Achieve Up to cm-Level Accuracy with u-blox High Precision GNSS Solutions
About Jari Haiston
Revolutionizing navigation and positioning, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technology has reached new heights with the introduction of High Precision GNSS (HPG) solutions. u-blox, a leading provider of GNSS solutions, offers an extensive portfolio of HPG solutions that can achieve up to cm-level accuracy.
u-blox High Precision GNSS Innovations Meet Demand for Ultra Accurate Positioning Solutions
From plowing fields and erecting skyscrapers to guiding autonomous vehicles through busy streets, precision is paramount. HPG positioning plays a critical role in a wide range of applications that require accurate and reliable location data. Industries like agriculture, construction, surveying, transportation, autonomous vehicles, and many more depend on HPG solutions for positioning information. With the surge in smart devices and location-based services, the demand for comprehensive HPG solutions has soared.
u-blox meets this demand with its diverse HPG solutions, providing benefits including:
- Centimeter-level accuracy in seconds
- High-precision navigation and unmanned autonomous vehicle (UAV) opportunities
- Accessible real time kinematic (RTK), multi-band, and multi-constellation technology for accelerated time-to-market
- Compatibility with leading correction services to ensure global coverage and flexibility
- Dead reckoning capabilities for reliable performance in urban environments
- Advanced jamming and spoofing detection for fortified security
Browse the u-blox HPG Portfolio
ZED-F9 – A Fusion of Expertise and Innovation
Building on the success of u-blox’s NEO-M8 , the ZED-F9 platform from u-blox brings centimeter-level accuracy to the forefront, making it a game-changer in the dynamic fields of robotics, UAVs, and automated machinery. ZED-F9 HPG solutions are manufactured in ISO/TS 16949 certified sites, undergo rigorous testing per ISO16750 standards, and adhere to industry standards to ensure robust and reliable performance in accordance with specific application needs.
u-blox’s ZED-F9 platform presents developers with the following positioning key benefits:
- Precision Excellence: The platform boasts multi-constellation and multi-band technology, delivering unparalleled accuracy, reaching sub-meter precision, and centimeter-level accuracy when paired with a GNSS correction service.
- Robust Performance: With a rapid time to the first fix and robust performance, the ZED-F9 platform leverages a diverse array of satellite signals to significantly improve precision in challenging urban environments.
- Enhanced Versatility: Supporting a spectrum of modern GNSS correction service technologies (RTCM v 3.x, SSR, SBAS), the platform facilitates centimeter-level positioning on a global scale.
- Dead Reckoning: ZED-F9 solutions integrate GNSS technology with inertial sensor input to ensure accurate positioning and attitude, even in environments where GNSS signals may be obstructed, such as tunnels, parking garages, and urban canyons with bridges.
- Security Assurance: The platform prioritizes security by incorporating advanced jamming and spoofing detection, instilling the highest levels of trust in positioning information.
The ZED-F9P is a compact and powerful positioning module that seamlessly integrates multi-band GNSS and RTK to provide centimeter-level accuracy within seconds for applications in industrial navigation, robotics, and more. Utilizing GNSS signals from GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, and NavIC, the module ensures fast convergence times for scalable applications like robotic lawnmowers, UAVs, and automated machinery.
With a high update rate and low power consumption, the ZED-F9P is tailored for dynamic applications such as UAVs, prioritizing security and advanced jamming/spoofing detection. Accommodating a variety of correction services, including standard RTCM and SPARTN, the ZED-F9P delivers seamless integration and is ideal for a wide range of market applications.
Engineered to meet the most stringent timing synchronization requirements in 5G mobile networks, ZED-F9T solutions deliver nanosecond-level accuracy for critical infrastructure applications. By substantially reducing timing errors in cellular network synchronization, ZED-F9T modules maximize network performance and optimize return on 5G investments for operators.
Under clear skies and operating without the need of an external GNSS correction service, the ZED-F9T’s multi-band capability ensures less than 5 ns timing error. It introduces a differential timing mode for local accuracy improvement through correction data exchange with neighboring GNSS timing receivers.
The ZED-F9R positioning module offers a compact and reliable multi-band GNSS sensor fusion solution for industrial applications. With a wide bandwidth allowing simultaneous reception of constellations of satellites, the module ensures high availability of RTK solutions and rapid convergence times. Featuring an integrated inertial measurement unit (IMU) and sophisticated algorithms, ZED-F9R solutions provide optimal positioning accuracy by fusing IMU data, GNSS measurements, wheel ticks, correction data, and a vehicle dynamics model.
