Which technologies do you consult on?

All of the major location, identification and IoT technologies: RTLS (UWB, BLE, Wi-Fi), RFID (passive, active and RAIN UHF), industrial IoT and sensors, GPS and GNSS, AGV and AMR robot fleets, and hybrid stacks that combine them. We recommend the right mix for each zone and use case, not a single technology.

Are you really vendor-neutral?

Yes. We do not sell hardware or a software platform of our own, and we take no resale commissions, so our technology and vendor recommendations serve your outcome rather than a product we need to move.

Do you work outside the UK?

We are UK-based and work across Europe and internationally, delivering in English, German and French. Engagements can be remote or on-site depending on the work.

What does a consulting engagement include?

Typically discovery and requirements, vendor-neutral technology selection, vendor evaluation and RFP support, ROI and business case, solution architecture, and an implementation roadmap. We scope each engagement to where you are.

Can you help after the decision is made?

Yes. We work across the full lifecycle - we can also deploy, integrate, and operate the system, so you can keep one independent team from business case through to live operation.

How do we get started?

Usually with a short call or a fixed-fee discovery to scope the problem, followed by a proposal with clear deliverables, timeline and fees. There is no obligation and no platform pitch.

Do we need our own RTK base station, or can we use a service?

Depends on operations. Permanent local base station for a single site (farm, construction site, port). Network RTK subscription for mobile operations across regions. PPP-RTK satellite corrections where cellular coverage is unreliable. We model the right architecture in stage 1.

Will RTK work inside buildings or tunnels?

No — RTK needs satellite sky-view. For indoor / GPS-denied environments, UWB, visual SLAM or inertial navigation are the alternatives. Hybrid stacks combine RTK outdoors with indoor positioning.

How much does RTK add to the cost of a tracking solution?

Hardware: multi-band RTK module is $100–500 vs $5–20 for consumer GNSS. Network RTK subscription: typically $500–2,000/year per rover for commercial services. Worth the cost for cm-accuracy applications; not worth it for standard fleet telematics.

RTK vs PPP-RTK for our autonomous-vehicle deployment?

Network RTK if you have reliable cellular and want fastest convergence (seconds). PPP-RTK if you need global coverage or unreliable cellular (initial convergence is minutes). Many autonomous platforms use both with automatic fallback.

Does RTK help indoors at all?

Not directly. But hybrid systems use RTK outdoors and seamlessly hand over to UWB or visual SLAM indoors. The transition handling is non-trivial — we design it carefully in stage 1.

INSIGHT · TECNOLOGIA DE POSICIONAMENTO

GNSS-RTK — como funciona o posicionamento preciso de satélites.

Standard GNSS gives you several-metre accuracy outdoors. GNSS-RTK gives you centimetres.

It's the technology that makes autonomous tractors plough straight lines, that lets surveyors stake out buildings without an optical instrument, and that's increasingly built into industrial telematics. This is the operator-level explainer of how RTK works and where it fits.

Agende uma ligação de 30 minutos para definir o escopo

A definição de 30 segundos

GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems — GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou) at the consumer level delivers position accuracy of 3–5 metres. RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) is a technique that lifts that to 1–3 cm in real time.

It works by having a stationary base station with a precisely-known position calculate the errors in the satellite signals it receives at that moment, and broadcasting those error corrections to nearby rover receivers.

Each rover applies the same corrections to its own signals, cancelling out atmospheric and orbital errors. Distance from base to rover matters — typically 10–30 km for full RTK accuracy.

Como o RTK realmente funciona

The base station observes all visible satellites and computes the carrier-phase errors (not just code-based pseudoranges). It transmits these corrections in RTCM format via radio link, cellular, or NTRIP (Network Transport of RTCM via Internet Protocol).

The rover GNSS receiver decodes the corrections and applies them to its own raw GNSS observations, resolving phase ambiguities to produce fix-quality solutions.

Modern multi-band RTK receivers (using L1+L2 or L1+L5) achieve cm-level accuracy in seconds; older single-band receivers needed minutes.

Two operational variants: local base station (you operate your own, accurate to 10–30 km radius) and network RTK (commercial corrections from a network of base stations, accuracy across regions or globally).

Network RTK e PPP-RTK

Two delivery models matter for enterprise. Network RTK (NTRIP): commercial services like Trimble VRS Now, Hexagon SmartNet, Topcon TopNet — you subscribe and your rover gets corrections from the nearest virtual base station via cellular. Accuracy 1–3 cm across covered regions.

