Ideal Alternative to RTK Receiver Rentals: LRTK is a High-Precision Positioning Service Available on an Annual Basis

Table of Contents

• Introduction

• What is RTK?

• Reasons to Rent an RTK Receiver

• Challenges of Renting RTK Receivers

• What is LRTK?

• Benefits of LRTK

• Comparison Between Renting RTK Receivers and LRTK

• Simple Surveying with LRTK

• Conclusion

• FAQ

Introduction

What plays an active role where high-precision positioning is required is the RTK receiver. However, RTK-equipped positioning devices are expensive to purchase, so many people consider renting them if they only need them for a short period. In fact, attracting attention as a new alternative to renting RTK receivers is the high-precision positioning service "LRTK". In this article, we outline the current situation and challenges of renting RTK receivers and explain why the high-precision positioning service LRTK, which can be used on an annual basis, is the ideal alternative.

What is RTK

RTK (Real Time Kinematic) is a technology for performing high-precision real-time positioning using satellite positioning systems (such as GPS). While standalone GPS positioning typically has errors of several meters, RTK can achieve centimeter-level positioning accuracy. The mechanism involves observations by two receivers: a fixed base station (a receiver with a known accurate position) and a mobile mobile station (the receiver to be surveyed). The base station transmits the error information it obtains to the mobile station in real time to correct the position. With this correction, positional errors that were about 5–10 m when using standalone GPS can be reduced to within a few centimeters.

RTK positioning enables vertical measurements and highly precise positioning with almost no positional offset, which were difficult with conventional GPS. For example, RTK's high accuracy is indispensable for tasks such as accurately measuring elevation differences in land or driving piles at construction sites to the positions specified in the design drawings. Nowadays, RTK technology is being used across a wide range of fields, including civil surveying, agriculture, and drone surveying, and at its core are high-precision GNSS receivers.

Reasons to Rent an RTK Receiver

RTK-capable GNSS receivers (the so-called RTK receivers) are very expensive, specialized equipment that generally cost from several hundred thousand to several million yen. Therefore, in cases where high-precision positioning is required but not used frequently enough to justify purchasing, it is more economical to temporarily borrow equipment through renting. By renting RTK receivers for short-term projects or trial use, you can keep upfront investment down and take advantage of high-precision positioning only for the period you need.

Another reason to use rentals is that they save you the hassle of managing and maintaining equipment. High-precision GNSS devices require periodic firmware updates and calibration, but with rentals the provider handles these tasks, so users don't have to worry about cumbersome maintenance. You can also use rentals as a trial before purchase, testing usability and accuracy in actual field conditions before deciding whether to adopt them.

Challenges of Renting RTK Receivers

On the other hand, there are several issues and drawbacks to renting RTK receivers. First, the accumulation of usage costs. Rental fees can become expensive depending on the rental period and equipment configuration, and when rented repeatedly the total cost can no longer be ignored. It is not uncommon for a case where "it was intended to be short-term at first, but the period was extended due to work delays, and as a result the costs ended up exceeding the original estimate." If you use RTK positioning many times a year, other options may be more cost-effective than paying rental fees each time.

Secondly, securing equipment and the hassle of procedures. The desired model may not be available for rental when needed, and reservations can fill up during busy periods. Each rental requires scheduling and pick-up/return procedures, which take time and effort. There is also the risk that urgent on-site work could be delayed while waiting for a rental.

Third, the difficulty of operating the equipment and setting up the environment. To make full use of rented RTK equipment, knowledge of initial configuration and on-site installation and positioning methods is required. For example, if you rent a base station and a rover as a set, you need to install the reference station in an appropriate location and set its coordinates as a known point. Alternatively, if you use a network RTK service, you must configure Ntrip connection on the GNSS receiver and prepare a mobile communication environment (SIM card or pocket Wi‑Fi, etc.). For first-time users, mastering these during a short-term rental is a high hurdle, and there is a risk of reaching the return deadline without having been able to fully exploit the equipment's performance.

What is LRTK

LRTK is the solution that addresses these challenges of rental use and enables easier, long-term use of high-precision positioning. LRTK (Eru Aru Tī Kē) is a high-precision GNSS positioning service provided by Refixia Co., Ltd., and by signing a usage contract on a yearly basis you can use a dedicated compact positioning device and an application to perform high-precision RTK positioning. A major feature is that centimeter-level positioning, which previously required specialized equipment, can be achieved using only a palm-sized receiver and a smartphone/tablet.

Specifically, it consists of a compact RTK-capable GNSS receiver (LRTK device) that attaches to and is used with a smartphone or tablet, and a dedicated app that handles its positioning data. The LRTK device connects to the mobile device via Bluetooth or Wi‑Fi, analyzes positioning signals from satellites with high precision, and transmits them to the app on the smartphone. On the app side, correction information is applied in real time and positioning results are displayed and saved, allowing the user to proceed with surveying tasks while checking their current position and accuracy on the screen.

