China to launch new Beidou positioning chip by late 2020

China will launch a new-generation positioning chip for the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) by the end of 2020, according to China Central Television's report.

The homegrown 22-nanometer BDS positioning chip is expected to be put into mass production in the first half of 2021, and will be used for high-precision geolocation, serving many areas including autonomous driving, unmanned aerial vehicles and robots.

Dubbed the "brain" of navigation equipment, the positioning chip is one of the most important components in satellite navigation products.

Besides the BDS, the chip can receive navigation signals from multiple global navigation systems to enrich data and provide more accurate positioning and navigation services.

Compared with previous BDS positioning chips, the new chip will be smaller and more energy-efficient, with a more powerful processing capability.

The chip will lay the technical foundation for BDS high-precision positioning applications in surveying and mapping, unmanned aerial vehicles and autonomous driving, said the report.