With India moving forward on a transformative mission to develop smart cities, the integration of UIDAI-certified next-generation technology like high-accuracy geolocation and secure authentication have become central to this evolution. These technologies are the keystone of Aadhaar-based e-governance and related digital services and facilitate the seamless, secure and efficient transfer of citizen-focused solutions. With the government’s initiative towards indigenous innovation and high regulatory barriers, it is necessary to have GPS solutions that offer secure tamper-evident geotagging and secure Aadhaar based authentication. Leading the charge is India’s satellite navigation system called NaviC, along with a GPS receiver called Radium UGR 89 which has been designed for use in India
The Push for Indigenous Navigation: Why NaviC Matters
India’s Navigation with Indian Constellation (NaviC), with reach extending to about 1,500 km outside of India and the potential for geolocation services in the region.
Unlike global navigation systems such as GPS, NaviC is individually faired to India’s own geographic and strategic priorities and is the only accountable military GPS program available. The government of India has seen the potential of NaviC and intends to make NaviC compatibility mandatory across all major digital and e-governance hardware by the year 2025, underscoring the importance of NaviC in India’s digital ecosystem.
NaviC’s advantages are clear and compelling:
- Regional Accuracy: NaviC demonstrates greater degrees of accuracy over generic GPS technology, so it will work for India’s different terrains – sprawling cities to rural villages.
- Fast Signal Acquisition: NaviC has been engineered for fast satellite fixes so as to deliver reliable performance to field officers, and usage in real-time.
- Enhanced Security: NaviC can enhance jamming resilience and enhance resilience to spoofing for potential use in secure Aadhaar linked services.Thus, protecting sensitive personal information and transactions.
- Regulatory Compliance: Once NaviC becomes mandatory, products with a NaviC capability will guarantee compliance with future government regulations, pre-empting future-proof investments.
The government’s introduction of NaviC in e-governance and smart city initiatives is another policy direction towards self-reliance, thereby reducing dependence upon foreign mapping, improving security, efficiency, and benefits to digital services.
Radium UGR 89: Raising the Bar in Aadhaar GPS Receivers
The Radium UGR 89 is a state-of-the-art GPS receiver designed to accommodate India’s evolving digital landscape. Using its prior success of the UGR 86, the UGR 89 brings performance features that will make it the leading solution with the best accuracy for Aadhaar supported geolocation and verification
From UGR 86 to UGR 89: What’s Changed?
The Radium UGR 86 was a trailblazer in its own right, widely used as a plug-and-play, UIDAI certified GPS receiver for Aadhaar authentication in enrollment sites, banks, and Common Service Centers (CSCs). Yet the UGR 89 builds on this foundation to unprecedented levels with a full set of cutting-edge features:
- Complete NaviC Integration: The UGR 89, a UIDAI-certified GPS receiver, features full NaviC integration,providing accurate location information optimized for the geography of India and meeting the future government requirements.
- Multi-GNSS Chipset: Multi-GNSS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and NaviC) support on the UGR 89 means faster fixes and better reliability in difficult environments involving urban and remote rural locations.
- Superior Ruggedness: The UGR 89 is more rugged for field environments, with an upgraded ABS enclosure designed to handle extreme wet or dry conditions in metropolitan and remote rural environments.
- Advanced Biometric Integration: The UGR 89 has no obstacles standing in the way of Aadhaar eKYC integration, and there is an easy to use SDK, which can also support other extended biometric needs.
- Plug-and-Play Simplicity: It has no drivers, like its predecessor UGR 89; it is not limited to a single driver, and it has support for Windows, Linux and Aadhaar-enabled Android terminals.
Comparison Table: UGR 86 vs UGR 89
| Feature | UGR 86 | UGR 89 |
| UIDAI Approval | Yes | Yes |
| GPS + GLONASS Support | Yes | Yes |
| NaviC Satellite Support | No | Yes (full compatibility) |
| USB Plug-and-Play | Yes | Yes |
| Rugged ABS Build | Yes | Enhanced |
| Biometric Integration | Basic | Advanced SDK/eKYC |
| Multi-GNSS | No | Yes (GPS/GLONASS/Galileo/NaviC) |
| Sensitivity for Terrain | Good | Superior (urban/rural) |
Why Dual GNSS + NaviC Support Is a Game-Changer
The UGR 89 can take advantage of multiple global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), in addition to NaviC, which makes it a flexible solution that is ready for the future. Dual support has several key benefits:
- Faster and More Accurate Fixes: Utilizing multiple satellite constellations, the UGR 89 device can get you sub-meter accuracy, even in blocks with deteriorated or obstructed signals (e.g. high-rise environment, or a heavily vegetated rural area).
