Sat nav for 50p a handset

Mobile devices will be able to have satellite-navigation facilities for a little as a 50p following two acquisitions by Cambridge-based Bluetooth pioneer Cambridge Silicon Radio (CSR), the company says.

Technology and expertise acquired with the purchase of Cambridge Positioning Systems and Stockholm-based Nordnav will enable it to create a low-cost software-based GPS system suitable for mobile phones and other handheld devices.

The target is to provide GPS for less than $1 to manufacturers, though this would not include the cost of using and storing the geographic data needed for a working system, and first products are likely to be more costly.

CSR said its first GPS products will appear in the first half of this year, and will include both autonomous and assisted systems – the latter using a location server, in addition to GPS satellites, to pinpoint positions.

The technology will be demonstrated at 3GSM Congress, 12-15 February, Barcelona.

CSR said in a statement that for a mass market GPS systems need d to be much smaller, cheaper and easier on both processors and batteries.

"It is also essential that [the technology] works in harmony with GSM/3G radios, that the satellite signal acquisition time is reduced, and that location fixes can be maintained in all environments – even indoors."

Technology from the two acquired companies with be combined with CSR's mobile wireless expertise to create small, power-sensitive mobile applications.

Cambridge Positioning Systems has developed GPS algorithms for handsets and servers to achieve a location fix in less than three seconds, and to provide GPS coverage in dense urban areas and even indoors where there is no access to satellite signals.

The CSR statement said: "The faster fix means that in comparison to conventional Assisted GPS, power can be reduced by a factor of 10 or more."

Matthew Phillips, senior vice president of CSR’s mobile-handset-connectivity strategic business unit, said: “At $5-$10, current GPS solutions are too expensive and just not practical for mainstream cellphone applications.”

He said the two acquisitions has "removed the barriers for mobile handset makers and operators to provide location-based services for the mass market".