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Real Time Kinematics (RTK) satellite navigation is a DGNSS technique that uses the carrier phase measurements of GNSS signals. RTK is commonly used in land and hydrographic survey. The positioning accuracy obtained is of the order of centimeter-level. When only GPS signals are used, the RTK system is named Carrier-Phase Enhancement, CPGPS.<ref name="RTK_WIKI"/>
With origin dating back to the mid-1990s, Real Time Kinematics (RTK) is a [[Differential GNSS|differential GNSS]] technique which provides high positioning performance in the vicinity of a base station. The technique is based on the use of carrier measurements and the transmission of corrections from the base station, whose location is well known, to the rover, so that the main errors that drive the stand-alone positioning cancel out. A RTK base station covers a service area spreading about 10 or 20 kilometres, and a real time communication channel is needed connecting base and rover. RTK, which achieves performances in the range of a few centimetres, is a technique commonly used in survey applications.<ref name="RTKIAG">[http://www.wasoft.de/e/iagwg451/ International Association of Geodesy (IAG) Working Group 4.5.1: Network RTK ] </ref><ref name="RTK_WIKI">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Time_Kinematic RTK in Wikipedia]</ref>


==Introduction RTK==
==Introduction RTK==
The RTK technique follows the same general principle as [[DGNSS Fundamentals|classical DGNSS]], but instead of using corrections to C/A code pseudoranges, it uses the carrier phase as its signal.<ref name="RTK_WIKI"/>
Real Time Kinematics (RTK) is a [[Differential GNSS|differential GNSS]] technique originated in the mid-1990s that provides high performance positioning in the vicinity of a base station.
 
From an architectural point of view, RTK consists of a base station, one or several rover users, and a communication channel with which the base broadcasts information to the users at real time.


[[File:Summit_rtk_survey.jpg|300px|thumb|RTK Support Polar Survey]]
[[File:Summit_rtk_survey.jpg|300px|thumb|RTK Support Polar Survey]]
The technique is based in the following high-level principles:
*TBD


The RTK technique consists on a rover user that applies real-time corrections provided by a base station. In the classical [[DGNSS Fundamentals|DGNSS Technique]], there are also 2 receivers, one at a known location (base station) and one at an unknown position, that see the same GNSS satellites in common. By fixing the location of the base station, the other location may be found either by computing corrections to the position of the unknown receiver or by computing corrections to the pseudoranges. In the classical DGNSS technology, only corrections to C/A code pseudoranges are being transmitted, which brings rover positional errors down to values about 1 m for distances between rover and base station of a few tens of kilometers.<ref name="RTK_WIKI"/>
The RTK technique consists on a rover user that applies real-time corrections provided by a base station. In the classical [[DGNSS Fundamentals|DGNSS Technique]], there are also 2 receivers, one at a known location (base station) and one at an unknown position, that see the same GNSS satellites in common. By fixing the location of the base station, the other location may be found either by computing corrections to the position of the unknown receiver or by computing corrections to the pseudoranges. In the classical DGNSS technology, only corrections to C/A code pseudoranges are being transmitted, which brings rover positional errors down to values about 1 m for distances between rover and base station of a few tens of kilometers.<ref name="RTK_WIKI"/>


The military-only P(Y) signal sent by the same satellites is clocked by receivers ten times as fast, so with similar techniques the receiver will be accurate to about 30 cm. Therefore, in RTK system using the satellite's carrier phase as its signal, the improvement in accuracy is potentially very high if one continues to assume a 1% accuracy in locking. The difficulty of the use of carrier phase data comes at a cost in terms of overall system complexity because the measurements are ambiguous by an integer (i.e. every cycle of the carrier is similar to every other). Therefore, the key of the RTK technique is the [[RTK Fundamentals|"Ambiguity Resolution"]]. <ref name="RTK_WIKI">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Time_Kinematic RTK in Wikipedia]</ref>
The military-only P(Y) signal sent by the same satellites is clocked by receivers ten times as fast, so with similar techniques the receiver will be accurate to about 30 cm. Therefore, in RTK system using the satellite's carrier phase as its signal, the improvement in accuracy is potentially very high if one continues to assume a 1% accuracy in locking. The difficulty of the use of carrier phase data comes at a cost in terms of overall system complexity because the measurements are ambiguous by an integer (i.e. every cycle of the carrier is similar to every other). Therefore, the key of the RTK technique is the [[RTK Fundamentals|"Ambiguity Resolution"]]. <ref name="RTK_WIKI"/>


