The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Department of Space, and the government of India on Friday signed an MoU with smartphone maker OPPO to strengthen the research as well as development of the domestic satellite navigation system NavIC messaging service.
This MoU will pave the way for future collaborations between ISRO and OPPO India to develop indigenous solutions by incorporating the NavIC short messaging feature in the smartphones released by OPPO.
"NavIC system provides regional navigation services covering the Indian mainland and an area up to 1500 km beyond the Indian mainland. In addition to its primary function of providing PNT services, NavIC is also capable of broadcasting short messages. This messaging service is mainly used for broadcasting safety-of-life alerts in areas with poor or no communication, particularly in the oceans," ISRO Chairman Dr K. Sivan said in a statement.
This MoU will enable ISRO and OPPO India to exchange technical information of NavIC messaging services so as to build rapid, ready to use, end to end application-specific solutions by integrating NavIC messaging service with the mobile handset platform keeping in mind the need of Indian users.
"We are excited to collaborate with ISRO to strengthen the NavI C application. Under our latest MoU, we will support ISRO with our industry-leading R&D capabilities to provide a seamless experience to the users of NavIC application. In line with our vision towards Make In India, OPPO will invest in further scaling the product with its competitive and experienced R&D team," Tasleem Arif, Vice President, India R&D Head, OPPO India, added.
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has also recognised NavIC as a component of the World-Wide Radio Navigation System (WWRNS).
The committee stated that NavIC meets the operational requirements to assist in navigation of ships in ocean waters within the area covered by 55 degrees east longitude, 50 degrees north latitude, 110 degrees east longitude and 5 degrees south latitude, the ISRO said.
Last year, NavIC L5 was incorporated in the Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services (RTCM) standard 10403.3 for differential Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) applications.
These developments will enable the utilisation of NavIC in the fields of maritime navigation, surveying and others.