Easy migration to M10 upgradeable GNSS products - Up to 50% lower power consumption and improved performance

The market for tracking and navigation devices using GNSS continues to expand, driven by a growing number of applications. At the same time, requirements for lower power consumption, higher position accuracy and longer battery life are becoming increasingly stringent. 

Understanding the challenge

Developers of GNSS tracking devices are seeking for continuous performance improvements while keeping redesign efforts as low as possible. However, changing a GNSS chip or module can have a significant impact on:

• Power supply design
• RF circuitry
• Input/output pin handling
• Firmware implementation

Switching GNSS suppliers typically requires considerable work. Even migrating to a new platform from the same supplier could mean significant effort for firmware implementation. Yet, when additional signal support or functionality is required, there is no way around a redesign.

The solution: upgradeable u-blox M10 GNSS

With its ROM firmware, the u-blox M10 is an established and well-accepted ultra-low power GNSS platform for many use cases. With the latest portfolio update, u-blox now offers an upgradeable M10 chip and MAX module, enabling an easy transition to enhanced firmware capabilities.

	Non-upgradeable firmware	Upgradeable firmware
Firmware	SPG 5.10	SPG 5.30
Chip product	UBX-M10050-KB	UBX-M10150-KB
MAX module product	MAX-M10S MAX-M10M	MAX-M10N

Both upgradeable products offer easy migration from the products listed in the table above. 

Hardware compatibility: minimal changes required 

The MAX-M10N module is fully pin-compatible with MAX-M10S and MAX-M10M, enabling a straightforward module replacement.

For chip-level designs, both UBX-M10050-KB and UBX-M10150-KB use a QFN28 package with the same pinout, differing only in package size:

For board designers, this means enlarging the footprint from 4x4 mm to 5x5 mm, while keeping the remaining design unchanged. The firmware to the M10150-KB chip can be transferred from the connected MCU of the host system or by a flash memory connected to the GNSS chip.

	UBX-M10050-KB	UBX-M10150-KB
Firmware	ROM	Host or external flash
Package	QFN28, 4x4 mm	QFN28, 5x5 mm

Firmware migration: close to zero effort 

Firmware migration effort is close to zero, as all listed products support  NMEA as well as proprietary UBX protocol. Existing host software can therefore be reused with minimal or no modification.

Key benefits: lower power, higher accuracy, smarter operation

The upgradeable products UBX-M10150-KB and MAX-M10N, powered by SPG5.30 firmware, deliver several key advantages:

• Low Energy Accurate Positioning (LEAP): Achieves positioning accuracy comparable to full-power operation while reducing energy consumption by up to 50%
   
• Autonomous GNSS operation: Features such as geofencing and datalogging allow the host MCU to remain in sleep mode. The GNSS autonomously logs position data to flash memory and wakes the MCU only when a geofence is violated.
   
• Improved accuracy in challenging environments: Enhanced position accuracy in challenging environments like urban areas.
   
• Sub-meter accuracy with RTCM corrections: By provisioning RTCM correction data, the L1 single-band GNSS can achieve <1 m positioning accuracy at very low power consumption.  

Conclusion: Easy upgrade with measurable gains

Changing from an M10 SPG 5.10 ROM product to a firmware-upgradeable product with SPG 5.30 is rather easy, thanks to pin- and message protocol compatibility. The resulting up to 50% power reduction in continuous tracking applications, whether for people, pet, or vehicle trackers pays off the effort. Improved position accuracy in challenging environments, combined with RTCM correction data support, further boosts overall system performance.

Designing your next low-power tracking solution? 

The firmware-upgradeable M10 GNSS products help you achieve longer battery life and higher accuracy with minimal redesign effort. Start evaluating with the EVK-M102 today!