Summary

Real-TIme Kinematic

Source: GPS for Land Surveyors

There is no question that Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) dominates the GPS/GNSS surveying applications. It is applicable to much of engineering, surveying, air-navigation, mineral exploration, machine control, hydrography, and a myriad of other areas that require centimeter-level accuracy. However, the control on which it depends is typically set using static GPS/GNSS.

Real-TIme Network

Source: GPS for Land Surveyors

The pace of the development of Real-Time Networks, RTN, both by governments and commercial interests, is accelerating. The services are sometimes free and sometimes require the arrangement of a subscription or the payment of a fee before the user can access the broadcast corrections over a datalink via a modem such as a cell-phone or some other device. But the central idea at the foundation of RTN is differential correction. That is, the combination of observations from several CORS at known positions used to derive a model of an entire region still relies on the same differential ideas that we discussed near the beginning of the course. In other words, even the latest developments in satellite positioning continue to be based on the same fundamental principles.

In the next lesson, we will take a look at the changes in GPS/GNSS that will be affecting satellite positioning in the near future.