The wearable device market extends beyond smartwatches, including pet and livestock tracking collars, safety sensors for electricians, and panic buttons for lone workers. All of these rely on an accurate wireless connection, especially those that use GNSS to quickly locate people or animals in emergency situations.
Balancing Form Factor and Function
Wearables must be compact and lightweight to be comfortable. Traditional GNSS antennas don't always fit well into their slim, watch-like forms. Laser Direct Structuring (LDS) technology allows GNSS antennas to be integrated directly into the device's plastic parts, better fitting the design without the need for costly redesigns. This helps meet size, weight, aesthetic, and price expectations, accelerating time to market and optimizing benefits.
Testing Ensures Performance Requirements are Met
GNSS reliability and performance are key to a wearable's success, impacting its competitiveness and reputation. Therefore, choosing the right GNSS antenna from the very beginning is critical. However, selecting between signals, constellations, and materials can be complex, and device testing is crucial to ensure optimal performance.
Taoglas provides a variety of engineering services to help device OEMs overcome those challenges. Two examples are:
- The GSA.30 GPS Acquisition & Tracking Sensitivity Testing service uses a GPS constellation simulator and anechoic chamber to measure conducted tracking sensitivity. This process includes steps to confirm whether the antenna has been correctly integrated into the wearable.
- The CSA.50 custom GNSS test service is ideal for use cases whose unique, demanding requirements can’t be met by off-the-shelf antennas. This service includes simulating a design, building prototypes of it and testing them first in an anechoic chamber and then at the system level.
