Broadcom introduces GPS-enabled chips for smartwatches

NEW DELHI: Mobile chipset maker Broadcom today said it has introduced GPS-enabled system-on-chip (SoC), designed for mass-market wearable devices such as smartwatches and fitness trackers.

The US-based company, which will showcase its latest offering at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (Spain) later this month, aims to target the growing wearable wireless devices market.

The company said in a statement that the technology is "...the industry's first GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) system-on-chip (SoC), which is designed for low-power, mass-market wearable devices such as fitness trackers and smartwatches".

Wearable wireless device revenues are projected to exceed USD 6 billion in 2018 with sports, fitness and wellness as the largest segment with 50 per cent share of device shipments. It enables location intelligence and extended battery life needed by the growing wearable market, it added.

"Today's wearables like fitness trackers have surged in popularity, but often miscalculate speed and distance," Broadcom Director (Marketing, Mobile & Wireless Group) Mohamed Awad said.

As the largest supplier of discrete GNSS solutions, Broadcom brings its location expertise to deliver more precise fitness and health measurements to the accelerating wearable market, he added.

The new chip constantly monitors user activity levels and location history to improve accuracy, while adding advanced features like location batching, Awad said.

Besides, it significantly reduces power consumption and board area by combining its location capabilities with an integrated Sensor Hub, contextual awareness and GNSS, he added.

The solution is also complimented by Broadcom's Wireless Internet Connectivity for Embedded Devices (WICED) Smart and WICED Direct software development kits (SDKs) to provide additional wireless connectivity to the platform.