u-blox Unveils its Smallest GNSS Module
The ultra-low-power u-blox MIA-M10 module delivers long-lasting, dependable performance using a tiny antenna and battery and speeds up the development of compact asset tracking solutions.
u-blox has launched its smallest GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) 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-millimeter 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.
