Welcome to Technical Support
For quick, easy technical support, please send email to support@nexteqnav.com.
White Papers
Achieving Sub 20 cm Autonomous Positioning Accuracy Using Nexteq PAD Dual-frequency Receivers
Achieving 30 cm Autonomous Positioning Accuracy with Nexteq Single-Frequency GPS Receivers
Nexteq Precise Low-cost GPS/GIS Handhelds
Software & Manuals
Frequently Asked Questions
1) What is Freedom technology?
2) How is Freedom technology different than other satellite augmentation services like Omnistar® and StarFire®?
3) What locations in the world does Freedom work?
4) Will Nexteq Freedom still work when outside of the coverage area of a supported SBAS?
5) What positioning accuracy is Nexteq Freedom capable of?
6) Which products have Nexteq Freedom enabled?
7) Can I integrate Nexteq Freedom into my own products?
8) What is Nexteq i-PPP?
9) What locations in the world does Nexteq i-PPP work?
10) How is i-PPP different than other commercial augmentation services?
11) How much bandwidth is necessary to use i-PPP?
12) What positioning accuracy is Nexteq i-PPP capable of?
13) Which products support Nexteq i-PPP?
14) Can I integrate Nexteq i-PPP into my own products?
15) What is NexGeo?
16) What are the capabilities of NexGeo Mobile?
17) What are the capabilities of NexGeo Office?
18) What data formats are supported?
19) How does NexGeo real-time tracking work?
1) What is Freedom technology?
Nexteq Freedom is a patented GPS positioning technology that offers outstanding positioning accuracy with virtually no convergence time using only one single-frequency or dual-frequency GPS receiver. Nexteq Freedom does this by combining satellite-based corrections with advanced usage and quality control of GPS measurements and handling of the ionospheric effect.
2) How is Freedom technology different than other satellite augmentation services like Omnistar® and StarFire®?
Nexteq Freedom utilizes publicly available Satellite Based Augmentation Services (SBAS) if available to improve GPS accuracy. Unlike Omnistar and StarFire, Nexteq Freedom requires no annual subscription fee or any additional hardware other than a Nexteq Freedom enabled receiver, enclosure or GPS/GIS handheld.
3) What locations in the world does Freedom work?
Nexteq Freedom achieves optimal performance when in the coverage area of a supported SBAS, including WAAS, EGNOS and MSAS. These services offer free GPS corrections from geostationary satellites and currently offer widespread coverage over North America, Western Europe, Japan and parts of East Asia respectively.
4) Will Nexteq Freedom still work when outside of the coverage area of a supported SBAS?
Outside of the SBAS coverage areas, Nexteq Freedom will suffer some degradation in GPS accuracy but will still be more accurate as compared to the standard single-point GPS positioning model.
5) What positioning accuracy is Nexteq Freedom capable of?
Nexteq Freedom enabled single-frequency GPS receivers and enclosures are capable of achieving positioning accuracy of 30 cm 2D RMS with no convergence time.
Nexteq Freedom enabled dual-frequency GPS receivers and enclosures are capable of achieving positioning accuracy of 20 cm 2D RMS with virtually no convergence time.
Nexteq Freedom enabled T4/T5 GPS/GIS data collectors are capable of achieving positioning accuracy of 40 cm 2D RMS with no convergence time. Nexteq Freedom enabled T6 data collectors are capable of achieving positioning accuracy better than 1.0 m with no convergence time.
6) Which products have Nexteq Freedom enabled?
Currently, the following products have Nexteq Freedom enabled:
- PAS110 and PAS120 single-frequency enclosures
- PAD110, PAD116, PAD118 dual-frequency enclosures
- PAS115 single-frequency receiver
- PAD115 dual-frequency receiver
- T4/T5 GPS/GIS data collectors
- T6 GPS/GIS data collector
7) Can I integrate Nexteq Freedom into my own products?
Yes, Nexteq Freedom is also available as a standard C++ DLL which can be integrated into most operating systems. Nexteq Freedom resource requirements are low and for real-time processing require less than 100 MHz ARM CPU and 1 MB memory to achieve. Nexteq Freedom technology is usable with a wide variety of GPS receivers that output code and phase measurements and existing Freedom enabled products have already been developed for NovAtel, Hemisphere and u-blox based products.
8) What is Nexteq i-PPP?
Nexteq i-PPP consists of two parts; a commercial precise GPS augmentation service and a patented GPS positioning technology that offers outstanding global positioning accuracy using only one single-frequency or dual-frequency GPS receiver.
