Award winning QinetiQ GPS just got better

QinetiQ's high sensitivity GPS has been recognised at the annual Security Industry Innovation Awards by scooping the award for "best new electronic, communication or internet protocol product". The award, presented earlier this week, comes at the same time as QinetiQ released an upgraded Version 2 of the software that drives the high sensitivity Q20 GPS chip, providing customers with improved performance and availability. A variety of GPS applications, from high value asset tracking to personnel location, will benefit from this significant enhancement.

The current Q20 module, 1000 times more sensitive than standard GPS devices, has already achieved considerable success, with over 50,000 units now deployed in TETRA radios used by UK police forces and other international public safety organisations. The GPS-enabled TETRA radio, manufactured by Sepura, one of the world's leading TETRA terminal suppliers, works in extremely low signal environments, such as city centres and even inside buildings. This allows the police and other users to know the precise location of personnel once they have left vehicles, particularly important when officers are working in potentially dangerous environments.

Welcoming the award, Ian Pirie, Director of GPS Telematics at QinetiQ, said: "We are delighted to receive this important award for our world beating Q20 GPS module. The award is also a reflection of Sepura's success in taking our technology to market and making an important contribution to the safety of the police and other users.

Pirie continued: "We understand the need to continue to innovate to bring further value to our customers. This week's release of the Q20 software upgrade demonstrates our commitment to meet that need and our desire to push the boundaries of what can be achieved by QinetiQ's high sensitivity GPS."

Current GPS solutions can result in problems of availability if a GPS unit is turned on indoors because signal acquisition is traditionally very difficult to achieve under these circumstances. QinetiQ's new Q20 software overcomes these problems and is able to quickly acquire a signal indoors. This is particularly important when the unit has been indoors for a prolonged period, for instance when used to track an expensive item of stock that has been stored in a warehouse or when needing to locate a GPS tagged prisoner who is confined within a building.

The upgraded Q20 will bring further benefit through a faster time to first fix (TTFF) in indoor mode. The unit also operates with reduced power consumption, an important consideration when the GPS unit is used in a battery-powered, self-contained unit.

The Q20 GPS module is a high sensitivity, ultra-compact GPS receiver offering state of the art indoor and outdoor positioning capability and is 1000 times more sensitive that standard GPS devices. The module provides an accuracy of under 5 metres outdoors and less than 50 metres indoors.

The high sensitivity of the Q20 module enables operation in environments where conventional GPS receiver technology cannot function, e.g. in urban canyons, within buildings and under wet foliage, enabling a wide range of new solutions and business opportunities. The Q20 receiver module incorporates the latest QinetiQ GPS processor coupled with a specially selected RF front end offering excellent interference rejection and low noise operation. Customers are now able to realise the emerging commercial opportunities in automotive navigation, asset management, vehicle tracking, security and personal telematics with this one low cost, high specification GPS device.

QinetiQ has a long heritage of GPS technology development. In addition to GPS modules and integration services, QinetiQ also provides mapping and database integration solutions. QinetiQ solutions enable public services, such as the police force, to integrate GPS positioning information with their other information databases. Benefits include faster reaction to events through the immediate deployment of the closest personnel to crimes and accidents by comparing live GPS positions with postal addresses.