Explorer kits help develop cm-precision wireless comms products
Two development kits, scheduled for launch early next year, will bring precision positioning and wireless communications technology to engineers developing products that need cm-level positioning accuracy, said u-blox.
Both explorer kits will include the full gamut of u-blox technology and software required.
The XPLR-HPG-1 and XPLR-HPG-2 explorer kits include an open MCU, precision GNSS positioning with real-time kinematic (RTK), dead reckoning, cellular, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth communications, together with the necessary antennas.
The kits are designed to integrate seamlessly with complementary u-blox services, such as PointPerfect GNSS augmentation service, and the ubxlib software component which operates across u-blox products and services particularly during component evaluation and prototyping.
The explorer kits will assist engineers working in areas such as micro-mobility and low-speed robotics, helping them build, test and demonstrate early proofs of concept more quickly and accelerate overall time-to-market, said u-blox.
The modular XPLR-HPG-1 kit will be based around the wireless MCU in the u-blox NORA-W106; it has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE capabilities. This will give engineers flexibility to adjust solutions, using Mikroe Click boards which have a variety of u-blox modules. The kit will include three Click boards, each incorporating the ZED-F9R high-precision RTK GNSS module, the LARA-R6001D LTE Cat 1 module (for global coverage and with built-in MQTT client) or the NEO-D9S L-band correction data receiver module.
Engineers can purchase others, based on the needs of the application. The kit’s source code will include example software for the Espressif IoT Development Framework (ESP-IDF), based on ubxlib software components.
The compact XPLR-HPG-2 will have the same module choices as the XPLR-HPG-1 option but with the NINA-W106 which has MCU, Bluetooth LE and Wi-Fi capabilities.
This blend of technologies in a single explorer kit will give designers the ability to achieve cm-level positioning in a variety of scenarios, said u-blox. The GNSS receiver provides an initial position reading, which is then refined using correction data from the PointPerfect service, delivered using L-band satellite signals, as well as cellular and/or Wi-Fi communication.
Both the XPLR-HPG-1 and XPLR-HPG-2 explorer kits will be available from u-blox in early 2023.
