June 6, 2007

SiRF SiRFDiRect - Dead Reckoning

SiRF star III

SiRF introduced its SiRFDiRect technology, a portable navigation breakthrough that couples the SiRF star III chipset with acceleration sensors to tell where it's going when GPS signals are blocked. Employing sophisticated algorithms that take advantage of closely coupled GPS and dead-reckoning (DR) sensor measurements, SiRFDiRect technology delivers very high quality positioning, even in the worst GPS signal conditions, without the installation inconvenience and high cost of traditional in-dash navigation systems.

What's this mean to you? Hit a tunnel and your GPS can still tell where you are; breakthrough...

Mio is already talking about deployment of this chip in the press release.

More from the press release below...

“As the portable navigation devices are starting to address mainstream, it is very important to meet consumer expectations of reliable positioning everywhere, no matter what, and our SiRFDiRect technology is a major advance in that direction,” said Kanwar Chadha, founder and vice president of marketing for SiRF. “It gives our portable navigation device customers a competitive edge by enabling them to provide in-car system navigation accuracy at lower cost while retaining the advantages of portability and transferability.”

SiRFDiRect technology uses heading and acceleration data from the sensors to boost the accuracy of portable navigation systems when GPS signals are weak or blocked, such as in dense urban canyons and tunnels. Transitions between combined GPS/DR and dead-reckoning-only operation are seamless and accurate without operator intervention, and the closely coupled GPS/DR architecture of SiRFDiRect technology continuously auto-calibrates the heading and acceleration sensors, enabling high performance with low-cost, small-footprint sensors. The sensors can be located in the portable device or in an external dashboard mounting cradle. Further enhancing ease of use, SiRFDiRect technology allows great flexibility in orienting portable navigation devices when mounting them in a vehicle without affecting performance.

Mio Technology, Ltd., a leading maker of portable navigation devices, announces its plans to deploy SiRFDiRect based Navsteadi™ high-precision navigation technology at Computex Taipei 2007. Navsteadi brings in-dash like positioning accuracy and reliability to portable navigation systems.

“The new technology co-worked by SiRF and Mio, gives our customers the best of both worlds; reliable performance in the most challenging GPS conditions, expected of the typical high-end navigation system, while maintaining the traditional cost and portability advantages of Mio systems,” said Samuel Wang, president of Mio Technology Ltd.. “Our continuous close alliance with SiRF has enabled us to bring leading edge products with innovative technologies quickly to market, to enhance the user experience of portable navigation devices.”