ARK Electronics has confirmed native support for u-blox PointPerfect Flex within its ARK-OS operating system, enabling drone manufacturers to implement centimeter-level positioning across PX4- and Ardupilot-based aircraft without deploying RTK base stations or developing custom GNSS correction infrastructure.
The integration connects ARK-OS directly to PointPerfect Flex and streams GNSS correction data to PX4 and Ardupilot over MAVLink. Drone Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) can activate the correction service through the ARK-OS web interface by entering their PointPerfect credentials, enabling rapid configuration for compatible RTK receivers with minimal engineering effort. The MIT-licensed client comes included with ARK-OS and can be set to initiate automatically upon vehicle power-up.
By utilizing PointPerfect Flex, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) platforms can achieve an RTK fix in as little as 5 seconds, compared with up to 40 seconds for many competing correction services. This reduction in fix time helps preserve onboard battery capacity for mission flight time rather than spending energy waiting for a position lock. Furthermore, when paired with SPARTN-compatible u-blox receivers such as the ARK X20 RTK GPS, the system can reduce mobile correction data consumption by up to 90% compared with traditional network RTK services, potentially lowering ongoing communication costs for LTE-connected UAVs.
PointPerfect Flex delivers 3-6 cm positioning accuracy across supported coverage areas in North America, Europe, Asia, South America and Oceania, including the contiguous United States, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. Using a single correction service allows manufacturers to configure their positioning architecture once and deploy the same platform across multiple international markets without changing correction providers, redesigning software integrations or managing region-specific implementations. The ARK-OS client maintains flexibility across mixed hardware fleets by supporting both bandwidth-efficient SPARTN and RTCM correction formats.
To align operational expenses with vehicle utilization, PointPerfect Flex offers flexible commercial models, including hourly, pay-as-you-go and pooled fleet licensing options. These options allow manufacturers and operators to align correction costs with actual aircraft utilization rather than maintaining fixed annual subscriptions for every vehicle. The commercial model is particularly well suited to commercial UAV fleets supporting delivery, surveying, inspection and public safety missions, where aircraft utilization can vary throughout the year.
Alex Klimaj, Founder and CEO, ARK Electronics, said, “Drone manufacturers should not have to become GNSS correction experts, or rebuild their positioning architecture for every market they enter. By building PointPerfect Flex directly into ARK-OS and leveraging the MAVLink interface already supported by PX4 and Ardupilot, we’ve made centimeter-level positioning something OEMs can configure once and deploy globally with confidence.”
Native PointPerfect Flex support is available immediately as part of ARK-OS. ARK Electronics, a US-based manufacturer of NDAA-compliant electronics for drones and autonomous systems, provides this capability across compatible u-blox SPARTN receivers including the ARK X20 RTK GPS, as well as RTCM-compatible RTK hardware.
