Hi all!
We are glad to announce the start of crowdfunding campaign for Reach - compact and affordable RTK GPS receiver, capable of centimeter-level precision.
RTK is a widely used technology well-known in surveying and precision agriculture. Currently available systems cost thousand of dollars and are not affordable to hobbyist, makers and small businesses.
Reach has a tiny Linux computer inside, which runs open-source RTKLIB engine and has comprehensive connectivity options. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Serial, USB on-the-go - whatever your application is, integration would be seamless. Reach can be connected to the internet and work independently with NTRIP casters. Here is an example of Reach installed in a vehicle compared to a standalone GPS:
We are working on integration with Pixhawk and other APM based autopilots. Reach can be powered from autopilot port and will send accurate coordinates using NMEA protocol.
Great antennas are the key for RTK performance. Tallysman Wireless, an industry leading company in high accuracy antennas provided their latest advanced antennas for the project. These antennas receive Glonass G1, Beidou B1, GPS L1 and Galileo E1 signals as well as signals from corrections services.
The Emlid Reach program is an excellent example of the potential for huge reductions in cost available of precision RTK positioning systems. Tallysman’s Accutenna™ technology is a great match for the Reach product because it too provides high precision at new price levels. Just as one wouldn’t expect a high quality image from an expensive TV receiver with a “rabbit ear” antenna, one should not expect the levels of precision the Reach product is capable of with a low precision antenna. Tallysman’s raison d’etre is production of high quality, high precision antennas at an affordable price for systems exactly such as the Emlid Reach product.
Allen Crawford – Director Marketing & Sales, Antennas and RF Products, Tallysman Wireless
Reach highlights:
- Raw data receiver: U-blox NEO-M8T - 72 channels, output rate is up to 18Hz, supports GPS L1, GLONASS G1, BeiDou B1, QZSS, SBAS, ready for Galileo E1
- Processing unit: Intel Edison - dual-core 500MHz
- Connectivity: I2C, UART, GPIO, TimeStamp, OTG USB, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
- GNSS Antenna: external with MCX connector
- Very compact: 25x35mm
- Lightweight: 20gr
We are now funding the project on Indiegogo platform and early supporters can get an RTK kit with two receivers and Tallysman survey-grade antennas for just 499$.
Comments
Would this system be accurate enough for direct georeferencing?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18rmxlbRhkw
These are the same talented guys who brought us the Navio board so we should expect great things.
As some others have mentioned, the nearest competitor is the swiftnav RTK GPS which initially had some problems getting the system to work really reliably but announced to the dev team a couple of weeks ago that they've got the issues sorted out and pushed in a big patch to ardupilot to add support.
There's certainly room in the market for multiple low-cost RTK GPS systems.
The biggest issue with the swiftnav system (and maybe other RTK GPSs?) is the 15min it takes to get a good solid lock.
What's the time for acquisition of RTK precision location? I know similar systems can take up to 10 minutes to compute the kinematic algorithms of the two receivers.
So, you are making this system into Frisk case.
@Thomas Stanley-Jones
It outputs NMEA, so Pixhawk\APM can already work with it. All it needs is the corrections which can be transferred over 3G or in MAVLink stream with telemetry or separate radiolink.
@JesseJay
Pricing should be in the same range, may be a little bit different. Depends on how large the batch would be.
@JesseJay,
I thought that Sparkfun did not allow RTK in the AVC?
Regards,
TCIII AVD
Very tempting! I hope the funding goes through. I'd be interested in purchasing after the campaign is over and things turn out good. Any guess on what the final price would be?
JesseJay
How would this be integrated with the Pixhawk or APM for flight control?
@Nikola Rabchevsky
Addresses can be set up in configuration app. It will do a discover on WiFi network and then you will be able to configure devices.
Sure, one base station can be shared with a virtually unlimited number or rovers.
RTK output rate is the same as raw data rate, so can be up to 18hz.
If you want to use a simple wifi network i.e. just a router, how does the rover module know what address to connect to to get the RTK corrections?
Can more than one rover module use corrections from the same base module?
What's the RTK output rate? Is it still 18 Hz?
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