u-blox Introduces PointPerfect Localized Distribution Feature

u-blox has introduced the PointPerfect Localized Distribution feature, the newest enhancement of its PointPerfect GNSS augmentation service. 

This localized version transmits significantly less data than continental streams, reducing the bandwidth by up to 70%. As a result, user data costs also drop substantially. Localized Distribution is ideally suited for high-precision applications with constrained bandwidth and connectivity plans, including precision agriculture use cases such as autonomous farming and agricultural robotics. It can also apply to other applications such as service robots, micro mobility, heavy machinery, and other high precision mobile robotics applications. 

PointPerfect is a PPP-RTK GNSS augmentation data service that delivers centimeter-level accuracy in seconds. It offers uniform coverage in Europe, the contiguous USA, Canada, South Korea, and Australia regions, including up to 12 nautical miles (roughly 22 kilometers) off coastlines. The service typically requires 2400 bit/s data bandwidth for these continental streams. Now, with this localized version, the bandwidth has been reduced to almost one-third the size. 

“PointPerfect Localized Distribution is another step forward in our strategy to realize the mass adoption of precise positioning solutions, even for data-constrained applications, by lowering bandwidth and reducing user data costs,” said Ari Kuukka, Product Owner, u-blox Services. 

In this innovative approach, a device subscribes to the Localized Distribution stream according to its location. The data transmitted is optimized based on that location, filtering out unnecessary data irrelevant to the user. This approach significantly reduces the required bandwidth. As with the continental stream, using the Localized Distribution stream does not require communicating the location of the rover to PointPerfect, ensuring privacy and security.