Xiaomi to bring ISRO's NavIC technology to its smartphones

Chinese tech major Xiaomi on Tuesday said it will bring ISRO's Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, NavIC technology to its smartphones.

The capability has been currently enabled by Qualcomm Technologies Inc on several of their Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile Platforms and will be made available across multiple Xiaomi smartphones in India, a statement said.

NavIC – Navigation with Indian Constellation – is the regional geo-positioning system designed in India by ISRO to provide accurate positioning in India and around the Indian mainland. It is considered to be at par with US-based GPS, Russia's Glonass, and Galileo developed by Europe.

"In 2020, several Xiaomi smartphones across multiple price points will support NavIC, initially supported by some Snapdragon chipsets," the statement said.

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The implementation was possible after R&D efforts from Xiaomi for software along with ISRO and Qualcomm's efforts, it added.

"Xiaomi has taken this step to further extend its commitment to Make in India by bringing in technology developed in India within its smartphones," it said.

NavIC is designed to provide accurate positioning in India and 1,500 km around the Indian mainland. The system comprises seven satellites, three of which are in geostationary orbit over the Indian Ocean and four in geosynchronous orbit. NavIC is capable of providing location positioning accuracy better than 20 metres.

Some of the key consumer applications of NavIC for mobile include precise location mapping in remote, difficult to access areas, precise timing, along with visual and voice navigation for drivers, among others, Xiaomi said.

"We are extremely proud of the sophisticated geo-positioning tech, which ISRO has devised, and even more proud to integrate it into several Xiaomi devices. We also thank our partner Qualcomm Technologies for enabling support in their chipsets as we bring it first to the Redmi smartphone this year," Manu Jain, Global Vice President, Xiaomi and Managing Director, Xiaomi India said.

(Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta)