Tuesday, March 08, 2011

NGS Releases Draft Real Time GNSS Network Guidelines Document for Public Comment

In its February 2011 meeting, the National Geodetic Survey Products and Services Committee unanimously voted to release the draft "NGS Guidelines for Real Time GNSS Networks" document for public comment. The document was the work of more than 60 individuals, including NGS state geodetic advisors; state Department of Transportation personnel involved with real time networks (RTN); spatial reference center personnel; state geodetic survey personnel; representatives from Trimble, Leica, TopCon, and Geo++ RTN manufacturers; and RTN operators. The document has evolved since its initial November 2009 iteration in response to the valuable input from these individuals and from NGS headquarters personnel.

The goal of the RTN guidelines document is not to set standards or specifications, but rather to offer important considerations for RTN administrators, planners, and users for optimum real time GNSS positioning results. Because RTN are becoming a prime point of access to the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS), it is critical they be aligned to the NSRS-which includes our national horizontal and vertical datums-at acceptable levels of accuracy. As NGS moves forward with a decision on the best means of validating RTN compliance to the NSRS, that information will be added to the guidelines document. As a final point, it should be noted that the document will reside as primarily a digital document to address the rapid changes occurring in the technology.

The RTN guidelines document may be downloaded here.

For more information, contact Bill Henning.