High hopes for tiny invention

The GPS receiver is much smaller than a finger tip.

An Auckland electronics company has developed the world's smallest global positioning system (GPS) receiver.

The company, Rakon, has made a new module - as tiny as a baby's fingernail - which can decode GPS signals in devices such as cellphones. Previously, this was done with a set of components the size of a 50c piece.

"It means manufacturers can meet market demand to miniaturise devices which may contain GPS function such as mobile phones, PDAs (personal digital assistants) or even watches, yet offer improved GPS capability," said Rakon managing director Brent Robinson.

Graham Cottew, chief executive of Melbourne-based software development company Zendata, said the device could be revolutionary.

"It is very small, and if it does what they claim it does, it's quite a breakthrough.

"In a couple of years' time all cellphones could have GPS chips embedded in them. The smaller and more sensitive and stable the device is, the more attractive for the market."

Phones with GPS can locate the user to within metres - useful for emergency services finding an injured person or for information such as directions to a nearby restaurant.

Rakon - considering listing on the stock exchange this year - is already fielding calls from GPS manufacturers keen to embed the miniature module in their own new developments.

Mr Robinson said manufacturing would start this year.

British consulting company Esys estimates the number of GPS-enabled cellphones will grow from about 300 million worldwide this year to 2 billion by 2020.

Rakon makes high-performance quartz crystals and oscillators that drive more than half of all GPS products made today.

Rakon, which has a factory in Mt Wellington, employs about 500 people, exports 95 per cent of its production, worth about $70 million a year, and plans a major expansion this year.

- Additional reporting Derek Cheng