u-blox Enhances GPS Integration With Epson Toyocom Gyroscope in Dead Reckoning Reference Design

u-blox Enhances GPS Integration With Epson Toyocom Gyroscope in Dead Reckoning Reference Design

September 01, 2007

    THALWIL, Switzerland and MUNICH, Germany, Sept. 1
/Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- u-blox, the leading Swiss provider
of GPS receiver technology, has improved its groundbreaking
GPS dead reckoning system by integrating a gyroscope sensor
from Epson Toyocom, a leader in the design and manufacture
of crystal-based electronic products, into the reference
design for the product.

    The reference design will shorten time-to-market and
reduce the risk of GPS integration for applications that
require accurate, uninterrupted positioning regardless of
GPS signal conditions.

    u-blox' dead reckoning solution, powered by the LEA-4R
GPS module, is ideal for applications that require
continuous positioning such as vehicle navigation, fleet
management and toll systems. An odometer calculates
distance traveled and a gyroscope determines turn rate.
This data supplements the GPS data to provide continuous
positioning in tunnels, indoor parking facilities, urban
canyons and other environments in which it may be difficult
to obtain a GPS satellite signal.

    "u-blox' LEA-4R dead reckoning GPS module enables
100% road coverage. Epson's XV-8000-CB gyroscope offers
improved temperature, shock and vibration stability,"
said Karsten Tietz, VP Sales EMEA at u-blox. "The
combination of Epson's high performance gyroscope with our
highly flexible and compact LEA-4R module provides
engineers with a high performance solution that will
significantly speed up their design cycle and ease GPS
integration," Mr. Tietz added.

    Dieter Liesabeths, VP Sales & Marketing at Epson
Europe Electronics GmbH, said: "u-blox' choice of our
gyro sensor for this reference design underlines our
sensors' superiority in key characteristics like linearity,
zero-point-drift and temperature stability, as well as small
size. The use of the XV-8000CB gyro sensor in u-blox' dead
reckoning reference design is fully in line with our
strategy to aggressively address the toll collection and
navigation market with the gyro".

    The AEK-4R dead reckoning reference design Evaluation
Kit is available from October from u-blox official
distributors and from u-blox' online shop:
http://www.u-blox.com/shop/ . The reference design
schematics are available upon request. Please contact
[e-mail] for details.

    High-resolution picture accessible from:
    http://www.u-blox.com/news/DR_EvalKit.jpg

    About u-blox

    u-blox is an international company headquartered in
Switzerland, with sales organizations in the Americas,
Europe and Asia. Founded in 1997, u-blox develops leading
positioning technology, products and services based on
Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), including GPS
and Galileo, for the automotive and mobile communications
markets. For more information, please visit
http://www.u-blox.com .

    About Epson Toyocom Corporation

    Epson Toyocom Corporation was formed through the
integration of the quartz business of Seiko Epson
Corporation and Toyo Communication Equipment Co., Ltd. in
October 2005. Epson Toyocom follows a "3D
strategy" designed to drive both horizontal growth
through expansion in three device categories-timing
devices, sensing devices and optical devices-and vertical
growth through combinations of products in these
categories. With this strategy, Epson Toyocom aims to be
the leading company in the quartz device industry, selling
a wide range of products to customers worldwide, from
cellular phones for consumer fields, to industrial fields
such as core network systems and automotive systems. Epson
Toyocom has eight production sites and more than 7,000
employees worldwide. Information about Epson Toyocom is
available from:  http://www.epsontoyocom.co.jp/english

    Internet:  http://www.presseportal.ch


    For more information, please contact:

     Alicia Montoya
     Marketing Communications Manager
     Tel:    [phone]
     Email:  [e-mail]

    Epson Toyocom Contacts
     Stefan Hartmann
     Senior Manager QD Division
     Epson Europe Electronics GmbH
     Tel:    [phone]
     Email:  [e-mail]