RTK

Real-time kinematic
North SmaRTK GNSS RTK receiver being used to

survey the forest population in Switzerland.
Real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning is

a satellite navigation technique used to
enhance the precision of position data
derived from satellite-based positioning
systems (global navigation satellite
systems, GNSS) such as GPS, GLONASS,
Galileo, and BeiDou. It uses
measurements of the phase of the
signal's carrier wave in addition to the
information content of the signal and
relies on a single reference station or
interpolated virtual station to provide
real-time corrections, providing up to
centimetre-level accuracy.[1] With
reference to GPS in particular, the system
is commonly referred to as carrier-phase
enhancement, or CPGPS.[2] It has
applications in land survey, hydrographic
survey, and in unmanned aerial vehicle
navigation.
Overview
Background
The distance between a satellite

navigation receiver and a satellite can be
calculated from the time it takes for a
signal to travel from the satellite to the
receiver. To calculate the delay, the
receiver must align a pseudorandom
binary sequence contained in the signal
to an internally generated pseudorandom
binary sequence. Since the satellite
signal takes time to reach the receiver,
the satellite's sequence is delayed in
relation to the receiver's sequence. By
increasingly delaying the receiver's
sequence, the two sequences are
eventually aligned.
The accuracy of the resulting range
measurement is essentially a function of
the ability of the receiver's electronics to
accurately process signals from the
satellite, and additional error sources
such as non-mitigated ionospheric and
tropospheric delays, multipath, satellite
clock and ephemeris errors, etc.
Carrier-phase tracking
RTK follows the same general concept,

but uses the satellite signal's carrier
wave as its signal, ignoring the
information contained within. RTK uses a
fixed base station and a rover to reduce
the rover's position error. The base
station transmits correction data to the
rover.
As described in the previous section, the

range to a satellite is essentially
calculated by multiplying the carrier
wavelength times the number of whole
cycles between the satellite and the rover
and adding the phase difference.
Determining the number of cycles is non-
trivial, since signals may be shifted in
phase by one or more cycles. This results
in an error equal to the error in the
estimated number of cycles times the
wavelength, which is 19 cm for the L1
signal. Solving this so-called integer
ambiguity search problem results in
centimeter precision. The error can be
reduced with sophisticated statistical
methods that compare the
measurements from the C/A signals and
by comparing the resulting ranges
between multiple satellites.
The improvement possible using this

technique is potentially very high if one
continues to assume a 1% accuracy in
locking. For instance, in the case of GPS,
the coarse-acquisition (C/A) code, which
is broadcast in the L1 signal, changes
phase at 1.023 MHz, but the L1 carrier
itself is 1575.42 MHz, which changes
phase over a thousand times more often.
A ±1% error in L1 carrier-phase
measurement thus corresponds to a
±1.9 mm error in baseline estimation.[3]
Practical considerations
In practice, RTK systems use a single

base-station receiver and a number of
mobile units. The base station re-
broadcasts the phase of the carrier that it
observes, and the mobile units compare
their own phase measurements with the
one received from the base station.
There are several ways to transmit a
correction signal from base station to
mobile station. The most popular way to
achieve real-time, low-cost signal
transmission is to use a radio modem,
typically in the UHF Band. In most
countries, certain frequencies are
allocated specifically for RTK purposes.
Most land-survey equipment has a built-
in UHF-band radio modem as a standard
option. RTK provides accuracy
enhancements up to about 20 km from
the base station.[4]
This allows the units to calculate their

relative position to within millimeters,
although their absolute position is
accurate only to the same accuracy as
the computed position of the base
station. The typical nominal accuracy for
these systems is
1 centimetre ± 2 parts-per-million (ppm)
horizontally and 2 centimetres ± 2 ppm
vertically.[5]
Although these parameters limit the

usefulness of the RTK technique for
general navigation, the technique is
perfectly suited to roles like surveying. In
this case, the base station is located at a
known surveyed location, often a
benchmark, and the mobile units can
then produce a highly accurate map by
taking fixes relative to that point. RTK has
also found uses in autodrive/autopilot
systems, precision farming, machine
control systems and similar roles.
The RTK networks extend the use of RTK

to a larger area containing a network of
reference stations.[6] Operational
reliability and accuracy depend on the
density and capabilities of the reference-
station network.
A Continuously Operating Reference

