u-blox, a global provider of positioning and wireless communication technologies and services, has announced its smallest Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) module series to date, the u-blox MIA-M10.
Built on the ultra-low-power u-blox M10 GNSS platform, MIA-M10 offers the most power-efficient solution for size-constrained battery-powered asset tracking devices. The module targets an expanding market for people, pets, and livestock trackers, as well as industrial sensors and consumer goods.
Roughly half the size of competing products, the 4.5 by 4.5-mm MIA-M10’s miniature form factor allows developers to design more attractive and comfortable solutions, further driving the adoption of positioning technology in consumer and industrial solutions.
The module offers ultra-low power consumption without compromising GNSS performance. Moreover, its power-save modes can double the battery life by optimally balancing position accuracy and power consumption.
High RF sensitivity for superior positioning performance
Like all u-blox M10 modules, MIA-M10 concurrently receives four GNSS constellations (GPS, Galileo, BeiDou, and GLONASS) for maximum satellite signal availability. Combined with its superior RF sensitivity, the module offers robust positioning performance for solutions with small antennas, as well as for devices operating in weak signal environments found, for example, in deep urban canyons.
Support for u-blox AssistNow assisted GNSS service, which delivers orbital data via the internet, cuts the time it takes the MIA-M10 to determine its initial position at startup, allowing it to immediately track satellites without having to wait for slow satellite data downloads to complete. And applications requiring extra-long power autonomy can use u-blox’s CloudLocate service, which extends the life of IoT applications by offloading power-hungry position calculation to the cloud.
The chip-sized, ready-to-use GNSS module requires no external components, reducing engineering and testing efforts, saving costs and resources, and speeding up time to market.
A growing market of battery-powered trackers
MIA-M10 is available in two product variants. The MIA-M10Q targets a growing market of highly size-constrained battery-powered tracking devices. Its small size, low power demand, and performance make it a natural fit for wearable devices used to keep an eye on the whereabouts and wellbeing of children, the elderly, and pets and livestock, as well as for highly dynamic applications like small drones, cameras, bike computers, and battery-powered sensors.
The second product variant, the MIA-M10C, targets customers requiring more flexibility to combine the module with an active or custom antenna circuit.
“MIA-M10 is the smallest GNSS module on the market — as small as a chip design, but with all the benefits of a module. Combining the exceptional sensitivity and short acquisition times of the ultra-low-power u-blox M10 GNSS platform, the MIA-M10 series offers a highly attractive solution for power- and size-constrained end devices, in particular in the growing wearable tracking device market,” says Kevin Truempi, senior product manager, Product Center Positioning, at u-blox.
MIA-M10 will be on display at the upcoming Sensors Converge and Embedded Technologies, trade show in San Jose, California at booth 1228. First samples will be available in July, 2022.
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