Air Semiconductor says its Airwave1 embedded GPS chip has successfully geotagged images taken from commercial digital cameras.
During a demonstration, Air Semi said an Airwave1 prototype was able to geotag photographs taken with a commercial digital still camera.
The embedded GPS technology consumes less power and can continuously track the location of battery-operated devices even when they are switched off, Air Semi said.
Airwave1 also retains the last coordinates measured before entering a building and can use these to provide a close estimate of location when a photo is taken inside.
The startup chip designer said it is already working closely with several major digital camera manufacturers eyeing markets in Taiwan and Japan.
Aside from digital cameras, Air Semi is also eyeing markets in mobile handsets and gaming devices. Samples of Airwave1 will be available to customers in early 2009.
The chip contains all RF and digital hardware and the software needed to calculate location data, Air Semi said.