One chip fits all

Selecting the best fitting product for standard-precision GNSS applications like wearables, asset or vehicle tracking became more complex with the introduction of L1/L5 dual-band variants. Trade-offs between position accuracy, power consumption, unique features, and HW integration had to be considered before the final product decision. Especially when looking at L1 single-band and L1/L5 dual-band GNSS products, previously designers had to choose between urban performance and low power consumption, managing dedicated product variants and different firmware versions. As a result, complexity grew.  
 

 

For some use cases like wearables or vehicles tracking, which for many years were using L1 single-band GNSS and now slowly adopting L1/L5 dual-band use, it meant creating two different products using different GNSS chips or modules with different firmware variants. This led to reduced flexibility in offering a single solution to their customers.

u-blox platform	u-blox M10	u-blox F10	u-blox F11
Band support	L1	L5	L1 or L1/L5
Firmware for wearables use cases	SPG 5.21	n/a	SPG 7.00
Firmware for all other use cases	SPG 5.10 SPG 5.30	SPG 6.00	SPG 7.00
Power saving features	LEAP	n/a	LEAP Selective L5
Chip power consumption	10-15 mW	35 mW	7-23 mW

Table: u-blox F11 combines the feature set of u-blox M10 and F10

u-blox’s F11 platform reimagines this approach by introducing a unified GNSS platform. It offers a single architecture, one firmware baseline, and a unified feature set that combines the benefits of previous L1 single-band and L1/L5 dual-band platforms.

 

 

A key innovation is its Selective L5 technology. The platform uses L1 signals in an open sky environment and autonomously activates the L5 band only when needed - such as in dense urban areas. This delivers meter-level accuracy in all environments while reducing power consumption whenever possible.    

The platform supports a wide range of use cases, including asset tracking, wearables, telematics, micromobility, and drones, from a single hardware design. It achieves this through support for both single- and dual-band operation, application-specific modes, and firmware upgradeability.  

F11 also simplifies the design process. A single hardware design can cover multiple performance tiers, while a unified firmware environment reduces integration effort.

By consolidating features into one platform, u-blox’s F11 platform enables faster prototyping, reduced validation effort, making it ideal for high-volume, scalable applications.

u-blox F11 products like the UBX-F11270-KB chip and the MAX-F11/M11series are pin compatible with their predecessor products UBX-M10, UBX-F10 and MAX-M10 / MAX-F10 series.

Key takeaways

• Standard precision GNSS design complexity increased with the introduction of L1/L5 dual band products
• u-blox F11 offers lower power consumption plus better position accuracy than previous u-blox M10 / F10 products
• The F11 platform is a scalable L1 single band and L1/L5 dual band solution with unified firmware, that supports asset tracking, wearables, telematics, micromobility, and drones
• u-blox F11 chips and MAX modules are pin compatible to their predecessors u-blox M10 / F10 for minimized design effort
• u-blox F11 products are future-proof through firmware upgrades