpenTech network. “It’s exciting to see it still happening here in Skåne.”

From Skåne to the world – again

Bluetooth’s transformation from a basic communication link to a tool for spatial awareness reflects more than technical progress – it shows the strength of regional collaboration through networks like OpenTech. In Skåne, global companies, universities, and start-ups work side by side to shape technologies that are both deeply embedded and widely adopted.

Bluetooth was born in Skåne. And thanks to companies like u-blox and a strong local network, it is still growing here – one module at a time.

Text and photo: OpenTech