Qualcomm aids Indian satellite navigation

Details: Vaughan O'Grady; Category: Satellite Networks; 15 October 2019; 3722 views

Qualcomm has announced a collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to support India’s Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC), in select chipset platforms across the company’s upcoming portfolio.

This initiative will, says Qualcomm, help accelerate the adoption of NavIC and enhance the geolocation capabilities of mobile, automotive and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions in the region – with the backing of engineering talent in India.

The collaboration delivered the first-ever NavIC demonstration using the Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile Platforms on 19 September. The company is showcasing the solution again at this week’s India Mobile Congress.

As part of the updated platforms, the Qualcomm Location Suite now supports up to seven satellite constellations concurrently, including the use of all of NavIC’s operating satellites for more accurate location performance, faster time-to-first-fix (TTFF) position acquisition, and improved robustness of location-based services.

These enhancements, says Qualcomm, will enable select mobile, automotive and IoT platforms to better serve key industries and technology ecosystems in the region and will help improve user experience for location-based applications, especially in dense urban environments where geolocation accuracy tends to degrade.

Support for NavIC will be available in select Qualcomm Technologies’ chipset platforms starting in late 2019. Commercial devices with NavIC support are expected to be available during the first half of 2020.