Hi, I have been studying Sparkfun products with an eye towards providing my clients with an inexpensive easy to use CORS base station where they can obtain RINEX data. I am the US distributor for a drone based sensor that detects and maps weeds in fallow, the map (prescription) is then loaded in the farmers existing ground based sprayer allowing them to only spray the weeds, often using 70-90% less chemical. It is primarily used in dryland wheat farming. Our sensor acts autonomously from the drone, (The drone only gives it power and a ride). We do not use RTK we use PPK and we need access to RINEX data from a nearby base station for those corrections. I have been having issues using many of the network CORS stations close to me and I have some clients that don’t have CORS stations close enough to them to be as accurate as we’d like. So I am considering including a base station as a part of our drone and sensor package. Ideally, once the base station was set up, connected to the internet, and surveyed in, it would log Rinex data that would be easily accessible within 15 minutes of the flight and would already be in Rinex format. A bonus would be for it to send RTK corrections in case they also had use for that.
Please let me know your thoughts on what would be the best method and product(s) for my purpose.
Most of our GPS products log to either RAWX or UBX formats, both of which can be post-processed to RINEX fairly easily Creating a Permanent Base - SparkFun RTK Product Manual - so while it wouldn’t already be in RINEX, it could be within 15 minutes of the flight…
We have a lot of options for devices you could use as a base station; do you have an accuracy spec or price point in mind?
An automated PPP solution for a permanent point to be occupied by a Local Base would be ideal for this application. The PostCard as @TS-Russell mentioned is a great starting point. You will need to integrate a little more hardware for an automated solution. RTK sent over your existing telemetry (depending our your AutoPilot and RF setup) would be less hassle than PPK, but you would have everything in place for either/both paths.
I see a tiny integrated Station based off the PostCard, with Solar Recharging and multiple Comm choices for RTK and data backhaul when needed. It can be inexpensive and work anywhere.
I’m interested in the application. It seems In-Fallow would require extremely low-level flight, or more of a Drip-Style application vs traditional “Spray” ?
I completely understand if you can’t share the details.
Very interesting project !
Thanks @rftop and @TS-Russell, Our system has been commercially available in Australia for about 5 years and here in the US for 2 years. Our sensor does not spray it detects and maps and then that map is put into the growers existing ground base sprayer, allowing it to spray only the weeds. you can check it out here: https://www.agcopter.us
We use PPK corrections with RINEX and I am trying to find the most simple, user friendly way to provide permanent base stations for our clients who don’t have base stations already close to them to grab the RINEX files in a timely manner. It looks like the SparkFun RTK mosaic-X5 logs directly to RINEX. Would there be a way to have that accessible through a web interface?
" Before data logging can occur, it is necessary to create a logging stream from the Logging tab of the web interface or using the RxTools software suite. Streams can contain NMEA or SBF (Septentrio Binary Format) data; SBF can contain RTCM and/or RINEX. (see the Data Logging section)"
And then that data logging link takes you to a page with walkthroughs for setting up a stream through the web interface if you’d like to get an overview