Why Is RTK Essential to Agriculture?

The tractor GPS & RTK system can realize high-accuracy agricultural operations. It is a basic component of precision agricultural equipment. This technology enables the tractor to perform field agricultural work with an accuracy of less than 2.5 cm.

RTK is used to improve the accuracy of the GPS signal, making the positioning accuracy from meter level to centimeter level. It makes the tractor work without uneven rows, farming errors or unnecessary fuel consumption, thus reduces farmers' costs. And farmers can strict follow the schedule of precision farming program because the agriculture machine can finish work accurately.

What is RTK?

RTK, real-time kinematic postioning is a technology used to improve the accuracy of GPS system (a type of GNSS system) positioning. GPS receivers measure the time it takes for a signal to travel from the satellite to the receiver. The transmitted signal travels through the ionosphere and atmosphere, slowing down and perturbing along the way. Because of that, the GPS receiver can only calculate and determined the position with low accuracy of 2-4 meters.

RTK solves this problem. It can provide users with centimeter high precision accuracy of up to 2cm for applications that require greater precision.

Why is there an error in satellite positioning?

Satellite positioning is affected by the atmosphere. The refraction of electromagnetic waves by the ionosphere and troposphere in the atmosphere could change the propagation speed of satellite signals. The refraction, therefore, delays the signal.

Meanwhile, satellite positioning errors may also originate from the "multipath effect" in the process of propagation. The satellite signal is reflected by some objects. For this reason, the propagation direction and amplitude of the signal are changed. The changed signals are superimposed with the signal that reaches the receiver through a straight path, resulting in satellite positioning errors.

RTK plays an essential role under these circumstances. In RTK mode, the RTK base station collects data from satellite, then transmits its observations and coordinate information to receivers. Receivers use real-time carrier phase difference processing on the collected satellite positioning information and received information to obtain the centimeter level positioning results. This process takes less than one second.

Why is RTK essential to agriculture?

More and more attention has been paid to the precision agriculture in recent years. We can see an increase in demand for operation accuracy in the cultivation, seeding, crop management and harvesting process. In addition, as we are facing the labor shortage and aging population, the issue on how to solve the problems in traditional farming with high technology has become the first priority.

Nowadays, RTK technology is used in the field of agriculture. The receiver of satellite signal here is an agri-vehicle with an RTK signal receiving antenna. With RTK technology, agri-vehicles can drive more accurately. And the precision of agricultural operations is significantly improved. More surprisingly, the output will rise and the costs in time and effort will be greatly reduced.

Related Product

FJDynamics Autosteering Kit is a tractor auto steer system that supports assisted straight-line driving and fully autonomous driving transformation. Using RTK technology for precise positioning, the FJD Autosteering Kit can automatically adjust the vehicle’s travel direction.

The operation accuracy of autosteer is up to 2.5cm. The application of satellite positioning and RTK technology on agri-vehicles frees farmers' hands in operations, which effectively improves the operation accuracy, production efficiency and reliability. This makes Agri-vehicle a powerful boost to precision agriculture.