GPS + IRNSS module coming to Indian market

A new GPS + IRNSS module is being developed by Indian firm Ramakrishna Electro Component (REC) in partnership with STMicroelectronics and Shanghai Mobiletek, according to press reports.

The module will rely heavily on the Indian navigation satellite constellation IRNSS (also known as NaVIC), REC Managing Director Shivang Luthra told reporters at an event in New Delhi.

“There have been dependency of imported GPS module which use the U.S., European or Russian satellites,” Luthra said. “We have developed a GPS module, Utraq, that will mainly use the Indian satellites for GPS navigation.”

The module will be produced at a Shanghai Mobiletek factory in China, and the chips will be made by STMicroelectronics. REC owns the Utraq module and will roll it out  in October for use in automotive end products. REC says the low cost of the chip compared to imports will make trackers more affordable in India.

The Indian government has mandated use of vehicle location tracking devices and one or more emergency buttons in public transportation vehicles; the mandate took effect April 1.

Utraq will be offered in two models: the L110 GNSS is a compact NavIC module, while the L100 GNSS module is a smaller-sized (patch on top) IRNSS module. Both modules can be used for tasks other than tracking, such as ranging, command, control and timing, and fo marine, aerial and terrestrial navigation.