Xiaomi to bring ISRO technology NavIC to smartphones in 2020

Smartphone and smart TV brand Xiaomi on Tuesday announced it would bring ISROs Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System NavIC technology to its smartphones.

Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) is the regional geo-positioning system designed in the country by the city-headquartered Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to provide accurate positioning in India and 1500 km around the Indian mainland.

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, Xiaomi said in a statement.

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

The implementation was possible after R&D efforts from Xiaomi for software along with ISRO's (Indian Space Research Organisation) and Qualcomms efforts, it said.

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

"This is the first time a leading smartphone brand has worked with ISRO to bring technology developed within the country to the forefront", it said.

NavIC comprises seven satellites, three of which are in geostationary orbit over the Indian Ocean and four in geosynchronous orbit and 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.

Commenting on the co-operation, ISRO Chairman Dr. K Sivan, said NavIC is a critical step forward in the pursuit of harnessing space technology for national development and ISRO is eager to make it accessible to everyone for everyday use.

He expressed happiness that Xiaomi India has enabled this technology across several devices in their 2020 portfolio.

Sivan said ISRO looks forward to extending the benefits of this indigenous solution to millions of Indians through such initiatives.

He also appreciated Qualcomm Technologies for enabling NavIC support on their mobile chipset platforms.

Manu Jain, Global Vice President, Xiaomi and Managing Director, Xiaomi India 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".