Enabling advanced centimetre-level GPS positioning applications

u-blox and ArduSimple have announced a partnership for the development of the SimpleRTK2B SBC. The device, which is created around up to three u-blox ZED-F9P high precision GNSS receivers, simplifies the development of centimetre-level positioning solutions supporting RTK to make the technology accessible to wider audiences.

"With the release of ZED-F9P, u-blox revolutionised the high precision positioning market by slashing the technology's cost of ownership. Since then, its use in applications such as precision farming and autonomous robots has increased strongly. Still, the technology's adoption continues to be held back by one key factor: its increased complexity compared to standard-precision positioning," says Marc Castillo, senior GNSS consultant at ArduSimple.

The solution was produced to satisfy this challenge by making RTK technology as close to 'plug-and-play as possible. Additionally, working as a stand-alone solution, customers can program their own applications with the company’s user-friendly microPython API.

“The SimpleRTK2B-SBC uniquely delivers easy mechanical integration with centimetre position on three axes (heading, pitch, and roll), outputting on NMEA, RTCM, RS232, and CANBus interfaces, via Ethernet, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 2G/3G/4G communication, and offers configurable I/O, and an IMU. If your application uses any of these features and you want to reduce development time from two years to a few months, the SBC is your product,” says Castillo.

“ArduSimple is a perfect partner for u-blox,” says Alex Candela, area sales manager for France, at u-blox. “Their solutions help overcome barriers to access RTK technology, accelerating adoption by end-users, and stimulating the entire ecosystem – service providers, municipal authorities, and national agencies – to develop infrastructure such as networks of GNSS base stations that are required to expand service coverage and enable true mainstream adoption.”