The first [[RTK Systems]] that were developed use a single base station and a number of rover units. The base station re-broadcasts the phase of the carrier that it measured, and the mobile units compare their own phase measurements with the ones received from the base station. This allows the units to calculate their relative position to millimeters, although their absolute position is accurate only to the same accuracy as the position of the base station. The typical nominal accuracy for these dual-frequency systems is 1 centimeter ± 2 parts-per-million (ppm) horizontally and 2 centimeters ± 2 ppm vertically. In areas with a large GPS surveying activity, the RTK Systems have evolved to Network RTK systems making use of a network of reference stations.<ref>[http://www.wasoft.de/e/iagwg451/ International Association of Geodesy (IAG) Working Group 4.5.1: Network RTK ] </ref><ref name="RTK_WIKI"/>
The first [[RTK Systems]] that were developed use a single base station and a number of rover units. The base station re-broadcasts the phase of the carrier that it measured, and the mobile units compare their own phase measurements with the ones received from the base station. This allows the units to calculate their relative position to millimeters, although their absolute position is accurate only to the same accuracy as the position of the base station. The typical nominal accuracy for these dual-frequency systems is 1 centimeter ± 2 parts-per-million (ppm) horizontally and 2 centimeters ± 2 ppm vertically. In areas with a large GPS surveying activity, the RTK Systems have evolved to Network RTK systems making use of a network of reference stations.<ref name="RTKIAG"/><ref name="RTK_WIKI"/>


The use of RTK technique is very frequent in surveying. Other applications are autodrive/autopilot systems or precision farming.<ref name="RTK_WIKI"/>
The use of RTK technique is very frequent in surveying. Other applications are autodrive/autopilot systems or precision farming.<ref name="RTK_WIKI"/>

Revision as of 19:40, 4 December 2011


FundamentalsFundamentals
Title Real Time Kinematics
Edited by GMV
Level Basic
Year of Publication 2011
Logo GMV.png

With origin dating back to the mid-1990s, Real Time Kinematics (RTK) is a differential GNSS technique which provides high positioning performance in the vicinity of a base station. The technique is based on the use of carrier measurements and the transmission of corrections from the base station, whose location is well known, to the rover, so that the main errors that drive the stand-alone positioning cancel out. A RTK base station covers a service area spreading about 10 or 20 kilometres, and a real time communication channel is needed connecting base and rover. RTK, which achieves performances in the range of a few centimetres, is a technique commonly used in survey applications.[1][2]

Introduction RTK

Real Time Kinematics (RTK) is a differential GNSS technique originated in the mid-1990s that provides high performance positioning in the vicinity of a base station.

From an architectural point of view, RTK consists of a base station, one or several rover users, and a communication channel with which the base broadcasts information to the users at real time.

RTK Support Polar Survey

The technique is based in the following high-level principles:

  • TBD

The RTK technique consists on a rover user that applies real-time corrections provided by a base station. In the classical DGNSS Technique, there are also 2 receivers, one at a known location (base station) and one at an unknown position, that see the same GNSS satellites in common. By fixing the location of the base station, the other location may be found either by computing corrections to the position of the unknown receiver or by computing corrections to the pseudoranges. In the classical DGNSS technology, only corrections to C/A code pseudoranges are being transmitted, which brings rover positional errors down to values about 1 m for distances between rover and base station of a few tens of kilometers.[2]

The military-only P(Y) signal sent by the same satellites is clocked by receivers ten times as fast, so with similar techniques the receiver will be accurate to about 30 cm. Therefore, in RTK system using the satellite's carrier phase as its signal, the improvement in accuracy is potentially very high if one continues to assume a 1% accuracy in locking. The difficulty of the use of carrier phase data comes at a cost in terms of overall system complexity because the measurements are ambiguous by an integer (i.e. every cycle of the carrier is similar to every other). Therefore, the key of the RTK technique is the "Ambiguity Resolution". [2]

The first RTK Systems that were developed use a single base station and a number of rover units. The base station re-broadcasts the phase of the carrier that it measured, and the mobile units compare their own phase measurements with the ones received from the base station. This allows the units to calculate their relative position to millimeters, although their absolute position is accurate only to the same accuracy as the position of the base station. The typical nominal accuracy for these dual-frequency systems is 1 centimeter ± 2 parts-per-million (ppm) horizontally and 2 centimeters ± 2 ppm vertically. In areas with a large GPS surveying activity, the RTK Systems have evolved to Network RTK systems making use of a network of reference stations.[1][2]

The use of RTK technique is very frequent in surveying. Other applications are autodrive/autopilot systems or precision farming.[2]

RTK Related Articles

The following articles include further information about different important topics related to RTK:

Credits

Edited by GMV. Most of the information in this article includes text taken from Wikipedia with minor adaptation,[2] provided under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.

Notes


References