
ISRO collaborates with Chinese tech firm Oppo on the development of the NavIC communication system.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) struck a deal with Chinese tech company Oppo on Friday to boost the NavIC messaging service's research and development (R&D).
According to the MoU, ISRO and Oppo India will share technical information about NavIC messaging services in order to develop rapid, ready-to-use, end-to-end application-specific solutions by integrating the NavIC messaging service with the mobile handset platform while keeping Indian users' needs in mind.
The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), often known as NavIC ( NAVigation with Indian Constellation), is an independent regional satellite tracking program that provides precise real-time location and timing services. The Government of India (GoI) approved the development of this system in May 2013 to avoid a repeat of what Military faced during the Kargil war, when their plea to connect foreign agency satellite navigation systems was denied by the owner countries, including the United States.
Following the signing of this MoU, Oppo will now develop ready-to-use, end-to-end application-specific solutions by integrating the NavIC messaging service with its mobile device platform. The NavIC system provides regional navigation services throughout the Indian subcontinent. It also extends up to 1,500 kilometres beyond the Indian continent. Aside from location services, the NavIC technology can also send out brief messages, generally known as SOS. Currently, Oppo phones rely on GPS and the Chinese-owned Beidou global positioning services.
'Under our most recent MoU, we will supply ISRO with our industry-leading R&D skills in order to give users of the NavIC application with a smooth experience.' Oppo will invest in further growing the product with its competitive and skilled R&D team, in accordance with our Make in India mission. In order to benefit both our users and the government,' Oppo India stated in a press release.
While the terms of the MoU were not disclosed by the ISRO or Oppo, analysts assume that the Oppo research and development team, which is based in China, would now have access to the data provided by NavIC. Xiaomi, another Chinese-based smartphone manufacturer, planned a similar collaboration with ISRO in 2020.
However, this trend has raised severe worries among authorities in the security apparatus. A top intelligence official stationed in an Eastern nation questioned the ISRO's decision to sign an MoU at a time when China was threatening India with full force and the PLA had killed 20 Indian troops in June last year. 'This is absurd.' 'Bureaucrats should have investigated and interfered,' he claimed.
According to media sources, Oppo Mobile India's income from operations for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2020 climbed by 79 percent to Rs 38,574.5 crore from Rs 21,524.6 crore the previous fiscal year. In the same year, the company's advertising and promotional costs more than quadrupled to Rs 2,276.5 crore from Rs 1,111.6 crore. Oppo had an 11 percent share of the Indian smartphone market in 2020, with 16.5 million phones shipped.
'The MoU would open the road for future partnerships between ISRO and Oppo India to build indigenous solutions by embedding the NavIC short messaging capability in OPPO India's smartphones,' stated Oppo India in a statement. The NavIC system provides precise regional navigation services encompassing the Indian subcontinent and up to 1,500 kilometres beyond it. Short messages can also be broadcasted via NavIC.