The STMicroelectronics sensor greatly improves indoor navigation accuracy

     STMicroelectronics presented the world's most accurate indoor location application for mobile phones at the just concluded Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The demonstrated smartphone incorporates CSR's cutting-edge SiRFusionTM positioning technology and ST's optimized MEMS (Micro-electro-mechanical System) inertial measurement unit. This demonstration proves that positioning accuracy can be achieved within a few meters even in the absence of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellite signal.

     Location services (LBS) are widely regarded as the hottest application in the future mobile market, and accurate indoor positioning is the key technology to realize the location services of the future. However, in built-up cities and indoor environments where global navigation satellite signals cannot be received, accurately and reliably determining the location of mobile devices becomes a major challenge for LBS positioning services. In the above application environment, the Wi-Fi network and database are mainly used to calculate the approximate orientation, but the positioning accuracy cannot meet the requirements of LBS service. For example, visitors to future museums can choose to download detailed information about relevant exhibits by pointing their mobile phones at them, but to achieve this function, the location of the mobile phone must be accurate to within a few meters, which cannot be achieved using only Wi-Fi networks.

     At Mobile World Congress, ST demonstrated that it is possible to achieve the required navigation accuracy by combining CSR's recently introduced SiRFusion positioning architecture with ST's advanced 10-DOF MEMS inertial sensor module. Because the measurement accuracy of this module is very high, the positioning accuracy of the phone is up to several meters, which is much higher than the positioning accuracy using only Wi-Fi. The SiRFusion positioning platform does not require additional infrastructure installation or complex surveys of buildings.

     Kanwar Chadha, Chief marketing Officer of CSR and founder of SiRF, said: "This solution proves that the combination of ST's industry-leading motion sensors and CSR's SiRFusion location platform for reliable pedestrian dead calculation will be the end of the road for indoor navigation applications, ushering in a new wave of location services that will enable users to enjoy better services both indoors and outdoors."

     The sensor used in this demonstration is a multi-sensor inertial measurement unit that integrates three axis sensors, angular rate sensors and magnetic motion sensors in the same module, as well as a pressure sensor to determine height, enabling 3D stereopositioning in a high-rise building. By leveraging motion sensors, Wi-Fi wireless networks and Global Navigation satellite (GNSS) system satellite signals, CSR's SiRFusion™ solution combines data from sensing units with other data to dramatically improve the accuracy and coverage of positioning calculations.

     Benedetto Vigna, vice president and general manager of ST's Analog, MEMS and Sensors division, said: "Our motion sensors have revolutionized the way users interact easily and intuitively with their phones. Now we are on the verge of a new era in which optical image stabilization and location services will drive widespread adoption of high-performance motion sensors. St is in an unparalleled position to drive the development of these two new applications."