PPP-RTK (Precise Point Positioning with RTK convergence): satellite-broadcast corrections (Trimble RTX, NTRIP-via-satellite) deliver cm-accurate position without a cellular link.

Slower initial convergence (minutes vs seconds) but global coverage and no cellular requirement. Used heavily in agriculture, marine, and remote-area operations.

Onde RTK é a resposta certa

Five categories are mature. Precision agriculture: autonomous tractors and planters drive cm-accurate lines using RTK; saved fuel, seed and time at scale.

John Deere, AGCO, Trimble Ag all use RTK. Construction and surveying: machine control (graders, dozers, excavators), site layout, as-built mapping.

Autonomous vehicles and robotics: RTK provides the absolute-position anchor that fuses with LiDAR / camera SLAM for safe autonomous operation.

Vehicle telematics for precision applications: ride-sharing, last-mile delivery, mining haul trucks. Surveying drones: RTK-equipped UAVs produce sub-centimetre photogrammetric maps.

Limitações honestas

Four constraints are real. Cobertura: works only outdoors with sky-view; building canyons, indoor spaces, tunnels degrade quickly. Initialisation time: phase ambiguity resolution takes seconds (network RTK) to minutes (PPP-RTK convergence) from cold start.

Correction latency: cellular network RTK depends on cellular coverage; weak cellular means RTK fix drops.

Hardware cost: multi-band RTK receivers (u-blox ZED-F9, Trimble BD992) are more expensive than single-band consumer GNSS; subscriptions to network RTK services add operational cost.

Paisagem de fornecedores e ecossistemas

Silicon and modules: u-blox ZED-F9 series leads commercial-grade RTK at attractive price points; Trimble BD992 / BD992-INS for survey-grade with inertial integration; Septentrio AsteRx for high-end industrial.

Correction services: Trimble VRS Now, Trimble RTX (PPP-satellite), Hexagon SmartNet, Topcon TopNet, several regional and national networks.

Open services: many European countries operate public network-RTK services for surveying. Integração: vertical-software vendors (Trimble Ag, John Deere Operations Center, AutoCAD Civil 3D) embed RTK into workflow tools.

Onde o TRACIO recomenda o GNSS-RTK

Use cases requiring cm-level outdoor position in real time: autonomous outdoor vehicles and robotics; precision agriculture; construction machine control; survey-grade mobile mapping; tactical training on outdoor ranges; high-accuracy vehicle telematics for premium logistics.

We don't recommend GNSS-RTK for indoor or building-canyon use cases (UWB or visual SLAM fit), for consumer-grade tracking where 3–5 m is sufficient (standard GNSS), or for very high-volume cost-sensitive deployments where standard GNSS chip cost matters.

FAQ

Perguntas frequentes

Como o RTK é diferente do GPS / GNSS padrão?

Standard GNSS uses code-based positioning, accurate to 3–5 m. RTK uses carrier-phase measurements and base-station corrections to achieve 1–3 cm. Same satellites; different receiver and correction pipeline.

Precisamos de nossa própria estação base RTK ou podemos usar algum serviço?

Depende das operações. Estação base local permanente para um único local (fazenda, canteiro de obras, porto). Assinatura Network RTK para operações móveis em diferentes regiões.

Correções de satélite PPP-RTK onde a cobertura celular é pouco confiável. Modelamos a arquitetura correta na fase 1.

O RTK funciona dentro de prédios ou túneis?

Não — a RTK precisa de uma visão do céu via satélite. Para ambientes internos / GPS - negados, UWB, visual SLAM ou navegação inercial são as alternativas. Stacks híbridos combinam RTK externo com posicionamento interno.

Quanto o RTK adiciona ao custo de uma solução de rastreamento?

Hardware: módulo RTK multibanda custa $100–500 contra $5–20 para o GNSS de consumo. Assinatura da Network RTK: tipicamente $500–2.000/ano por rover para serviços comerciais. Vale o custo para aplicações com precisão de cm; Não vale a pena para a telemática padrão da frota.

RTK vs PPP-RTK para nosso implante de veículos autônomos?

Rede RTK se você tiver celular confiável e quiser a convergência mais rápida (segundos). PPP-RTK se você precisar de cobertura global ou celular não confiável (convergência inicial é de minutos). Muitas plataformas autônomas utilizam ambos com recurso automático de backup.

O RTK ajuda em ambientes fechados?

Não diretamente. Mas sistemas híbridos usam RTK ao ar livre e passam perfeitamente para o UWB ou visual SLAM em ambientes internos. O manuseio da transição não é trivial — o projetamos cuidadosamente na fase 1.

Última atualização: 26 de maio de 2026