CSR Drives First SiRFstarVe Location Platform into Automotive Market

“The quad-GNSS design of the SiRFstarVe location device provides customers with a platform that is designed to meet the requirements for global and regional GNSS support for years to come, including GLONASS for Russia, Galileo for Europe, and Compass for China,” said Lars Boeryd, Director of Automotive Marketing for CSR. “We’ve also made the SiRFstarVe device pin-compatible with our current auto-qualified SiRFstarIVe GPS engine in an effort to protect customer investments by allowing them to easily upgrade their existing designs to the higher performance part.”

CSR will be presenting the SiRFstarVe device and many of its other automotive-qualified hardware and software solutions on Stand 44 this week during the Telematics Detroit 2011 conference and exhibition at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Michigan.

Optimized for Automotive Applications: The SiRFstarVe brings a number of exciting SiRFstarV architectural features to the automotive market for the first time – from quad-GNSS support, LTE immunity and MEMS aiding to improved sensitivity and margins and low BOM -- that result in significant location performance improvements, small package size, ease of integration and low-cost implementation. CSR SiRFAware™ and SiRFInstantFix™ positioning enhancement technologies enable faster times to first fix and improved positional accuracy, even when antenna placement within a vehicle is less than optimal, such as under the dashboard, and the SiRFstarVe is ready to support SiRFDRive dead-reckoning technology, when available.

In addition, the SiRFstarVe offers a number of features, including an on-chip LNA, fail-safe I/O, integrated switchers, single supply voltage, simple RF matching and small size and packaging to make it easier for designers to use and integrate into a vehicle platform, giving suppliers and OEMs much greater flexibility in system design and antenna placement and helping speed time to market. Besides the AEC-Q100 qualification, the SiRFstarVe device undergoes stricter manufacturing, assembly and testing procedures to meet the tighter automotive quality and reliability standards.
Quad-GNSS Support: With its 24 additional satellites (30, when fully deployed), GLONASS provides a valuable augmentation to GPS and enables the SiRFstarVe to boost location performance, especially in urban canyons, by increasing service availability, reducing observation time, and making measurements more precise for the most demanding applications. The SiRFstarVe additionally will support Galileo and Compass systems, when they become available, with a software upgrade for even greater performance and ensured compliance to existing and future requirements of national GNSS systems.

LTE Radio Signal Immunity: The SiRFstarVe has been designed from the ground up to provide superior immunity to interference from LTE (long-term evolution) radio signals, giving suppliers and OEMs confidence in its ability to coexist in their designs with LTE. Coexistence of LTE with GPS, GLONASS and other GNSS signals is critical for continuous location awareness and use of location-based services, and CSR has implemented a number of mechanisms to boost immunity to LTE interference in the SiRFstarVe to ensure the most satisfying user experience.

Active Jammer Removal: The SiRFstarVe also includes improved active jammer removal, a unique CSR technology first introduced with the SiRFstarIV architecture, which improves location performance by continually tracking and eliminating radio interference from up to eight sources, a critical requirement when location engines are in electrically noisy environments like those found in modern digital dashboards.

The complete CSR solution includes SiRFNav™ software running either on-chip (engine mode) or on the host CPU (tracker mode) to calculate the precise position, velocity and time and provide complete control of GNSS operation, including navigation, nav-aiding and hybrid location sub-functions.

Availability and Pricing
SiRFstarVe quad-GNSS location engine will be demonstrated at Telematics Detroit, (Stand 44) and samples will be available (Part# CSRG35ea) in August 2012. Production volumes are expected to be available in the second quarter of 2013. Please contact CSR for additional information, including pricing information.

Visit the CSR booth at Telematics Detroit 2012 (Stand 44) to see a demonstration of location, audio and connectivity products for the automotive industry powered by CSR.