CSR, based in Cambridge, UK, continuing its strategy of diversification, has acquired NordNav Technologies AB and Cambridge Positioning Systems, which will enable the company to provide software-based, low-cost GPS suitable for mass-market mobile phones and personal navigation devices (PNDs). According to CSR, it will apply its experience in embedding radio technologies into the mobile platform. It expects its first autonomous and assisted GPS product offerings that support satellite navigation and other location-based services to be available during the first half of this year. The cost of the GPS solution is expected to be less than $1, said CSR. The company plans to demonstrate its GPS technology at the 3GSM Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

According to CSR, software solutions in the first half of the year include GSP, A-GPS and E-GPS server software and mobile client software. In the second half of the year, the company plans to introduce a client solution that combines GPS and E-GPS functionality. This solution is expected to provide seamless location capability with a shorter time to first fix, lower power consumption, and the ability to work indoors. Last, CSR is developing a CMOS-based GPS radio chip that won't be launched until 2008.

CSR's acquired patented GPS solution is a software-based architecture that when combined with its Bluetooth technology can bring overall BOM to less than a dollar, said the manufacturer. CSR's patented methods to reduce the number of processor cycles and the time to “first fix,” give an extremely power efficient overall solution with less than half the processing requirements of alternative solutions, while remaining flexible enough to perform highly dynamic and accurate tracking. Additionally, the software GPS technology acquired from NordNav will take up 80% less area than competing hardware solutions and is the lowest-cost solution on the market, stated CSR

CSR acquired Cambridge Positioning Systems for its extended GPS (EGPS) software algorithms for mobile handsets and network server software. These algorithms allow users to achieve a faster location fix (less than three seconds), and also provide GPS coverage in dense urban areas and even indoors where there is no access to GPS satellite signals. In addition to improved user experience, the faster fix means that in comparison to conventional assisted GPS, power can be reduced by a factor of 10 or more, claimed CSR.

For more information, visit www.csr.com.