A performance assessment of low-cost RTK GNSS receivers

A black-box assessment of five low-cost, RTK-capable GNSS receivers was performed. The objective was to gauge the RTK positioning capabilities of the receivers using the Minnesota Continuously Operating Reference Station (MnCORS) network. Position solutions were collected in rural, suburban and urban environments under static and dynamic test conditions. Performance was measured in terms of accuracy, availability (% of time RTK is reported), continuity (loss of RTK lock statistics) and time to first RTK fix. Results show that low-cost receivers exhibit significant accuracy and availability degradation between different environments. The metrics degraded between static and dynamic testing, though the receivers maintained consistent performance relative to one another.