Bengaluru firm Elena Geo Systems launches country’s first hand-held NavIC-based navigation device

In a major boost to India’s pursuit of 'aatmanirbharta' (self-reliance) in navigation applications and services, Bengaluru-based firm Elena Geo Systems launched a handheld NavIC-based navigator on Wednesday.

The navigation device, which can provide precise directions in tasks related to infrastructure projects involving railway, land survey, telecoms and hydrocarbon exploration, was unveiled on the occasion of World Telecom Day in New Delhi.

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Elena Geo Systems founder & chief technology officer Lt. Col. (Retd) VS Velan handed over a navigator device to the officer incharge of the Digital Communication Innovation Square (DCIS) scheme, Commander (Retd) Anurag Vibhuti. 

This comes nearly a month after the company launched a Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC)-based indigenously designed chip to meet the requirements of services ranging from cab aggregators to the country’s defence forces.

The Telecom Centres of Excellence India (TCOE India), the implementing agency for the DCIS scheme, had extended a grant of Rs 50 lakh under to the company for the project, with the total cost of developing the hardware coming to around Rs 2 crore.

Speaking to Business Today after the launch, Lt. Col. Velan said: “The global positioning system (GPS)-oriented devices are useful in temperate climates but are not so effective in tropical regions. To overcome that handicap, they use assisted technologies such as the Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS). However, in the case of our equipment, the accuracy is constant around the world because, in addition to the Indian satellites, we are also using data from the US and Russian satellites.”

Unlike Google Maps, which is entirely dependent on GPS technology, Elena Geo Systems navigator, costing Rs 6,000, can be strapped to a handheld device such as a smartphone using an on-the-go (OTG) connector to utilise data from any mapping application or satellite source.

The company has plans to offer the navigator on mobile phones equipped with the NavIC chip to enable its wider adoption like Google Maps.

“The government has made it mandatory that smartphone manufacturers have to enable NavIC on handsets sold in India. We are in touch with certain chip manufacturers who have shown interest in our NavIC chip,” informed Lt. Col. Velan.

Citing studies undertaken during the development phase, the company claimed that unlike global products that give estimated directions the India-made navigator is accurate up to 1 metre dynamic range.

Incubated at IIT-Kharagpur in 2012 as a research & development company, Elena Geo Systems seeks to transform navigation in India by providing end-to-end NavIC-enabled services and products.