u-blox F10 GNSS platform

u-blox has announced the F10, the company’s first dual-band GNSS platform combining L1 and L5 bands to offer enhanced multipath resistance and metre-level positioning accuracy. The platform caters to urban mobility applications, such as aftermarket telematics and micromobility.

Applications that use GNSS receivers for positioning are on the rise, yet current receivers do not fully perform in urban areas. Accurate positioning in dense urban environments, where buildings or tree foliage can reflect satellite signals, requires GNSS receivers to mitigate multipath effects. The L5 band’s resilience to these effects improves positioning accuracy. Combined with the L1 band, an L1/L5 dual-band GNSS receiver can deliver <2 m positioning accuracy (CEP50), against about 4 m with the L1 band only, according to u-blox.

The platform’s firmware algorithm prioritises L5 band signals in weak signal environments, enabling positioning even when paired with small antennas. The product is also equipped with protection-level technology that provides a real-time trustworthy positioning accuracy estimate.

When a cellular modem is extremely close to a GNSS receiver, it can interfere with the receiver’s reception. Some F10 module models (NEO-F10N, MAX-F10S and MIA-F10Q) are equipped with a robust RF circuit that allows the GNSS and the cellular modem to operate without interference.

The platform is pin-to-pin compatible with the previous u-blox M10 generation for easy migration. It also supports u-blox AssistNow, which offers real-time online A-GNSS service with global availability to reduce GNSS time-to-first-fix and power consumption.