Murata partners with Xona to advance satellite PNT technologies

Japan’s Murata Manufacturing and Xona Space Systems have signed an MOU to improve the accuracy and reliability of satellite PNT (Positioning, Navigation and Timing) technologies. 

The companies will explore the potential to provide optimal products and solutions by combining Murata’s expertise in high-frequency and wireless communications, sensors, timing devices and module design with Xona’s advanced LEO-based positioning and timing synchronization technologies, according to a media release.

PNT is a foundational technology that plays a critical role in supporting modern society across communications infrastructure, industrial equipment, mobility, consumer IoT, and other sectors.  

Xona offers “Pulsar,” a PNT service based on a satellite network composed of a constellation of dedicated LEO satellites with significantly stronger signals than traditional GNSS systems. As a purpose-built modern PNT service, Pulsar aims to achieve centimeter-level positioning accuracy, greater performance in urban areas, and enhanced resilience against jamming and spoofing, Murata said. 

Pulsar is also compatible with GNSS, enabling these enhanced capabilities to be integrated with typical GNSS user equipment in a way that complements and improves existing systems.

Murata has previously invested in Xona through WONDERSTONE Ventures, Murata’s corporate venture capital (CVC) arm, and this initiative represents part of an ongoing collaboration built upon the existing relationship between the two companies.

“Looking ahead, the companies will evaluate potential applications in data centers and financial institutions that require highly accurate timing synchronization to support 5G/6G communications, as well as in off-road industries such as construction and agricultural machinery, where positioning needs are high in environments where GNSS is difficult to use,” Murata said.