Polaris – Top RTK Correction Network in Michigan
- RTK corrections anywhere in the world – no base required
- Setup in minutes, no maintenance
- Connect once to a single mount point – anywhere in the Michigan
- An RTK network built from the ground up for accuracy, reliability, and lightning-fast location fix
- Works with an RTK Compatible receiver (RTCM v3)
Base stations
Devices
Uptime
Convergence time
Michigan RTK Network Comparison
Polaris RTK is the best real-time kinematic network in Michigan. It offers unparalleled GNSS accuracy with centimeter-level positioning on all dual-band GNSS devices, such as surveying equipment and agricultural machinery. It has over 1,700 base stations with 99.99% uptime and less than 5 seconds convergence time.
Polaris gives users access to RTK corrections data wherever they need it and has a self-service portal for device activation, credentials, and management. With Polaris, set-up time is reduced to only 5 minutes by connecting to a single NTRIP mount point.
Public RTK networks are set up by the government or educational organizations for public use. MDOT CORS is one of the public RTK networks in Michigan. It’s a public collection of GPS base stations across Michigan, offering free access to RTK corrections. It also supports free connections for older devices that require legacy device connections and offers real-time mapping, access to post-processing data, and legacy RINEX 2.3 data streams after an MDOT CORS sign-up.
However, while MDOT CORS provides services for basic RTK needs, it offers a lower level of reliability and accuracy than a private RTK network. Private RTK networks in Michigan offer greater control over the network and produce higher accuracy due to the tailored placement of base stations. You’ll need a subscription to access these private networks.
Polaris is one of the best private and professional RTK networks in Michigan. It has several base stations in the region for comprehensive coverage. It’s the only network that works with almost all GNSS receivers and is the only network that’s transparent about the location of its base stations. With its L-band feature, Polaris also powers GNSS corrections in areas without cell coverage and occluded sky environments, ensuring continuous and accurate corrections throughout Michigan.
The accuracy of your RTK network in Michigan depends on the RTK network you are using, so you need to choose the best RTK network for the highest accuracy.
The Point One Polaris RTK network ensures the highest level of accuracy in RTK service. This means that the error in positioning is reduced to centimeter-level accuracy, an accuracy level necessary for construction surveys, precision agriculture, and other critical tasks such as mapping with survey poles and range poles.
The best RTK network in Michigan is Polaris RTK by Point One. It’s the only RTK network service on the market that’s transparent about the location of its base stations, but that’s not the only differentiator. Polaris has other standout features:
- It is the most comprehensive network with unmatched density
- It has the most modern and reliable base stations
- Supports automatic connection/transfer to the closest local base station
- Has predictable and transparent pricing
- Offers the best coverage and works in areas without cell coverage (L-band, future feature) and positioning in occluded sky environments
- It works with most GNSS receivers
- It also has a self-service portal for device activation, credentials, and management
NTRIP is a contemporary precision location technology. It stands for Networked Transport of RTCM via Internet Protocol. This technology is a high-precision location service used to stream DGPS (Differential Global Positioning System) and RTK corrections over the Internet. Meanwhile, CORS (Continuous Operating Reference System) is a stationary GNSS receiver network that supports 3D positioning and provides GNSS data.
NTRIP and CORS are both RTK differential correction methods used for transmitting RTK corrections. CORS provides the correction data from its network of reference stations, while NTRIP delivers this data to users in real-time, often via the Internet and through an NTRIP service provider.
With NTRIP, you can get accurate RTK corrections data without investing in expensive base station infrastructure once you have a reliable NTRIP service provider.
Real-time kinematic (RTK) base stations are essential for high-precision navigation and location accuracy. They act as fixed reference points that send out correction signals to RTK receivers.
An RTK-enabled receiver is then equipped with a very heavy math routine that’s able to resolve the ambiguities in the carrier measurements. These GNSS corrections can compensate for errors introduced by factors such as atmospheric conditions, satellite orbit deviations, and signal propagation delays.
Point One builds high precision GNSS solutions. Standard GNSS accuracy ranges from 1m to 10m and can be worse based on the operating environment. Point One’s high precision GNSS delivers accuracy from 10cm to 1cm, and does so even in challenging environments such as urban canyons and occluded sky-views.
Standard GNSS systems observe position uncertainty from sources such as atmospheric signal delay, satellite orbit variation, clock drift, and signal multi-path. Precision GNSS systems use additional sources of information, in our case from our Polaris corrections network, reducing uncertainty down to just a few centimeters.
Purchase a Standard Dev Kit, purchase an Advanced Development Kit, or create a Point One account to access Polaris corrections and services.
Many, including series production automobiles, consumer electronics products, and autonomous vehicle prototypes.
Real Time Kinematics; a fixed base station communicates with a roving GNSS system to remove sources of error common to the base and rover (satellite clock, satellite orbit, ionosphere delay, troposphere delay). Rover performance depends on survey accuracy of base location, quality of sky view at base location, and distance between base and rover.