A major feature of LRTK is that it is offered as a service-based model. Instead of purchasing hardware, you subscribe to a one-year license, allowing you to secure a high-precision positioning environment only for the period you need. During the contract period you are free to use the LRTK device and app, so you can perform positioning whenever you like, as if you owned your own RTK receiver. Unlike short-term rentals, because it can be used continuously throughout the year, it can flexibly accommodate multiple projects and surveying needs that span seasons.

Benefits of LRTK

By leveraging LRTK, you can gain a variety of benefits not available with traditional RTK receiver rentals.

• High accuracy: LRTK supports RTK positioning, achieving approximately ±1–2 cm horizontally and ±3 cm vertically. This level of accuracy can be obtained without installing a dedicated base station, and it is orders of magnitude more precise than typical standalone GPS positioning (errors of several meters). The acquired coordinates include not only latitude and longitude but also elevation information, so they can be used directly for land height measurements.

• Simplicity: Because it operates with just a smartphone and a pocket-sized receiver, equipment transport and setup are extremely easy. There is no need for complicated wiring or fixed installations, and positioning can begin immediately upon arrival at the site. The dedicated app is designed for intuitive operation, enabling one-touch positioning without difficult settings. Even users new to RTK can handle it after a short explanation, making the system user-friendly.

• Portability: The LRTK device itself is lightweight at only a few hundred grams and compact with a thickness of just a few centimeters. For example, it is designed not to be burdensome when mounted on a survey pole (monopod) or a tablet, so it does not add bulk during long patrol surveys or positioning work in mountainous areas. With a full set of equipment fitting in a backpack, you can walk around the site, making it suitable for surveying at heights or in confined spaces that were difficult with conventional gear.

• Immediate use: Unlike traditional rental equipment that requires setup and adjustment each time, LRTK offers immediate readiness when needed. Because there is no need to set up or dismantle a base station on site, the overall efficiency of surveying work is greatly improved. Even on time-pressed sites, you can take out your smartphone and complete high-precision positioning in a short time, allowing point surveys to be performed between tasks.

• Flexibility with communication environments: LRTK supports the CLAS signal of Michibiki (QZSS), Japan’s satellite augmentation service, allowing the device to receive augmentation information from satellites and maintain high-precision positioning even in areas outside cellular coverage. It can also use commercial network RTK services (Ntrip streaming) via a smartphone’s internet connection, enabling correction information to be obtained in the optimal way depending on site conditions. This maintains stable positioning accuracy across various environments such as mountainous areas or urban building shadows.

• Cost efficiency: As an annual subscription service, LRTK offers excellent cost performance for repeated use throughout the year. Once subscribed, it can be used repeatedly without additional fees, so in cases such as performing surveys several times a month, the total cost is often lower than renting equipment each time. Initial expenses are also significantly reduced compared with purchasing equipment, which makes budgeting easier.

• Versatility: LRTK is not only for measuring current position but also excels in data utilization and applied measurements. Using the dedicated app, plotting survey points on maps and saving/sharing coordinate data is easy, and it can integrate with iPhone/iPad cameras and AR functions to perform 3D point cloud scanning or visualize target points from drawings on site to assist staking work. These features allow it to be used as a comprehensive positioning solution that goes beyond a simple GNSS receiver.

Comparison of RTK Receiver Rentals and LRTK

With the above in mind, let's compare traditional RTK receiver rentals with LRTK services. Summarizing the characteristics of each, they are as follows.

Rentals are convenient for short-term use, but they are unsuitable for frequent use or continuous projects. By contrast, LRTK can be used at any time throughout the year and can flexibly accommodate future additional surveying needs. Another advantage is that you don’t have to worry about not having it on hand when you want to use it, making it well suited for sudden on-site responses.

Simplified surveying with LRTK

By introducing LRTK, surveying tasks that previously relied on specialists and heavy equipment can be carried out more easily in-house. For example, for relatively simple surveying tasks—such as confirming site boundary points, measuring heights, or calculating the area of farmland plots—the person in charge can perform them using LRTK. Because high-precision RTK positioning has become so easy to use, you can promptly meet even minor measurement needs on site.

Even tasks that traditionally required hiring a surveying company or preparing expensive equipment can be completed in a short time with a smartphone in hand if you have LRTK. For example, LRTK's accuracy and ease of use are highly effective for applications such as as-built control in small-scale land development, leveling surveys of farmland, and recording conditions at disaster sites. Preparing an environment where you can measure immediately when you think "I want to measure" not only improves operational efficiency but also speeds up on-site decision-making.

