u-blox and MBC develop the world’s first fully integrated L1/L2 RTK solution for centimeter-level positioning applications.

u-blox (SIX:UBXN), a global provider of leading positioning and wireless communication technologies, has announced the results of its collaboration with Korean broadcast media company MBC. With assistance from u-blox, MBC has launched an ultra-compact L1/L2 real time kinematic (RTK) multi-band device, the MBC MRP-2000, featuring a u-blox ZED-F9P high precision GNSS module. The solution is the first to offer the Korean market a GNSS RTK receiver and wireless access to a GNSS correction service in a single box.

To achieve centimeter-level position accuracy, high precision GNSS receivers combine multi-band satellite signal reception and GNSS correction data. In addition to mitigating positioning errors incurred as the satellite signals cross the ionosphere, multi-band reception significantly speeds up the time it takes the receiver to determine its location. The ZED-F9P process GNSS correction data, received via a wireless data connection, using integrated RTK algorithms. For uninterrupted centimeter-level accuracy, it requires constant data access over the air.

Weighing just 50g, the compact and extremely low power MRP-2000 provides centimeter-level positioning accuracy for a wide range of portable and mobile applications such as autonomous vehicles, drones, and survey equipment. It comes with a subscription to MBC’s RTK correction service, delivered nationwide using digital media broadcasting (DMB) networks, with LTE fallback.

The u-blox ZED‑F9P GNSS receiver featured in the MRP-2000 keeps the cost, size, and power consumption of the solution low. With advanced multi‑band RTK algorithms integrated on the chip, MBC was able to enable centimeter-level positioning with no additional hardware or third party RTK libraries, cutting the time it took to bring the solution to market.

“By integrating our ZED-F9P, a mass market RTK receiver, with Korea’s low cost DMB connectivity channel to offer automotive and industrial applications access to a nationwide correction service, MBC was able to dramatically reduce the cost of ownership of centimeter-level positioning technology,” says KS Son, Country Manager, u-blox Korea.

“Collaborating with u-blox helped us develop the MRP-2000, the first fully integrated positioning solution that can use RTK data from the DMB network as the primary source of location correction information, only switching to the LTE network in areas of poor DMB reception,” says Seung-Ho Lee, Director of Spatial Information Business, MBC. “This gives the user an extremely high connectivity coverage delivering centimeter- level performance across the entire South Korea peninsula,” he adds.