RTCM 10403.3
7
2 APPLICATION LAYER
The Application Layer defines how the Version 3 messages can be applied for different end
user applications. The fundamental feature of Differential Service is that it is a broadcast
service, not a 2-way data link. As such, information is developed centrally by a Service
Provider, who has an institutional or commercial interest in providing a positioning or
navigation service. Recently, point-to-multipoint services using cell phones and Internet
connections have become popular, but such services primarily support a one-way flow of
information.
In general, navigation applications are serviced very well with 1-10 meter horizontal accuracy
positioning. (An exception is the GNSS-based aircraft landing system, called the Local Area
Augmentation System, or LAAS. A separate standard has been developed for this by RTCM’s
sister organization, RTCA, Inc., which develops aviation standards.) Conventional differential
GNSS service supports these applications nicely, and they utilize broadcast links with relatively
low data rates. These low data rates can be supported by low-frequency broadcasts that are
received over large areas, and high accuracy is maintained over hundreds of miles.
As innovative engineers and scientists have found uses for sub-meter accuracy positioning,
RTK service has increased in importance. RTK service requires the transmission of
significantly more data, so that generally line-of-sight broadcasts and point-to-multipoint
services that utilize higher bandwidths are employed. Tropospheric and ionospheric variations
cause phase and time delay variations in the GNSS signals that limit the area over which a given
accuracy can be achieved. For example, relative positioning accuracies of one centimeter or
better using single-frequency GNSS signals can be achieved only over distances of 10
kilometers or so (from reference station to user). Using dual-frequency GNSS signals enables
one to estimate the ionospheric effects, and water vapor measurements can be made which
improve tropospheric delay estimation, so that using these techniques the range can be extended
to 50 kilometers or so in certain parts of the world. Dual-frequency RTK is very common, thus
is supported by this standard. Because RTK provides relative positioning, the knowledge of the
absolute (usually fixed) position of the reference station enables the user to achieve high
absolute position accuracies, too.
To achieve the highest accuracy, it is important to account for GNSS antenna variations.
Antenna patterns differ slightly from manufacturer to manufacturer and even from model to
model. Differential GNSS service supports this by transmitting messages with reference station
antenna information. Antenna patterns can also vary between different units of the same model
and can vary due to environmental effects, but these can be mitigated by manufacturing design
and reference site selection, respectively. Such variations are outside the scope of this
document.
The applications of RTK to air, water and land operations are too many to enumerate, but a
sampling is useful:
Marine – Hydrographic surveying, dredge operations, navigation in narrow
channels, buoy placement and auditing, even tidal height
© RTCM – Not for reproduction or redistribution