LRTK can be used by non-specialist surveyors, broadening employees' skill sets and is expected to serve as a tool that promotes in-house execution of simple surveying. Of course, specialized knowledge is required for advanced tasks such as official control point surveys, but for everyday surveying work, LRTK alone is fully capable. By bringing high-precision positioning within reach, LRTK is significantly changing how work is conducted on site.

Summary

Renting RTK receivers is one option for using high-precision positioning on an occasional basis, but as usage frequency increases, cost and convenience issues become apparent. As a solution, LRTK has emerged as a new approach: a high-precision positioning service available under annual contracts that eliminates the hassle of renting while reliably delivering centimeter-level positioning.

By leveraging LRTK, precise surveying becomes possible using only a smartphone—without relying on heavy, expensive equipment—dramatically improving on-site work efficiency and flexibility. The peace of mind that it can be used whenever needed creates greater flexibility in operational planning and can reduce the setup adjustments and waiting times associated with surveying. LRTK, which can be considered the new standard for high-precision positioning, is an optimal alternative to renting RTK receivers. Take advantage of this service, which offers both high accuracy and convenience, to achieve improved productivity and labor savings in your company’s field operations.

FAQ

Q: What is the difference between RTK and conventional GPS positioning? A: Standalone GPS positioning typically has errors of several meters, but RTK can reduce errors to a few centimeters by using correction information from a base station. In other words, RTK is a technology used when more precise position measurements are required. Another major difference is that it enables accurate vertical positioning and measurements across multiple points without relative offsets.

Q: How accurate is LRTK? A: LRTK provides accuracy of approximately ±1–2 cm horizontally and about ±3 cm vertically. Under favorable conditions, even higher accuracy is possible, and by remaining stationary and averaging multiple measurements, stable millimeter-level results can also be achieved. This accuracy is comparable to that of Class 1 GNSS surveying instruments used in national land surveying.

Q: What do you need to use LRTK? A: Basically, you can use it with just an LRTK receiver device and a compatible smartphone or tablet (an iOS device). If you connect a smartphone with the dedicated app installed to the LRTK device via Bluetooth or similar, reception of satellite positioning and correction information will begin. If you use corrections via the Internet, you need an environment where communication is possible; however, if you operate using only the satellite augmentation signal (CLAS), positioning is possible even when the smartphone is out of mobile coverage.

Q: What does "a service available on an annual basis" mean? A: LRTK is not a purchase model but a subscription-based (term-of-use contract) service. During the one-year contract period, you can freely use the LRTK device and app. The contract can be renewed as needed, and if renewed you can continue to use it. For example, you can use it only for that one year, or contract each year if you use it annually—this allows flexible operation.

Q: Is there a cost advantage compared to renting? A: Yes, especially when used multiple times throughout the year, LRTK is often more economical. Rentals incur a fee each time they are used, but with LRTK you can use the service as many times as needed within the contract period without additional charges. Therefore, on sites where surveys occur several times a month, an LRTK contract can reduce total costs compared to repeatedly renting. Also, compared with purchasing equipment, the initial outlay is smaller, making it easier to introduce.

Q: Can it be used without specialized knowledge of GNSS or surveying? A: Yes. LRTK is designed so that people without specialized knowledge can operate it, featuring a simple operation system and a user-friendly interface. By simply pressing the "Start Positioning" button on the dedicated app, high-precision positioning begins automatically, and the current positioning accuracy and the number of satellites can be checked on the screen. Even first-time users can learn the basic operations with short training or by consulting the manual, and many field personnel use it without problems.

Q: What kinds of applications is it suited for? A: LRTK can be applied across a wide range of uses—not only surveying in construction and civil engineering, but also agriculture (e.g., field parcel measurements), forestry (forest surveys), disaster-site documentation, and improving the accuracy of drone aerial surveys. It is effective for as-built checks on small-scale construction, control-point surveys for map creation, land surveying, staking out equipment installation locations, and essentially any situation where high-precision positioning information is needed. As long as GNSS signals can be received outdoors, it can be used at virtually any site.

Q: Can it be used in mountainous areas or at sites outside cellular coverage? A: Yes. LRTK devices can receive the augmentation signals (CLAS) transmitted by the Michibiki satellites, enabling standalone high-precision positioning even in areas where cellular signals do not reach. However, positioning becomes difficult in locations where GNSS satellite signals themselves cannot be received, such as deep forests or inside tunnels. This is the same as with conventional GPS devices. Conversely, in open-sky locations with clear satellite visibility, stable positioning accuracy can be obtained across Japan without relying on communications infrastructure.

Q: How do I set up LRTK? A: To deploy LRTK, you must sign a contract with Refixia, the provider. If you make an inquiry or submit an application, a complete set of LRTK devices will be delivered to you after the contract procedures are completed. After that, simply install the app on your smartphone and perform the initial setup to start using it immediately. Detailed steps and the support system for deployment are provided on the LRTK official website and through the support desk, so if you are interested, please contact them.