u-blox has announced the EVA-7M, a standalone GNSS positioning module claimed to be the smallest complete solution on the market. It supports US GPS, Russian GLONASS, Japanese QZSS, plus all SBAS augmentation systems. The module contains all the necessary components, including crystals and passives, it’s only necessary to add an antenna to give global positioning capability. The chip uses the company’s advanced GNSS u-blox 7 technology and achieves -160 dBm sensitivity when tracking GPS satellites (-158 dBm with GLONASS satellites). An integrated high-efficiency converter keeps power requirements down to 16.5 mA at 3 V.

 

The 7 x 7 x 1.1 mm LGA module eases implementation in end-products because both RF and digital domains are integrated and kept separate in the chip. The LGA pads are configured in single rows, unlike other GNSS receivers on the market. The EVA is a standalone receiver, providing positional information without the need for host integration or extra RF components.

 

According to Thomas Nigg, VP Product Marketing at u-blox "The EVA-7M brings embedded satellite positioning to the next level of portability, the module has been developed with ease-of-manufacturing as a high priority. Its QFN-like footprint with connections along four sides and a high-level of component integration makes it a perfect solution for medium and high volume production runs. This ensures high first-pass production yield, crucial criteria especially for cost-sensitive, high-volume industrial and consumer applications."  The module is suitable for consumer, industrial and after-market vehicle applications and should be available in Q1 2014.