Whitepapers

Print

E-mail page

u-blox published whitepapers: The Rise and Challenges of M2M Applications (PDF) 2013 could be the year when machine-to-machine (M2M) communications exceed human-to-human communications for the first time in history, with even more machines connected to the Internet than people. Equipping devices with M2M communications has special requirements, however, depending on the application. It is important to consider these features when thinking not only of the initial design, but also about product longevity - how long the device should operate before needing replacement, geographical coverage, and compatibility with wireless network upgrades, 2G to 3G to 4G. This article discusses 12 specific issues that should be considered when designing devices for M2M applications. u-blox' GNSS and wireless module philosophy (PDF) Focus on compatibility and upgradeability: In today’s electronics industry, particularly for industrial machine-to-machine (M2M) applications such as fleet and asset management systems, product cycles are short, typically 9 months to a year for each product upgrade cycle, with overall product life-span lasting up to 10 years. During this time, designers must continuously improve their products to meet emerging new technologies as well as address regional markets beyond the scope of their original design. This creates design challenges, especially when upgrading the positioning and wireless modem components to address new market requirements such as extended GNSS support, as well as compatibility with multiple mobile network standards. This whitepaper examines some of these issues and recommended solutions. u-blox’ comprehensive approach to multi-GNSS positioning (PDF, eBook, Korean PDF) GPS has been around for 30 years, becoming the global defacto standard for navigation and positioning. This situation is rapidly changing. To reduce or eliminate the reliance on the US-based GPS satellite network for both government and civilian navigation and positioning systems, Russia, China and the EU are deploying their own parallel, large-area Global Navigation Satellite Systems (“GNSS”). Japan has also started to deploy its own satellite augmentation designed to improve GPS performance in Japan and areas of Southeast Asia and Oceania. To address this expanding array of new GNSS systems, u-blox has introduced low-power, multi-GNSS capability into its newest generation satellite positioning platform u-blox 7. The advantages of global 3G coverage for M2M applications (PDF, eBook) Numerous telecommunication carriers worldwide are migrating from 2G to 3G services to accommodate the increased bandwidth required by modern smartphones and tablet computers. This migration has a direct impact on the requirements for 3G wireless modems used in machine-to-machine (M2M) applications. One of the main issues is the numerous and differing frequency bands used by 3G networks depending on carrier and geographic region. Other issues include interoperability with different Global Navigation Satellite Systems such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and QZSS, as well as hardware compatibility with other wireless standards such as GSM and CDMA. This paper examines these issues. Combining the best of UMTS with GPS (PDF, eBook) The combination of mobile communications with global positioning, Internet and multimedia services in small, portable devices has become an accelerating industry trend, particularly for mobile resource management systems, connected automotive navigation systems and handheld consumer products. The result is attractive new location-based applications and services that were previously impossible with either technology alone: smart, self-upgrading navigators, sophisticated vehicle and personal trackers, smartphones and tablet PCs with rich multimedia and communications capabilities. This whitepaper highlights some important considerations when combining UMTS connectivity with GPS based on the LISA-U2 module series. Hybrid Positioning and CellLocateTM  (PDF, eBook) Although GPS is a widespread technology, GPS positioning is not always possible, particularly in shielded environments such as indoors and enclosed park houses, or when a GPS jamming signal is present. The situation can be improved by augmenting GPS receiver data with mobile network cell attributes to provide a level of redundancy that can benefit numerous applications. A hybrid solution making use of this technique has been realized by u-blox: CellLocate. u-blox' Solution for European eCall (PDF, eBook) With the imminent deployment of European eCall in 2014, development of In-vehicle eCall Systems (IVS) is in full swing. The correct choice of components will have a large affect on time-to-market. Important factors to consider are the possibility to verify IVS designs before eCall is deployed, the ability to support design-in requirements of closely-coupled GPS and GSM subsystems, comprehensive software support, component-level certification of the GSM modem, forward compatibility with future wireless technologies, and the availability of automotive-grade GPS and GSM components in high-volume. This paper examines these requirements. Automotive Dead Reckoning: An intelligent solution for modern urban navigation (PDF, eBook) Increasingly dense urban environments pose a significant problem to navigation systems based on the reception of extremely weak GPS satellite signals. As ever more systems (e.g. road pricing, fleet management, emergency services, etc.) depend on reliable, uninterrupted navigation, “Dead Reckoning” GPS is becoming increasingly important. u-blox 6 GPS receivers enhanced with many new features With the latest firmware 7 upgrade of the u-blox 6 GPS receiver platform, many new and innovative features have been added resulting in immediate, cost-free benefits to users of both u-blox GPS chips and modules. This whitepaper summarizes the upgrades. The Promising Marriage of Wireless and GPS Technologies As both mobile service providers and GPS device manufacturers struggle to find new profitable services to offer their customers, the convergence of wireless and GPS technologies is starting to bear fruit. By equipping global positioning terminals with a parallel wireless back-channel, a whole new realm of application possibilities emerge that would have been impossible with either technology alone. Anti-Jamming techniques in u-blox GPS receivers A critical factor when selecting components for a GPS system is the receiver’s immunity to external noise, or “jamming”. The ability to lock onto typically faint GPS signals in the presence of noise generated from other electronic devices has a large influence on the system’s ability to provide correct location data.