ST’s Teseo II single-chip satellite-tracking IC goes for tough test

STMicroelectronics had released its Teseo II single-chip satellite-tracking IC to the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission Joint Research Center (JRC) for testing for eCall approval. The testing campaign is coordinated by the European GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) Agency (GSA) as part of its effort to accelerate Galileo adoption. The Galileo tests will be conducted by the ESA and JRC over the next months to validate ST’s latest firmware release, according to the European GNSS Agency test plan. The testing campaign supports the upcoming Galileo early operational services that are expected to go live at the end of 2014. In addition, the tests will evaluate Teseo II compatibility with the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) and with Galileo for the eCall in-vehicle system that automatically sends notification messages from vehicles involved in an accident. Beside static and dynamic test conditions, the testing plan foresees three different use cases, in systems for single-, dual-, and up to triple-constellation (GPS/Galileo/GLONASS) systems. Following the first position fix using Galileo in-orbit validation satellites conducted by ST and ESA in March 2013, STMicroelectronics has implemented the Galileo Golden-candidate production firmware as an additional constellation in its Teseo II chips. While right from day one Teseo ...