Imagination Technologies has released the most comprehensive Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) IP offering. The Ensigma Location GNSS IP core supports GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou as well as several Satellite-Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS) including WAAS and EGNOS. Designed for ultra-low power consumption, the IP is optimized for battery powered remote IoT sensors and edge devices, wearables, health monitors, consumer mobile products, automotive after-sales products such as insurance boxes and road tolling equipment, and asset tracking devices.
Evolving use models mean that a growing number of battery operated products must support positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services. Consumers want to track their devices, but don’t want to re-charge batteries frequently. In industrial and agricultural environments, users need to track mobile assets to improve efficiency and reduce operational costs, but it isn’t possible to frequently change batteries across numerous devices in disparate locations. In addition, new regulatory requirements mandate the use of location services in some products, for example, to address spectrum sharing requirements in IoT devices and base stations.
With Ensigma GNSS IP, companies can integrate PNT services while keeping power consumption to a minimum, and can also help to reduce the overall system cost through a reduced bill of materials (BOM).
Key features of the Ensigma GNSS IP include:
- Ultra-low power operation
- Ability to share location information with external wireless technologies such as LTE or Wi-Fi
- Options to share peripherals such as memory and system clock to enable reduced total system cost
- High sensitivity for indoor location
- Support for assistance information using external sources such as LTE and Wi-Fi to improve time to first fix
- Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) detection and mitigation
With Ensigma GNSS IP, customers can choose a configuration, from standalone to highly integrated, that works best for their specific system implementation. The IP can be configured for lowest power or highest integration and is designed to fit into any existing solution with the optimum level of design and resource re-use.
The Ensigma GNSS IP builds on the proven Ensigma connectivity engine which incorporates an ultra-low power CPU core. Imagination employed many innovative GNSS techniques to build on the efficiency of this platform to ensure low-power consumption. The GNSS IP includes dedicated hardware blocks which enable much lower power compared to a software-only solution. In addition, the GNSS IP not only supports continuous fix techniques, but it also supports power-efficient ‘capture and process’ for devices that only require periodic location updates. This feature further conserves battery life by capturing data, such as fitness information from a wearable device, and storing it for later processing.
Ensigma GNSS IP is designed to be used with a wide range of GNSS receivers; the initial solution is optimized for use with SaberTek’s ultra-low power GNSS receiver.
The broad portfolio of Ensigma wireless communications IP comprises solutions for 30 wireless standards in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 802.15.4, audio and TV broadcast. Ensigma uniquely provides an end-to-end solution encompassing all parts of the wireless system – RF, baseband, software and interoperability and RF compliance. Ensigma connectivity and broadcast IP can be supplied as a single standard or as highly complex multi-standard solutions such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combos; scalable from low-power, low data-rates to high performance, high data rate solutions.
Click here to learn more about the Ensigma GNSS IP.
