Semiconductor firm Broadcom has completed work on integrating global navigation satellite system and a sensor hub combination chip on the same die.
The company said the chip will be used to create apps for health, fitness and so called “life logging”, by providing software with an always on background location. Life logging means a mobile device knows where you are and the chip will manage functions to maximise battery life.
The integrated global navigation chip will provide a direct connection to wi-fi technology and so will improve battery power and context awareness.
The chip, the BCM4773 allows information from wi-fi, Bluetooth Smart, GPS and MEMS (micro electro-mechanical systems) to be calculated on one SoC (system on a chip) instead of having to use the application processor. The design, claims Broadcom, will reduce the printed circuit board area by 34 percent and can offer up to 80 percent power savings.
Broadcom says the chip will support five different satellite systems including GPS, GLONASS, SBAS, QZSS and BeiDou. The chip is already in production.