Yes. The Polaris network performs as an RTK network. Non-Point One systems can access the Polaris network using standard NTRIP protocol. Access credentials and documentation are available at app.pointonenav.com.
Both Polaris and NTRIP are methods for delivering network RTK corrections, and both are available through the Point One Polaris service. The NTRIP standard is a legacy delivery method, used by a wide range of GNSS devices. The Polaris protocol uses secure connection methods for both authentication and transport to add layers of reliability and security to RTK corrections data.
RTK corrections account for various ambiguities present in navigation constellation signals, which can stem from sources such as satellite orbital errors and atmospheric disturbances. By sharing correctional data in real time, the fixed base station and rover together improve positional accuracy from meter-level to centimeter-level.
Let’s get a little more technical:
- Standalone GNSS positioning relies mostly on very accurate–but not very precise–pseudorange measurements of code phase. RTK relies on extremely precise– but ambiguous–RF carrier phase measurements.
- The heart of RTK is integer carrier phase ambiguity resolution. This process turns the ambiguous carrier phase measurements into highly precise measurements of pseudorange, which can be about 100x more precise than the code phase pseudorange measurements–but they are ambiguous to within an integer number of radio carrier wave cycles.
- An RTK-enabled receiver is equipped with a very heavy math routine that’s able to resolve the ambiguities in the carrier measurements. This unlocks the use of the previously unusable carrier phase and enables position determination to within a couple centimeters.
Fortunately, when using an RTK service like Point One Polaris, you don’t have to worry about any of this. You can get set up in five minutes by connecting to a single NTRIP mount point–and then access cm-accurate positioning lighting-fast convergence times.
An RTK base station is an integral part of any RTK positioning system. In order to correct errors in satellite signal data, RTK positioning requires stationary sites with known, precise locations to serve as reference points. These are called fixed base stations, which send observations to the rover in real time.
It’s important not to think of RTK base stations as standalone units, but rather as pieces of broader, interconnected networks that together offer more expansive coverage. For example, Point One’s Polaris RTK network has global coverage across the US, EU, UK, CA, and AU and boasts the highest overall density of US RTK corrections networks.
This allows the network to offer scalable solutions and ensure high accuracy, even in areas without cellular coverage or in challenging environments in urban canyons.
RTK offers unparalleled accuracy in positioning at centimeter-level precision. This high level of accuracy is essential for applications where even the slightest deviation can have significant consequences.
Point One’s RTK solutions are engineered to deliver exceptional precision within a few centimeters. This level of accuracy is made possible by Point One’s advanced algorithms, Polaris Network infrastructure, and commitment to using the latest technological advancements in GNSS corrections.
Point One’s RTK system is not just about precise measurements; it’s about providing reliable data you can trust for critical decision-making.
RTK technology is essential in many areas where exact positioning is needed. In farming, RTK helps guide machinery perfectly for planting and harvesting, boosting crop quality and farm efficiency. Robots in outdoor settings work better with RTK because it helps them navigate through the world with precision.
For preventing damage, especially during construction, RTK is vital for safely locating things like pipes and cables underground. Surveyors and mapmakers rely on RTK for precise measurements of land and buildings, which is important for planning new projects. In construction, RTK is key for correctly setting up sites and ensuring buildings are constructed accurately.
RTK is also crucial for self-driving cars to navigate safely, especially on busy streets. RTK is even changing how deliveries are made by helping to track and direct delivery vehicles, making sure packages get where they’re going on time.
Several GPS correction methods, including RTK, PPP, and SSR, improve the accuracy of satellite-based positioning. Each method has its unique approach to correcting GNSS data.
RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) provides real-time corrections, offering centimeter-level accuracy. It’s ideal for applications needing immediate precision, such as autonomous vehicle navigation and precision agriculture. RTK works by comparing the signals from a network of fixed base stations to the satellite data, quickly correcting any discrepancies.
PPP (Precise Point Positioning), on the other hand, doesn’t use a network of base stations. Instead, it uses a single reference station and precise orbit and clock data to offer high accuracy. While PPP can achieve a somewhat similar level of precision to RTK, it takes much longer to converge, making it more suitable for applications where immediate accuracy isn’t critical.
SSR (State Space Representation) is a more advanced method that provides correctional data in a state space format. This technique models the GNSS errors, including satellite orbits and clocks, and atmospheric delays, offering high accuracy over large areas. However, many GNSS receivers aren’t equipped to effectively process all the data provided by SSR, making it difficult to convert into meaningful positions.
Note that discussing GPS, by itself, isn’t standard practice in RTK corrections. Today, unless specifically discussing the USA constellation system, we say “GNSS ” exclusively.
RTK correction ranges vary depending on the use case. It’s challenging to put a definite number on this question, since many variables can affect accuracy, including how much of the sky is visible, the weather, and more.