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sparkfun NEO-M8U Hook-Up Manual

Gps dead reckoning
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SparkFun GPS Dead Reckoning NEO-M8U Hookup Guide
Introduction
The u-blox NEO-M8U is a powerful GPS units that takes advantage of untethered dead reckoning (UDR)
technology for navigation. The module provides continuous positioning for vehicles in urban environments and
during complete signal loss (e.g. short tunnels and parking garages). We will quickly get you set up using the
Qwiic ecosystem and Arduino so that you can start reading the output!
SparkFun GPS Dead Reckoning Breakout - NEO-M8U
(Qwiic)
 GPS-16329
Product Showcase: SparkFun Qwiic GPS Dead Reckoning Break... ...
Product Showcase: SparkFun Qwiic GPS Dead Reckoning Break

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  • Page 1 SparkFun GPS Dead Reckoning NEO-M8U Hookup Guide Introduction The u-blox NEO-M8U is a powerful GPS units that takes advantage of untethered dead reckoning (UDR) technology for navigation. The module provides continuous positioning for vehicles in urban environments and during complete signal loss (e.g. short tunnels and parking garages). We will quickly get you set up using the...

  • Page 2: Required Materials

    Qwiic Cable - 100mm PRT-14427 SparkFun RedBoard Qwiic DEV-15123 SparkFun GPS Dead Reckoning Breakout - NEO-M8U (Qwiic) GPS-16329 Interface Cable SMA to U.FL WRL-09145 This is a 4" connector cable that interfaces U.FL RF connectors to regular SMA connectors. **Documents:*** [Data…...
  • Page 3 GPS/GNSS Magnetic Mount Antenna - 3m GPS/GNSS Embedded Antenna - 1m (SMA) (SMA)  GPS-14987  GPS-14986 GPS Embedded Antenna SMA SparkFun GNSS Chip Antenna Evaluation Board  GPS-00177  GPS-15247 GPS Antenna Accessories...
  • Page 4 GPS Antenna Ground Plate  WRL-09145  GPS-15004 U.FL to U.FL Mini Coax Cable - 200mm  WRL-15114 Other Qwiic Cable Accessories SparkFun Qwiic Cable Kit Qwiic Cable - 100mm  KIT-15081  PRT-14427 Qwiic Cable - 200mm Qwiic Cable - 50mm...

  • Page 5: Suggested Reading

     PRT-14426 Heads up! If you are using the RedBoard without a Qwiic connector, we recommend getting the Qwiic Shield for Arduino. SparkFun Qwiic Shield for Arduino  DEV-14352 Suggested Reading If you aren't familiar with the Qwiic system, we recommend reading here for an overview.
  • Page 6 Dead Reckoning is the process of determining current position by combining previously determined positional data with speed and heading. This process can also be applied to determine future positions as well! The NEO-M8U uses what is called Untethered Dead Reckoning (UDR) which calculates speed and heading (amongst many other points of data) through the use of an internal inertial measurement unit (IMU).

  • Page 7: Hardware Overview

    Illustration of Using an IMU with GNSS Data Illustration of Using only GNSS Data Only Illustration of Refresh Rate to Accurately Determine Position. Image Courtesy of u-blox from the UDR Whitepaper. In addition, the module can also give accurate and useful GNSS data in areas where satellite connections are difficult to maintain: areas like the dense urban environments of major cities, long tunnels, parking garages, any large UFO's that may descend from the sky, etc.
  • Page 8 Battery The small metal disk in the upper left corner is a small lithium battery. This battery does not provide power to the IC like the 3.3V system does, but to relevant systems inside the IC that allow for a quick reconnection to satellites. The time to first fix will about ~26 seconds, but after it has a lock, that battery will allow for about a 1.5 second time to first fix.