- Resilience: The multi-GNSS chipset does as its purpose is designed to perform reliably in rugged field conditions amended for Government survey and welfare funded fieldwork on unpredictable sultry earth.
- Future-Proof Compliance: The UGR 89 complies with India’s UIDAI regulations and supports NaviC., therefore you can delegate how your organisation manages itself for current or future compliance.
This will combine accuracy, reliability and compliance to help guarantee the UGR 89 works for agencies and developers providing the infrastructure for India’s smart cities.
Designed for Indian Field Realities
The Radium UGR 89 is designed to meet the practical requirements of India’s diverse environment and operational needs:
- Lightweight and Compact: Its portability supports an easy integration with laptops, Aadhaar terminals, or mobile devices, making it perfect for field use.
- Low Power Consumption: Designed for long-life operations, the UGR 89 is optimal for battery powered deployments in remote locations or mobile devices.
- Secured Data: The UGR 89 protects your location and authentication data with strong encryption, adding to privacy while enabling audited tamper-proof transactions.
- Developer-Friendly SDK: Developers can simply integrate the UGR 89 easily into any new e-governance solution, fintech applications, or customized solutions with the UGR 89 SDK that will allow for substantial innovation.
Applications Fueling Smart Cities
The UGR 89’s adaptable nature supports a broad scope of applications driving the smart city & digital transformation projects of India.
- Aadhaar Enrollment and Updates: The UGR 89 provides locality tagged authentication to support citizenship services, and assure transparency as it is used to enroll citizens.
- Banking Points and Government Programs: Secure geotagging and Authentication support the timely delivery of money and welfare benefits, and alleviate the risk of fraud or theft, especially to some of India’s more remote rural communities.
- Mobile Biometric Terminals: UGR 89 allows in-field, immediate verification of health & outreach programs; it shortens the time it takes for the citizen to access services.
- Field Surveys and Audits: With location and time stamps, the UGR 89 provides a very strong tamper-proof audit trail for Governments surveys, urban planning, and compliance.
These solutions touch upon the UGR89’s position in this area of filling the gap between technology and accessibility to make the digital services more available in every quadrant of India’s smart cities and beyond.
Empowering Digital India
The Radium UGR 89 is more than a GPS receiver- it is a complete solution that enables agencies, developers and organizations to keep pace with India’s Digital Revolution. It offers end-to-end user experience with UIDAI certification, multi-GNSS and NaviC secure access, and Aadhaar integration, creating the most advanced solution for secure, compliant and connected digital services.
Conclusion
India is leaping ahead with smart cities and digital governance for everyone, and now is time for the UGR 89 to redefine geolocation possibilities with Aadhaar. The UGR89 has compelling specifications of precision, robustness, and developer-friendly, which collectively makes it a unique piece of equipment to develop secure, reliable and scalable digital infrastructure. For organizations and innovators who want to be part of India’s Digital Revolution, the Radium UGR 89 is not just a smart choice, it is the only choice!
FAQ’s
What makes UGR 89 suitable for field use?
UGR 89 is lightweight, rugged, low-power, plug-and-play, with secure data encryption making it suitable for urban/rural Aadhaar terminals as well as a variety of field experiences.
What is NaviC, and why is it important for India’s smart cities?
NaviC is a ISRO developed geolocation sensor constellation that provides the utmost precise, secure geolocation complex and compliant systems, resistant to jamming, and supports Aadhaar and related service delivery systems ran through biometric verified e-Governance infrastructures in smart cities.
What applications benefit from UGR 89?
UGR 89 can support Aadhaar enrollment, banking services through mobile biometric terminals and various field surveys requiring precision, tamper-proof geotagging basis for smart city projects and initiatives.
Can the Radium UGR 89 operate in areas with poor satellite signals?
Yes, UGR 89 is built on a multi-GNSS chipset (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, NaviC) chipset which has proven reliable in urban and most rural context to produce reliable results under challenging spatial constraints with sub-meter accuracy, where other GNSS are rendered ineffective.
Is the UGR 89 compatible with existing Aadhaar terminals?
Yes, UGR 89 is a plug-and-play device when using Windows, Linux or Android Aadhaar terminals. The UGR 89 will work with existing Aadhaar terminals, requiring no drivers for installation.
