Ultrasonic sensors have ruled the near-field perception of cars for over two decades, helping drivers park and avoid obstacles. Now a Chinese startup, Chengdu Knowno Technology (Knowno), is betting that UWB (ultra-wideband) technology, already used for digital car keys, can take over those final ten meters, according to D1EV, a Chinese EV news outlet.
At the 8th Golden Steering Wheel Awards, hosted by Gasgoo in Shanghai on October 23, 2026, Knowno won the "2026 Most Growth Value Award" for its UWB integrated sensing and communication sensors. The award recognizes Chinese companies whose technologies have been validated in the domestic market and can be replicated globally, focusing on ADAS, smart cockpits, and embodied intelligence.
The company argues that while long-range perception has evolved rapidly—from cameras to millimeter-wave radar to lidar—near-field sensing has stagnated. Ultrasonic sensors are cheap and mature, but they have physical limits: they rely on sound waves traveling at about 340 meters per second, making them slow to detect moving targets, and their accuracy varies with temperature. More critically, they struggle to distinguish height, which matters for parking scenarios like curb heights, low barriers, and overhead obstacles.
One hardware, many functions
Knowno's approach is to embed radar sensing frames within UWB communication frames, allowing the same radio front-end to measure distance and detect objects simultaneously. This enables the vehicle's UWB anchors—already installed for digital keys—to also serve as parking sensors, detect children left in the cabin, support kick-to-open tailgates, and enable approach wake-up and sentry mode, without adding new hardware.
The company claims its multi-anchor radar architecture can detect static objects as low as a few centimeters at a distance of 20 centimeters behind the vehicle, overcoming the near-field blind spot that plagues single-anchor UWB radars. By having one anchor transmit and another receive, the signal path avoids self-interference, improving sensitivity for small, close targets.
Knowno was founded in February 2023 and is headquartered in Chengdu's high-tech zone. It has completed tens of millions of yuan in Pre-A+ funding, with strategic investment from multiple Chengdu state-owned entities. The company holds 21 patents and 18 software copyrights, employs nearly 100 people, and has R&D centers in Chengdu and Xi'an, with about 40% of staff holding master's or doctoral degrees.
Platform economics
In late 2024, Knowno released what it calls the world's first mass-producible UWB parking radar product, and it offers a solution that supports both parking radar and digital keys. The company says it is cooperating with several Chinese new-energy vehicle makers and Tier 1 suppliers. Its strategy is to sell a combined module rather than separate systems, betting that automakers will prefer to reuse one set of hardware for multiple functions, cutting cost and complexity.
Knowno's roadmap starts with parking radar and digital keys—both mandated or high-demand features—then expands to embodied intelligence and industrial IoT, where near-field obstacle avoidance and precise positioning are also needed. The company acknowledges that mass adoption of UWB sensing requires industry-wide coordination on multi-anchor synchronization, scheduling of radar and ranging frames, and cross-vendor interoperability, as well as extensive real-world validation across many vehicle models and driving conditions.
The shift from ultrasonic to UWB is not just about better accuracy; it reflects a broader trend from adding hardware to reusing existing hardware. As automakers scrutinize costs, the ability to deliver multiple functions with a single sensor could give UWB an edge in the race for the last ten meters.