  • Page 9: U.fl Connector

    SPI data bus thus disabling the UART functions on those lines. For more information, check out our tutorial on working with jumper pads and PCB traces. U.FL Connector The SparkFun GPS NEO-M8U has a u.FL connector in which you can connect a patch antenna.
  • Page 10 Qwiic and I C There are two pins labeled which indicates the I C data lines. Similarly, you can use either of the Qwiic connectors to provide power and utilize I C. The Qwiic ecosystem is made for fast prototyping by removing the need for soldering.
  • Page 11 UART There are two pins on the right most header labeled for their UART functionality. Broken Out Pins There are four other pins broken out: Pulse per second ( ), Reset ( ), Safeboot ( ), and finally the SAFE interrupt pin ( ).

  • Page 12: Board Dimension

    For easy reference, we've documented the IMU's vectors with 3D Cartesian coordinate axes on the top and bottom side of the board. Make sure to orient and mount the board correctly so that the NEO-M8U can accurately calculate navigation information. This is explained in detail in the Dead Reckoning Overview. Remember, it's all relative.
  • Page 13 GPS Capabilities The SparkFun NEO-M8U is able to connect to up to three different GNSS constellations at a time. Below are the listed capabilities of the GPS unit taken from the datasheet when connecting to different GNSS constellations. Constellations GPS+GLO...
  • Page 14 Orientation for the SparkFun Dead Reckoning The SparkFun Dead Reckoning adheres to two particular frames of reference: one frame of reference for the car and the second a geodetic frame of reference anchoring it to the globe. The latter, known as the local level frame...
  • Page 15 In the image above the SparkFun Dead reckoning is seen in the front, driver's side of the car and it may be tempting to think that this is also a necessary requirement. However, it can be mounted anywhere within the vehicle (or RC-car, or boat).

  • Page 16: Hardware Assembly

    Adding tape or some hot glue will provide some strain relief to prevent the cable from disconnecting. When using the NEO-M8U, you will want to orient the board according to the guidelines explained earlier. Below is a top-down view with the board pointing down.
  • Page 17 Now that the SparkFun Dead Reckoning is mounted and oriented correctly with regards to the vehicle, it's time to calibrate the sensor. To do this, a few movements with the vehicle must be done all while maintaining good GNSS...
  • Page 18 Then turn your engine off before checking the status! You should see a message indicating that the NEO-M8U is calibrated. If you do not, try driving around with the...
  • Page 19 After you have your sensor calibrated (see example 1), you can now poll the internal IMU to see what data is being fed to the GNSS calculations. Open the second example (located in File Examples > SparkFun Ublox Arduino Library > Dead Reckoning > Example2_getIMUData) to follow along! First, the sketch checks to see that the board is calibrated before it attempts to read IMU data.
  • Page 20 The vehicle attitude is a termed coined by u-blox that encompasses three measurements: vehicle pitch, vehicle roll, and vehicle heading. Much like the other example sketches, this one checks to make sure that the SparkFun Dead Reckoning NEO-M8U has been calibrated before pulling data.
  • Page 21 Serial.println("Fusion Mode is either disabled or not initialized - Freezing!"); Serial.println("Please see Example 1 description at top for more information."); If the SparkFun Dead Reckoning NEO-M8U has indeed been calibrated, then it gets the relevant information by calling . As in Example 2, the data is stored within a struct called vehAtt.
  • Page 22 GitHub SparkFun u-blox Arduino Library Product Repo SFE Product Showcase Are you looking for a GPS receivers? Check out the following GPS boards from the SparkFun catalog! SparkFun GPS-RTK2 Board - ZED-F9P (Qwiic) SparkFun GPS-RTK-SMA Breakout - ZED-F9P (Qwiic)  GPS-15136 ...
  • Page 23 GPS Basics GPS Logger Shield Hookup Guide The Global Positioning System (GPS) is an How to assemble and hookup the SparkFun GPS engineering marvel that we all have access to for a Logger Shield. Never lose track of your Arduino again! relatively low cost and no subscription fee.

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