Application of High Precision GNSS Antenna

With the steady and continuous development of satellite positioning technology, high-precision positioning technology has been applied to various industries, such as surveying and mapping, precision agriculture, unmanned aerial vehicles, and other fields. With the current 5G technology operation plus points, Beidou+5G is expected to promote the wider application of high-precision positioning technology, which cannot be separated from the support of high-precision antennas, algorithms, and boards.

In the field of GNSS, high-precision antennas are a class of antennas that have special requirements for the stability of the antenna phase center. They are usually combined with high-precision boards to achieve high-precision positioning at the centimeter or millimeter level. In the design of high-precision antennas, there are usually special requirements for the following indicators of the antenna: antenna beam width, low elevation gain, out-of-roundness, roll off coefficient, front to back ratio, multipath resistance, and so on. These indicators will directly or indirectly affect the phase center stability of the antenna, thereby affecting the positioning accuracy.

The high-precision GNSS antenna was initially mainly used in the field of surveying and mapping, to achieve static millimeter level positioning accuracy in engineering lofting, topographic mapping, and various control surveying processes. With the increasingly mature high-precision positioning technology, high-precision antennas are gradually applied in more and more fields, including continuous operation reference stations, deformation monitoring, seismic monitoring, surveying and mapping, unmanned aerial vehicles, precision agriculture, autonomous driving fields, driving tests and training, engineering machinery, and other industrial fields. There are also significant differences in the requirements for antenna indicators in different applications.

1.1 CORS system, deformation monitoring, seismic monitoring - reference station antenna

When a high-precision antenna is applied to a continuously operating reference station, accurate location information is obtained through long-term observation, and the observation data is transmitted to the control center in real time through a data communication system. The control center calculates the error correction parameters in the area, and then sends the error information to the mobile station (user end) through the ground based enhancement system, wide area enhancement system, and satellite based enhancement system, ultimately enabling the user to obtain accurate coordinate information. In applications such as deformation monitoring and earthquake monitoring, it is necessary to accurately monitor the amount of deformation, detect small deformations, and predict the occurrence of natural disasters.

Therefore, in the design of high-precision antennas for applications such as continuous operation of reference stations, deformation monitoring, and seismic monitoring, the first consideration must be their excellent phase center stability and anti multipath interference capabilities, in order to provide real-time accurate position information for various enhancement systems. In addition, in order to provide as many satellite correction parameters as possible, the antenna must receive as many satellites as possible, and the full frequency band of the four systems has become a standard configuration. In such applications, a reference station antenna (reference station antenna) that covers the full frequency band of the four systems is usually used as the observation antenna of the system.

1.1 Survey and mapping – Inside Geodetic antenna

In the field of measurement and mapping, it is necessary to design a built-in measurement antenna that is easy to integrate. The antenna is usually built into the top of an RTK receiver to achieve real-time high-precision positioning in the field of measurement and mapping.

The main factors considered in the design of built-in measurement antennas include frequency band coverage, beam coverage, phase center stability, antenna size, etc. Especially with the popularization of network RTK applications, the all-network communication built-in measurement antenna integrated with 4G, Bluetooth, and WiFi gradually occupies a major market share. Since its launch in 2016, it has been favored by the majority of RTK receiver manufacturers and has been widely applied and promoted.

1.2 Unmanned Sweeper - External Geodetic Antenna

With GNSS technology, high-precision, high-speed real-time precise navigation and positioning can be achieved, and this is the main technical means of outdoor positioning. Outdoor robots can achieve sub-meter, decimeter and centimeter-level positioning accuracy in real time through differential technology, precise single-point positioning technology and other means. Combined with inertial navigation, vision, radar and other sensors, high-precision positioning in various complex environments can be realized.

1.3 UAV - High Precision UAV Antenna

In recent years, the drone industry has developed rapidly, and drones have been widely used in agricultural plant protection, surveying and mapping, power line patrol, and other scenarios. In such scenarios, only equipped with high-precision antennas can ensure the accuracy, efficiency, and safety of various operations. Due to the characteristics of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as high speed, light weight, and short endurance, the design of high-precision antennas for UAVs mainly focuses on factors such as weight, size, and power consumption, and achieves broadband design as much as possible while ensuring weight and size.

1.4 Robots

Mide has been committed to high-precision positioning antenna industry for many years and has deep technology accumulation and advanced products with intellectual property. To meet the increasing needs of robot industry, Mide provides high-precision GNSS antennas that can be designed and produced according to customized requirements. These antennas feature high precision, small size, stable phase center, high gain and good compatibility. At present, Mide high-precision antennas have been widely applied by many lawn mower and marking robot manufacturers at home and abroad.

MIDE GNSS antenna adds precision, reliability, and value to our leading Eclipse GPS technology. Our multi-GNSS precision antenna is ideal for various applications including construction survey, RTK positioning and navigation, precise guidance, and machine control. Use our GNSS antenna in challenging environments (such as near buildings and foliage) for superior multipath mitigation, stable phase center, and strong SNR’s even at low elevations.