Station (CORS) network is a network of
RTK base stations that broadcast
corrections, usually over an Internet
connection. Accuracy is increased in a
CORS network, because more than one
station helps ensure correct positioning
and guards against a false initialization
of a single base station.[7]
Vendors
Vendors that provide RTK systems and
services include[8]: Trimble, Leica
Geosystems, Topcon, Emlid[9], North
Surveying[10], Hi-Target[11], Sokkia,
NovAtel[12], Septentrio, Hemisphere
GNSS, ANavS[13], CHCNAV[14], SunNav[15],
Unistrong[16], Swift Navigation[17], and
John Deere[18]
See also
Differential GPS
European Geostationary Navigation
Overlay Service (EGNOS)
GAGAN
Galileo positioning system
Global Positioning System
GLONASS
SWEPOS
BeiDou
References
1. Wanninger, Lambert. "Introduction to
Network RTK" . www.wasoft.de. IAG
Working Group 4.5.1. Retrieved
14 February 2018.
2. Mannings, Robin (2008). Ubiquitous
Positioning . Artech House. p. 102.
ISBN 978-1596931046.
3. "Geo-Positioning, GPS, DGPS, and
Positioning Accuracy" (PDF). Archived
from the original on January 15, 2009.
Retrieved 2006-06-20.
4. RIETDORF, Anette; DAUB, Christopher;
LOEF, Peter (2006). "Precise Positioning in
Real-Time using Navigation Satellites and
Telecommunication". PROCEEDINGS OF
THE 3rd WORKSHOP ON POSITIONING,
NAVIGATION AND COMMUNICATION.
CiteSeerX 10.1.1.581.2400 .
5. "RealTimeKinematicSystem" . Archived
from the original on February 3, 2012.
6. Gakstatter, Eric. "RTK Networks – What,
Why, Where?" (PDF). www.gps.gov.
USSLS/CGSIC Meeting 2009. Retrieved
14 February 2018.
7. US Department of Commerce, NOAA;
US Department of Commerce, NOAA.
"National Geodetic Survey - CORS
Homepage" . www.ngs.noaa.gov.
8. Gakstatter, Eric (21 March 2013). "RTK
GNSS Receivers: A Flooded Market?" .
gpsworld.com. GPS World. Retrieved
14 February 2018.
9. "Emlid" . emlid.com. Retrieved
8 February 2019.
10. "North Surveying" .
northsurveying.com. Retrieved
14 February 2018.
11. "Hi-Target-Surveying the
world,Mapping the future" . en.hi-
target.com.cn.
12. "GPS & GNSS Equipment, Products &
Solutions" . NovAtel. Retrieved
14 February 2018.
13. "ANavS - Advanced Navigation
Solutions" . anavs.de. Retrieved
14 February 2018.
14. amin, rashed. "CHCNAV - Make your
work more efficient" . www.chcnav.com.
Retrieved 14 February 2018.
15. "GIS,gps receiver,glonass
receiver,surveying instruments,rtk
gps,gnss" . www.sunnavtech.com.
Retrieved 14 February 2018.
16. "Beijing UniStrong Science &
Technology Co Ltd: Company Profile" .
Bloomberg.
17. "Swift Navigation" .
www.swiftnav.com.
18. "Starfire™ 6000 Receiver | Guidance
Solutions | Precision Ag Technology |
John Deere Australia" .
www.deere.com.au. Retrieved
2019-02-05.
External links
RTK Detailed Concepts GNSS, RTK
and Satellite Positioning concepts in
depth.
CORS Map Global Network of
Continuously Operating Reference
Stations.
GBAS Map Global Map Coverage of
Ground Based Augmentation
Reference Beacons (GBAS).
Guidelines User Guidelines for Single
Base Real Time GNSS Positioning
(NOAA)
RTK Integration Manual to integrate
RTK Receivers into UAVs and Robotics
Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Real-
time_kinematic&oldid=885938383"
Last edited 2 months ago by Suec…

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Real-time kinematic

North SmaRTK GNSS RTK receiver being used to

Real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning is

The distance between a satellite

RTK follows the same general concept,

As described in the previous section, the

The improvement possible using this

In practice, RTK systems use a single

This allows the units to calculate their

Although these parameters limit the

The RTK networks extend the use of RTK

A Continuously Operating Reference

Last edited 2 months ago by Suec…

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