Some very cool technology, I see this being mainstream in short order for site surveys, indoor surveys, etc.
SHG
Sure Invest $200,000 for a $350 Survey
You could have that survey done with a Transit, Tape and Fieldbook before you had your 5 control stations set up.
This is for a permanent site in a very limited area. The money comes in that the control stations broadcast GPS signals, not just corrections on an everyday radio link.
Paul in PA
Sure Invest $200,000 for a $350 Survey
Obviously right now this is for mines, construction sites, etc., not a small boundary survey. Remember how much the 1st GPS receivers cost and who could buy them? All I am saying is if this works as stated, it is a game changer and I would expect this to be common for all of us in the next 10-15 years.
The thing this offers is INSIDE surveying and in fact it will work stand alone with no GNSS signals, a network could be setup in a city or county where this is the positioning of the future just as RTN's are common now, BUT with some advantages for working in obstructed areas.
SHG
In thinking about the use of drones for aerial photogrammetry the other day and daydreaming about other uses in surveying, I thought about how a system of three or more small drones above canopy could act as a transient "GPS constellation" broadcasting a more robust signal to a receiver below. The drones could be positioned by GNSS in the clear sky above an obstruction and broadcast a different signal architecture to the rover below,i.e. under the trees or near a building. Might not ever happen as something else may make that idea impractical. Endurance of most drones currently available to consumers wouldn't make this terribly practical at present anyway.
Sure Invest $200,000 for a $350 Survey
In the Pacific NW RTK is all but unusable due to tree cover. Same with any urban environment. This system would change that.
OK, How about your own personal flock of "smart Drones". These little buggers would automaticaly find you a connection to the nearest signal, even inside a building. One hovers near the rod, the next one outside the door, the third goes up high enough to get signal lock. Same thing in the trees or anywhere else. 😛
