For the first time, an Indian company will design and produce the chipsets or microchips that can receive and process the signals of the national navigational system NavIC.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) created NavIC, a satellite-based navigation system that allows users to pinpoint their exact location and follow their travels both within India and up to 1500 kilometres outside its borders.
Not all smartphones and navigational tools (or navigators) are NavIC compatible. A navigation device must have a chipset or microchip that is NavIC compliant in order to use and decode NavIC signals.
These chipsets or microchips, which are intended to decode and process the signals originating from the seven Indian satellites, are commonly included in the receivers of NavIC signals, such as NavIC compatible smartphones and other navigators. They currently use chipsets produced by foreign firms like Qualcomm Technologies of the USA and Mediatek Inc. of Taiwan.
In order to facilitate the development and mass production of these chips in India, the Ministries of Science & Technology and Electronics & Information Technology, two departments of the Indian government, are working together with Manjeera Digital Systems Private Limited, a company with its headquarters in Hyderabad.
The company has created a baseband processor chip that makes use of a locally created Universal Multifunctional Accelerator (UMA) processor IP that has the capability of receiving, reading, and processing NavIC signals. These chipsets will soon be produced on a significant scale for the commercial market.
A fabless semiconductor business by the name of Manjeera Digital Systems has a patented High Performance Computing (HPC) processor known as UMA. This domestic product allows for tracking and navigation, and it may be applied to both professional and domestic settings. In the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, the initiative is supported by the Technology Development Board.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat has been the guiding force behind such initiatives of indigenously producing state-of-the-art technologies. The initiative is not only a testament of the indigenization of state-of-the-art technologies but also a morale booster for public-private partnerships in the country.
Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh, as the visionary leader at the helm of the Department of Science & Technology, is playing a pivotal role in driving the development of this groundbreaking indigenous Chipset technology. His unwavering commitment to self-reliance in space technology and fostering innovations in IT is not only facilitating this remarkable initiative but also underscoring the crucial role of the government support in advancing space technology for the benefit of the society. The minister’s leadership and dedication stands as a testament to the transformative potential of collaboration between the government and the private sector in advancing technological breakthroughs.
NavIC, or the Navigation with Indian Constellation, is a magnificent gem in the crown of India’s technological prowess. With celestial grace and precision, NavIC illuminates our skies and will soon guide travelers and explorers with unwavering accuracy.
It comprises a constellation of seven satellites orbiting high above, weaving a celestial tapestry of signals that empower navigation, positioning and timing across the vast Indian subcontinent and beyond. NavIC system primarily uses IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System) signals for navigation and positioning.
These signals are transmitted by a constellation of satellites in geostationary and geosynchronous orbits. NavIC is like GPS in its functioning and operational principles. The only difference being GPS is owned and operated by United States government while NavIC is owned and operated by India. NavIC covers all of Indian subcontinent and offers a positional accuracy of 5 mtrs compared to 15-20 mtrs of GPS.
NavIC is India’s beacon of self-reliance, shining brightly in the world of satellite navigation, and now the indigenously built NavIC enabled chipsets will make it a truly ‘Made in India’ marvel.
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