Broadcom Launches Location Hub with Galileo Support for Smartphones

Broadcom Corporation has announced a GNSS location hub that supports Galileo. Along with Galileo, the Broadcom BCM4774 simultaneously supports GPS, GLONASS, SBAS, QZSS and the BeiDou satellite systems.

With a planned deployment of up to 30 additional satellites for Galileo, smartphones with built-in support for this new system will experience an even higher level of accuracy and better positioning with faster times to first fix, Broadcom said. The architecture of the location hub enables the main AP on the smartphone to reduce computation load and stay in sleep mode for extended periods of time by offloading data calculations to the BCM4774. In certain modes, Broadcom’s advanced hardware design and increased memory can reduce power consumption by up to 95 percent over traditional architectures, significantly conserving battery life in mobile devices.

“Today’s announcement represents yet another navigation benchmark for Broadcom with the industry’s first GNSS location hub for smartphones to support the Galileo satellite system,” said Rahul Patel, senior vice president, wireless connectivity. “We are committed to pushing the limits on location technology by delivering premium performance and enhanced device intelligence while consuming minimal power.”

Additionally, Broadcom’s new solution recognizes various context states, adding more value to the data that is gathered from mobile devices. For example, a smartphone with the BCM4774 can tell the difference between a user that is walking, running or cycling and provides positioning updates that match the identified state for more precise data results. By processing the data directly on the BCM4774 versus the main AP, Broadcom reduces battery drain and creates opportunities for developers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to determine how this information is analyzed and delivered to consumers, the company said.

Key Features:

• Additional on-chip memory delivers complex on-chip positioning and sensor hub capabilities.
• Easy-to-use API allows OEMs to port their specific sensor fusion code onto BCM4774.
• Additional hardware optimization further increases AP power savings through offloading of sensor fusion, on-chip positioning, geofencing and location batching.
• Integration of GNSS receiver and sensor hub reduces board area by 30 percent.
• Ultra-low power on-chip positioning enables background and foreground location using GNSS.
• On-chip Wi-Fi positioning using a direct connect communication protocol to Broadcom’s family of connectivity combo chips.
• Enhanced Batching support with the largest batch space in a sensor hub for all devices connected to the location hub, including Wi-Fi, MEMS and GNSS.