GPS modules – not only geolocation
The basic purpose of GPS and GLONASS modules is to precisely determine the location of the device in the form of geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude) returned by the module. A huge advantage of these systems is the availability of satellite signals in virtually all areas of the Earth, although depending on the local conditions of electromagnetic wave propagation, signal reception may be difficult in some places. Importantly, the greater the number of satellites "visible" to the receiver, the better the tracking accuracy. It is worth knowing that global geolocation systems operate by measuring the propagation time of signals from individual satellites, using extremely precise atomic clocks. Information about the current time can therefore be used to synchronize the device's local real-time clock with time standards available around the world.
Universal GPS modules
Our offer includes a number of small GPS/GLONASS modules, perfect for use in small mobile robots, portable devices and all prototype systems. A good example is the small, 72-channel SparkFun ZOE-M8Q module, compatible - in addition to the two systems mentioned above - also with the European Galileo system and the Chinese BeiDou. Our offer also includes a small Adafruit Ultimate GPS MTK3339 module with a built-in antenna, 22-channel GPS receiver and Flash memory. For applications in the wearable segment, a tiny Adafruit FLORA receiver was created, also based on the MTK3339 chip, but built on a round printed circuit board with a diameter of 30 mm with special, large pads that allow the board to be sewn into clothes using conductive threads.
GPS shields for Raspberry Pi and Arduino
In addition to universal modules, in our store you will also find overlays prepared especially for the most popular embedded platforms: Arduino and Raspberry Pi. For the former, we have excellent DFRobot Shield DB-Io/LTE/GPRS/GPS modules. On a small board the size of an Arduino Uno, designers from DFRobot managed to place a GSM module with LTE and GPRS support, a GPS/GLONASS/BeiDou/Galileo receiver and an integrated BME280 environmental parameter sensor, offering measurement of ambient temperature, atmospheric pressure and humidity. For fans of "malinki" we have prepared, among others: Waveshare LTE GPS Hat overlay, compatible with Raspberry Pi 3B+/3B/2B/Zero and offering GNSS, GSM and NB-IOT connectivity.