U-blox to offer explorer kits for cm-level positioning designs

The development kits will bring together u-blox’s centimeter-level positioning and wireless communications expertise and services to support faster time-to-market for new products

U-blox has announced new explorer kits to make it quicker and easier for engineers to design and evaluate products requiring centimeter-level positioning capabilities.

Set to launch in early 2023, the ready-to-use XPLR-HPG-1 and XPLR-HPG-2 solutions will combine u-blox’s unique offering across the key technologies required to achieve highly precise positioning.

As well as an open microcontroller unit (MCU), the kits will include high-precision GNSS positioning with real-time kinematic (RTK), dead-reckoning, cellular, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth communications, along with the necessary antennas.

The kits are designed to integrate seamlessly with complementary u-blox services, such as PointPerfect GNSS augmentation service and the ubxlib software component.

The kits will assist engineers working in areas such as micro-mobility and low-speed robotics, helping them build, test and demonstrate early-stage proofs of concept more quickly, supporting faster overall time-to-market.

Both explorer kits will include the full gamut of u-blox technology and software required.

• The modular XPLR-HPG-1 kit will be based around the wireless MCU in the u-blox NORA-W106 , with its Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE capabilities, and will give engineers flexibility to adjust their solutions to their precise needs, using MIKROE Click boards featuring a variety of u-blox modules. The kit will include three Click boards, which respectively incorporate the ZED-F9R high-precision RTK GNSS module, the LARA-R6001D LTE Cat 1 module (global coverage and with built-in MQTT client), and the NEO-D9S L-band correction data receiver module. Engineers can purchase others based on their application’s needs. The kit’s source code will include example software for the Espressif IoT Development Framework (ESP-IDF), based on ubxlib software components.
• The compact XPLR-HPG-2 will deliver an integrated solution, incorporating the ZED-F9R high-precision RTK GNSS, LARA-R6001D LTE Cat 1 (with global coverage and built-in MQTT client) and NEO-D9S L-band correction data receiver modules, as well as the NINA-W106 with its MCU, Bluetooth LE and Wi-Fi capabilities.