Operating in diverse environments, from open skies to wooded countryside and difficult multipath conditions, the ZED-F9R is designed for industrial machinery, heavy trucks, and low-speed ground robotics, catering to a data-driven economy where control and precise positioning are crucial. The turnkey self-contained solution eliminates technical risks and efforts in component selection and integration, supporting various correction services for application-specific optimization.
As an accompanying module, the ZED-F9H delivers optimal heading information where precise attitude is paramount. The ZED-F9H integrates the u-blox F9 receiver platform, catering to high-volume industrial applications with its multi-band GNSS capabilities. Equipped with u-blox's moving-base RTK technology, the ZED-F9H ensures precise GNSS-based heading accuracy. However, it requires pairing with a ZED-F9P base in a moving base with a fixed baseline configuration for optimal results. This configuration is particularly well-suited for attitude-sensing applications like UAV, trucks, heavy vehicles, and antenna alignment where heading information and standstill is needed.
Prototyping with High Precision GNSS Explorer Kits
Both XPLR-HPG-1 and XPLR-HPG-2 serve as comprehensive platforms for the evaluation and prototyping of a u-blox HPG solution. Both explorer kits featured GNSS and communication modules that facilitate the reception of correction data from satellite broadcasts through an L-band satellite GNSS receiver or IP connectivity via Wi-Fi or LTE. Correction data, provided by PointPerfect, u-blox's GNSS augmentation service, is delivered through the Thingstream IoT service delivery platform.
Incorporating the NORA-W10 (XPLR-HPG-1), NINA-W10 (XPLR-HPG-2), and LARA-R6 to run HPG applications, these kits facilitate the evaluation of various communication channels for correction data and enable result monitoring. Additionally, hardware design and software source code are accessible on Github, allowing customers to modify code as needed, add functionality, and initiate the development of their own products.
PointPerfect Service Greatly Simplifies HPG Implementation
u-blox’s PointPerfect GNSS augmentation data service addresses the challenges of stand-alone GNSS by providing GNSS correction data over mobile internet and L-band satellite signals to account for satellite clock and orbit errors and signal biases along with ionospheric and tropospheric influences. This results in centimeter-level accuracy and convergence within seconds as opposed to meter-level accuracy provided by standalone GNSS. PointPerfect greatly simplifies HPG application implementation, and offers the following impressive benefits:
- Uniform coverage on a continental scale
- 99.9% uptime availability over the internet and L-band satellite
- Lower bandwidth to reduce user data costs
- Easy to manage huge device fleets with ZTP and flexible price plans
- Pre-integrated with u-blox F9 and D9 high precision GNSS modules
Users with a new Thingstream account have the opportunity to register for a FREE 30-day PointPerfect trial offered directly through u-blox.
NEO-M8P – Smallest, Lightest, and Most Energy-Efficient RTK Modules
Combining the u-blox M8 positioning engine with RTK technology, NEO-M8P HPG modules are market leaders in size, weight, and energy efficiency. The NEO-M8P series introduces the "rover" (NEO-M8P-0) and "base" (NEO-M8P-2) concepts to enable cm-level accuracy in clear-sky environments. Designed to streamline integration efforts, accelerate time to market, and ensure minimal cost of ownership, NEO-M8P solutions are compatible with a wide range of communication technologies (cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth®, and UHF).
NEO-D9S – The Original L-Band GNSS Correction Module
The NEO-D9S, a versatile L-band correction data receiver, offers a configurable solution that is compatible with various correction services. By decoding satellite transmissions, it produces a correction stream that enables HPG receivers to achieve centimeter-level accuracy. Reducing dependency on cellular connectivity, the NEO-D9S delivers an independent correction data stream via satellite L-band to ensure high availability of position output. It seamlessly integrates with u-blox F9 platform receivers to streamline high precision solution design.
Find u-blox HPG Solutions at Symmetry Electronics
Symmetry Electronics stands as the premier hub for cutting-edge u-blox HPG innovations. From achieving centimeter-level accuracy in mere seconds or addressing the needs of various industries like agriculture, construction, surveying, and autonomous vehicles, u-blox's HPG solutions are designed to meet the escalating demand for ultra-accurate positioning. As an authorized distributor of u-blox’s extensive portfolio of HPG solutions, Symmetry Electronics uniquely empowers developers to leverage innovations that seamlessly integrate and combine precision excellence, robust performance, and enhanced versatility.
Not sure which u-blox HPG solution is ideal for your application? Our team of Applications Engineers are experts in IoT, IIoT, and precision technology and are available to assist you in finding the ideal HPG product for your design. Consultation is free and available throughout your design cycle. Contact Symmetry Electronics, today!
About Jari Haiston
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