u-blox Enhances GPS Integration With Epson Toyocom Gyroscope in Dead Reckoning Reference Design

THALWIL, Switzerland, and MUNICH, Germany, August 31 /PRNewswire/ --     u-blox, the leading Swiss provider of GPS receiver technology, has
improved its groundbreaking GPS dead reckoning system by integrating a
gyroscope sensor from Epson Toyocom, a leader in the design and manufacture
of crystal-based electronic products, into the reference design for the
product.

The reference design will shorten time-to-market and reduce the risk of
GPS integration for applications that require accurate, uninterrupted
positioning regardless of GPS signal conditions.

u-blox' dead reckoning solution, powered by the LEA-4R GPS module, is
ideal for applications that require continuous positioning such as vehicle
navigation, fleet management and toll systems. An odometer calculates
distance traveled and a gyroscope determines turn rate. This data supplements
the GPS data to provide continuous positioning in tunnels, indoor parking
facilities, urban canyons and other environments in which it may be difficult
to obtain a GPS satellite signal.

"u-blox' LEA-4R dead reckoning GPS module enables 100% road coverage.
Epson's XV-8000-CB gyroscope offers improved temperature, shock and vibration
stability," said Karsten Tietz, VP Sales EMEA at u-blox. "The combination of
Epson's high performance gyroscope with our highly flexible and compact
LEA-4R module provides engineers with a high performance solution that will
significantly speed up their design cycle and ease GPS integration," Mr.
Tietz added.

Dieter Liesabeths, VP Sales & Marketing at Epson Europe Electronics GmbH,
said: "u-blox' choice of our gyro sensor for this reference design underlines
our sensors' superiority in key characteristics like linearity,
zero-point-drift and temperature stability, as well as small size. The use of
the XV-8000CB gyro sensor in u-blox' dead reckoning reference design is fully
in line with our strategy to aggressively address the toll collection and
navigation market with the gyro".

The AEK-4R dead reckoning reference design Evaluation Kit is available
from October from u-blox official distributors and from u-blox' online shop:
http://www.u-blox.com/shop/. The reference design schematics are available
upon request. Please contact sales@u-blox.com for details.

High-resolution picture accessible from:

http://www.u-blox.com/news/DR_EvalKit.jpg

About u-blox

u-blox is an international company headquartered in Switzerland, with
sales organizations in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Founded in 1997, u-blox
develops leading positioning technology, products and services based on
Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), including GPS and Galileo, for
the automotive and mobile communications markets. For more information,
please visit http://www.u-blox.com.

About Epson Toyocom Corporation

Epson Toyocom Corporation was formed through the integration of the
quartz business of Seiko Epson Corporation and Toyo Communication Equipment
Co., Ltd. in October 2005. Epson Toyocom follows a "3D strategy" designed to
drive both horizontal growth through expansion in three device
categories-timing devices, sensing devices and optical devices-and vertical
growth through combinations of products in these categories. With this
strategy, Epson Toyocom aims to be the leading company in the quartz device
industry, selling a wide range of products to customers worldwide, from
cellular phones for consumer fields, to industrial fields such as core
network systems and automotive systems. Epson Toyocom has eight production
sites and more than 7,000 employees worldwide. Information about Epson
Toyocom is available from: http://www.epsontoyocom.co.jp/english

Internet: http://www.presseportal.ch

Contact:

    Alicia Montoya
    Marketing Communications Manager
    Tel.: +41-44-722-74-86
    E-Mail: alicia.montoya@u-blox.com

    Epson Toyocom Contacts

    Stefan Hartmann
    Senior Manager QD Division
    Epson Europe Electronics GmbH
    Tel.: +49-(0)89-14005-342
    E-Mail: stefan.hartmann@epson-electronics.de