For every little thing from car and drone navigation to livestock and pet monitoring, GPS receivers are the go-to alternative. They’ll work from nearly anyplace on the planet and supply extraordinarily excessive ranges of precision. Nevertheless, GPS receivers could be a little bit of a hog in relation to vitality consumption — a lot in order that typically these elements should be not noted of a product design. Moveable, battery-powered units specifically have points with their energy draw.
That compromise is strictly what u-blox is making an attempt to eradicate with its new F11 GNSS platform. Moderately than forcing designers to decide on between lengthy battery life and correct positioning, the corporate has launched a household of chips, modules, and an analysis equipment that purpose to ship each. The primary merchandise can be found now as engineering samples, with extra variants anticipated later this yr.
Main the launch are the dual-band UBX-F11270-KB and UBX-F11170-CC GNSS chips, alongside the EVK-F112 analysis equipment. These are joined by the L1-only UBX-M11070-KB chip and MAX-M11N module for purposes the place dual-band reception is pointless. All are constructed across the similar ultra-low-power philosophy, with typical energy consumption dropping to simply 7 mW when working within the firm’s Low Power Correct Positioning (LEAP) mode.
One of many platform’s most fascinating capabilities is a characteristic referred to as Selective L5. Conventional dual-band GNSS receivers constantly course of each L1 and L5 indicators, bettering accuracy however consuming significantly extra energy. The F11 platform as an alternative screens the encompassing sign situations and solely prompts the L5 band when it offers a measurable profit. Underneath open-sky situations, it stays within the extra environment friendly L1 mode, routinely switching to dual-band operation in harder environments comparable to dense cities, forests, or areas with heavy multipath interference. In accordance with u-blox, this method can cut back common energy consumption by as much as 50% in comparison with steady dual-band operation whereas sustaining meter-level positioning accuracy.
The {hardware} is backed by the configurable SPG 7.00 firmware, which provides an extended record of superior capabilities past simply satellite tv for pc positioning. These embody polygonal geofencing, indoor detection, multipath mitigation, spoofing and jamming detection, authenticated GNSS help, and firmware updates by means of the host interface or over-the-air implementations. Builders can configure and monitor the receivers utilizing u-center 2 software program on Home windows, whereas the EVK-F112 analysis equipment offers a easy method to prototype new designs and measure energy consumption.
The platform targets all kinds of battery-powered purposes, together with wearables, drones, aftermarket telematics, micromobility units, asset trackers, livestock monitoring, and pet monitoring. For merchandise that solely want occasional place updates, shaving tens of milliwatts from each location repair can translate into dramatically longer runtimes, probably extending battery life from months to years. For extra info on the F11 platform, try the official product web page .An ultra-low-power GPS receiver (📷: u-blox)
Chips will likely be commercially out there later this yr (📷: u-blox)