RTK / PPK

About

So many wonder, “RTK or PPK??” Our reply: “Why not both?!”

Real Time Kinematic (RTK) and Post Processed Kinematic (PPK) GPS systems produce centimeter-level positioning accuracy, critical for the creation of survey-grade mapping outputs. With RTK/PPK, survey-grade results are possible with no ground control points, significantly reducing your on-the-ground effort.

We've worked hard to create an RTK/PPK upgrade for the FireFLY6 PRO that's easy to use while providing industry-leading performance. The result is a completely custom solution, tailor-made for the FireFLY6 PRO and ready to work, without caveats or headaches.

Simple, Elegant

Plug a base station into your ground control computer (USB/NTRIP) and go. No extra wireless link required for RTK, everything passes smoothly over the FireFLY6 PRO's existing datalink. No muss, no fuss.

And when it comes to PPK, we've taken the pain out of the post process by building it seamlessly into FireFLY6 Planner's georeferencing tool. Stop struggling with PPK processing options and start generating survey-grade results.

Designed for Flexibility

NTRIP-capable third party GNSS base stations are supported for RTK operations, or you can use a RINEX observation file from an existing base station in our PPK workflow. Better yet, you can opt for the simplicity of using our custom plug-n-play base station for optimal results in both RTK and PPK workflows.

Much More Than Accurate Maps

Our RTK solution isn't just tied to the camera for producing survey-grade mapping outputs, it's tightly integrated into AvA, the FireFLY6 PRO's onboard intelligence. This means that highly-accurate positioning information informs AvA's navigation decisions. The FireFLY6 PRO's VTOL capability gets your data back safely, and RTK puts it on the landing pad every time.

Specs

GNSS Technology: L1 GPS / GLONASS / BeiDou
Operating Modes: RTK Survey-In, RTK Fixed Position, PPK
Absolute Accuracy, XY: Down to 2cm, using BirdsEyeView Aerobotics base station
Absolute Accuracy, Z: Down to 4cm, using BirdsEyeView Aerobotics base station

Sample Data

In order to assess the real world performance of the system, a flying site at the base of Ragged Mountain, NH was chosen. We selected this site because it contains features that are known to be challenging for aerial survey (elevation changes, a large pond, trees with and without greenery, etc) in order to be certain that the system was thoroughly validated. Below are three resulting test cases with varying mission characteristics. Please feel free to download the associated data and validate our results via this guide.

Data Set 1

Altitude: 80m (262ft)
Overlap: 80%
Perpendicular Passes: Yes
Payload: Sony a6000 16mm
GSD: 2.0cm/pix (0.79in/pix)
RMSE XY: 1.4cm (0.55in)
RMSE Z: 3.4cm (1.3in)
Download (4.3GB)

Data Set 2

Altitude: 100m (328ft)
Overlap: 80%
Perpendicular Passes: No
Payload: Sony a6000 16mm
GSD: 2.4cm/pix (0.94in/pix)
RMSE XY: 3.4cm (1.3in)
RMSE Z: 5.3cm (2.1in)
Download (1.4GB)

Data Set 3

Altitude: 120m (394ft)
Overlap: 80%
Perpendicular Passes: No
Payload: Sony a6000 16mm
GSD: 2.9cm/pix (1.1in/pix)
RMSE XY: 3.4cm (1.3in)
RMSE Z: 7.1cm (2.8in)
Download (1.1GB)

Click here to view a validation from an independent third party.

Options

The FireFLY6 PRO offers three tiers of RTK/PPK functionality to choose from:

    1. PPK only
    2. RTK/PPK without base station
    3. RTK/PPK with BirdsEyeView Aerobotics base station