Magellan DG14 RTK™ GPS Board Makes High-Precision Possible without High Cost

Ranging on GPS and SBAS signals and new BLADE™ technology enables DG14 RTK to offer cost-effective fixed centimeter and fast decimeter solutions

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With the introduction of the DG14 RTK, customers in high-precision applications can now get high-end precision in a low-cost GNSS unit. The DG14 RTK from Magellan is a cost-effective, sub-meter GNSS (GPS + SBAS) + Beacon receiver.

“DG14 RTK represents for dozens of expanding markets the right technology and the right solutions for the right price,” said Francois Erceau, general manager of Magellan Professional. “Our commitment to innovation and technology development makes it possible for customers to count on Magellan Professional for the tools they need to excel in their field.”

“The ability to do fast, accurate, robust and affordable single-frequency RTK is an important differentiator for Magellan customers,” said Bill Cottrell, founder of Cottrell Navigation Services, an independent research and test firm that specializes in satellite navigation and positioning technology. “For a small company like mine, the DG14 RTK provides the flexibility needed for almost any application that does not specifically require a dual-frequency receiver. The ability to also produce 2D attitude information -- heading and pitch, or heading and roll -- along with moving base station capabilities, is rare, and is an essential tool for companies like mine.”

BLADE™ Processing

In the DG14 RTK, BLADE, Magellan’s new proprietary GNSS processing technology, uniquely incorporates ranging and carrier phase signals from satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS), such as WAAS, EGNOS & MSAS in the RTK computation. An embedded beacon receiver provides sub-meter differential positioning, when SBAS corrections are not available.

DG14 RTK customers can choose from a fixed centimeter solution or a “flying RTK” decimeter solution. Because it offers an optimized mix of speed and accuracy, the decimeter mode makes DG14 RTK the perfect solution for customers who need decimeter accuracy but don’t want to spend the typical time necessary to achieve a decimeter fix. Blade enables decimeter accurate position collection in about one-third of the time of the traditional float solution. In addition, BLADE enables DG14 RTK to support moving base operation and heading plus pitch/roll computation with auto-calibration for easy initialization. For best results, DG14 RTK rovers can be configured to use SBAS signals in addition to GPS for RTK positioning with any RTCM 3.0-compatible base station.

Markets and Applications

DG14 RTK was developed to meet the needs of demanding high-precision applications for machine control, agriculture, aviation, military, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), robotics, marine survey and navigation.

Machine control applications involve controlling large mobile machinery such as those used in agriculture and open pit mining. In many cases, reliable sub-meter accuracy and high update rates are required for tracking and controlling vehicles for precise navigation and collision avoidance (e.g. construction, rail, etc.) Precise knowledge of machine operations can be used by a central facility to monitor production factors such as the amount of earth moved and ore extracted. Precise machine positioning and tracking can also enable unmanned, automatic operation in hazardous conditions (e.g., blasting).

In agricultural application the DG14 RTK receiver can enable more productive farming techniques. For example, decimeter to centimeter level accuracies from DG14 RTK can be used for precise application of chemicals and fertilizer to fields for substantial savings while lowering the environmental impact of wastewater runoff. To achieve this, precise GPS positions are combined with geographic information systems (GIS) that integrate yield monitoring and mapping data, grid soil sampling, and crop production models.

Other applications include marine navigation and survey, aviation, UAV, and military applications that can take advantage of the DG14 RTK moving base, relative navigation and heading, pitch and roll computation for precise and accurate positioning, navigation and tracking of vessels for demanding operating environments at sea, land, and air that require reliable decimeter or centimeter accuracies.

About Magellan

Magellan is a leader in the consumer, survey, GIS and OEM GNSS navigation and positioning markets. Recognized as an industry innovator, the Company is the creator of ProMark™, the best-selling single frequency GPS survey product line on the market, the award-winning Magellan® RoadMate™ series portable car navigation systems, and the Hertz NeverLost® car navigation system. The Company markets it survey and GIS solutions worldwide under its Magellan Professional brand. It is privately held and headquartered in Santa Clara, California with European headquarters in Carquefou, France.

© 2007 Magellan Navigation, Inc. All rights reserved. Magellan, ProMark, RoadMate, eXplorist and BLADE are trademarks of Magellan Navigation, Inc. Hertz NeverLost is a registered trademark of Hertz Systems, Inc.