This week, I focused on debugging the direction measurement functionality for our UWB interaction. Currently, it only outputs distance values, but not direction or position, which is crucial for our demo.
Example output:
After looking into the supportsDirectionMeasurement property, I discovered that it is returning false on both our iPhone 15 Plus and iPhone 16 devices, even though both should theoretically support direction measurements, according to all the documentation I found online. They both have a U2 UWB chip that should support the collection of direction data.
I have spent a lot of time tracing through the entire app to check whether the issue is a result of the iOS version, session configuration, missing permissions, device settings, or a mismatch in how the capabilities are enabled.
Unfortunately, the Raspberry Pi 5 (which I ordered two weeks ago and was expected to arrive on Thursday) still has not arrived, so I have been unable to proceed with the full integration and testing. The missing hardware continues to be a major blocker for testing the iPhone receiver connection and for controlling the robot with the recorded data.
At this stage, I am behind schedule due to the ongoing delay in receiving the Raspberry Pi 5. Without it, I can’t run the communication pipeline between the iPhone and Pi. However, I’ve continued to make as much progress as possible on the software debugging side to minimize further delays once the hardware arrives. To catch up, I plan to put in extra hours next week and begin integration as soon as the Raspberry Pi arrives.
Nearby Interaction supportsDirectionMeasurement documentation: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/nearbyinteraction/nidevicecapability/supportsdirectionmeasurement?language=objc.