The Nexteq i-PPP augmentation service broadcasts real-time precise GPS corrections through the Internet which are received by Nexteq i-PPP enabled products and clients and used with GPS measurements to achieve improved positioning accuracy.
9) What locations in the world does Nexteq i-PPP work?
Nexteq i-PPP works globally, with only a requirement for Internet access.
10) How is i-PPP different than other commercial augmentation services?
As Nexteq i-PPP broadcasts the precise GPS corrections over the Internet, users can access the service using only “off-the-shelf” networking or cellular data products which are more affordable than the hardware needed for commercial satellite-based services. Also, by broadcasting only through the Internet, Nexteq can offer the augmentation service at lower costs than by broadcasting using satellites.
11) How much bandwidth is necessary to use i-PPP?
Nexteq i-PPP is a low-bandwidth stream of corrections with an average data rate of less than 1 kilobit/s. Nexteq i-PPP is also robust in that correction latency of more than a minute can be tolerated and a small number of missing or corrupted corrections will only have a minimal effect on positioning accuracy. Nexteq i-PPP has been tested successfully using low-bandwidth data services such as GPRS and EDGE.
12) What positioning accuracy is Nexteq i-PPP capable of?
Nexteq i-PPP enabled GPS/GIS data collectors are capable of achieving positioning accuracy of 50 cm 2D RMS.
Internal Nexteq i-PPP testing using dual-frequency receivers have show that it can achieve 10 cm 2D RMS positioning accuracy.
13) Which products support Nexteq i-PPP?
Currently, the following products fully support Nexteq i-PPP:
These products have full support of Nexteq i-PPP as they have onboard Wi-Fi and cellular data capabilities to receive the corrections and have i-PPP software support to use the corrections to improve the accuracy of their onboard GPS receivers.
14) Can I integrate Nexteq i-PPP into my own products?
Yes, Nexteq i-PPP is also available as a standard C++ DLL which can be integrated into most operating systems. Nexteq i-PPP is usable with a wide variety of GPS receivers that output code and phase measurements and existing i-PPP enabled products have already been developed for NovAtel, Hemisphere and u-blox based products. In addition to the DLL, integrators would need to have an available Internet connection and subscribe to the i-PPP data service.
15) What is NexGeo?
NexGeo is a complete GIS data acquisition software suite optimized for Nexteq GPS/GIS data collectors. It consists of two components; NexGeo Mobile which runs on the data collector and NexGeo Office which runs on the office computer.
16) What are the capabilities of NexGeo Mobile?
NexGeo Mobile is the component that runs on the Nexteq GPS/GIS data collector. It is a functionally complete tool for collecting GIS data in the field. NexGeo Mobile enables you to:
- use projects created by NexGeo Office to effectively and conveniently manage data common to a specific task or work job
- collect point, line and area features
- collect text, numeric, photographic and audio attributes
- create projects and modify data dictionaries in the field if the data collection needs changes
- navigate to preset locations
- support real-time project data upload to office computers with available wireless Internet connection
17) What are the capabilities of NexGeo Office?
NexGeo Office is the office component and is a functionally complete tool for organizing data collection projects and managing data collected using a Nexteq GPS/GIS data collector. NexGeo Office enables you to:
- use projects to effectively and conveniently manage data common to a specific task or work job
- use data dictionaries to control the data collection operation and ensure that the collected data is complete, accurate, and compatible with existing GIS and CAD infrastructure and data
- transfer projects and files to and from Nexteq GPS/GIS data collector
- display, analyze and edit collected data in the office
- overlay collected data onto vector or raster background maps
- import external GIS or CAD data to a project for viewing or updating
- export the collected and edited data to a GIS or CAD compatible format
- create customized coordinate systems
- create way points for navigation
- georeference a raster map
- combine different projects into one project
- track Nexteq GPS/GIS data collector in the field in real-time
18)What data formats are supported?
NexGeo can import and export ESRI® SHP and AutoCAD® DXF vector data files.
19) How does NexGeo real-time tracking work?
NexGeo real-time tracking allows the office to track the location and status of field workers in real-time. It takes advantage of the available wireless Internet capabilities of a Nexteq GPS/GIS data collector to connect the transmit Internet messages between the field and the office. NexGeo Mobile can be configured to automatically send back GPS locations at regular intervals and can also send back collected feature data, images, audio recordings and other files. Text messages can also be sent between the field and office, if unexpected situations occurred or changes need to be made.