CSR Announces GPS/Bluetooth Chip, eGPS Demo

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CSR of Cambridge, UK, has announced its successful integration of GPS with cellular measurements to create eGPS (enhanced Global Positioning System) technology capable of providing accurate position information on demand in all environments, as well as availability of a single-chip GPS receiver with embedded Bluetooth and FM radio technologies.

CSR’s CEO, Joep van Beurden, says that the new developments advance his company’s goal of providing eGPS capabilities to cellular phones at an additional goal of less than $1 per unit.

The company will demonstrate the new capabilities at its exhibit in the Mobile World Congress (MWC 2008, formerly 3GSM) taking place February 11 – 14 in Barcelona, Spain. According to the company, the demonstrations at MWC 08 will show CSR’s technologies providing real-time GPS navigation embedded in a mobile handset using off-the-shelf mapping software as well as improving the responsiveness and availability of accurate position information in a live cellular network.

CSR says its Bluetooth silicon with embedded support for eGPS allows satellite measurements to be maintained when the host processor is powered down, providing position information on demand while minimizing power and resource loads. Reportedly, a typical eGPS push-to-fix will be available in less than four seconds, accurate to within 10 meters and require the equivalent power of less than one second of handset talk time.

CSR has a long history of embedding radio technologies in mobile handsets for customers such as Nokia, Motorola, and Samsung. Last month, the company announced its intention to form an EGPS Forum with Motorola.