RTK Receiver Rental Comparison: How to Start with an LRTK Annual Plan That Reduces Initial Setup Burden

On construction and surveying sites, centimeter-level high-precision surveying is indispensable to implement construction as designed. As a method, RTK receivers (GNSS positioning devices) are widely used, but because they are precision instruments, initial costs are high, and small- and medium-sized construction companies and sites often find them difficult to adopt. As a means to overcome such hurdles, RTK receiver rentals and annual contract plans are attracting attention.

In this article, we explain the initial costs and challenges involved in introducing RTK receivers, and the benefits of adopting rental solutions. We also compare the main rental methods used in the market and examine the cost-effectiveness and on-site suitability of short-term rentals versus annual plans. Building on that, as a concrete measure for continuing RTK surveying while keeping initial expenses low, we introduce the labor- and time-saving effects achievable through simple deployment with our LRTK Annual Plan. Finally, we include usage scenarios for the field and an FAQ about implementation, so please refer to them.

Table of Contents

• Initial acquisition costs of RTK receivers and associated challenges

• Advantages of adopting rentals (costs, maintenance, short-term site deployments)

• Comparison of main RTK receiver rental models in the market

• Cost-effectiveness and site suitability of short-term rentals versus annual plans

• Ways to continue using RTK surveying while minimizing upfront costs

• Simplified implementation and manpower/time savings achieved through LRTK annual plans

• Usage scenarios and case examples at construction sites (as-built management, pile-driving guidance, photo management)

• FAQ

Initial deployment costs of RTK receivers and associated challenges

First, let's look at the cost-related hurdles faced when a company implements RTK receivers in-house. When purchasing a typical GNSS surveying system (RTK-capable), an initial investment on the order of several million yen may be required for a complete set of two units — a base station plus a rover. Even a single receiver can be expensive depending on the model, ranging from ¥500,000 to ¥1,000,000 or more, and additional costs such as surveying software license fees and annual calibration and maintenance fees also apply. For small and medium-sized enterprises, such a sizable capital expenditure is a major burden and a factor that discourages adoption.

Additionally, a challenge with RTK surveying is that it requires technicians with advanced knowledge and experience. In traditional surveying, surveying work with a total station is normally carried out by a two-person team, requiring specialized survey personnel. Even with RTK-GNSS surveying, proficiency is required for device operation settings and for installing and configuring the base station and communications. As precision equipment, it also requires careful handling and was not something that all site staff could easily operate. For this reason, there is a risk that even if equipment is purchased it will become "a white elephant", and particularly on small sites, it can be difficult to justify its adoption in terms of cost-effectiveness.

As a result, at many sites when high-precision surveying is required, responses have included outsourcing to external surveying companies or renting necessary equipment on a spot basis. However, outsourcing costs accumulate with each project and can, over the long term, become a greater expense than owning the equipment in-house. There is also the issue that if a company does not have measuring instruments on hand when needed, it cannot respond to urgent surveys, leaving challenges in terms of agility. Against this backdrop, demand is growing to utilize RTK surveying in-house while keeping initial acquisition costs down.

Benefits of Introducing Rentals (Cost, Maintenance, Short-term Site Support)

A promising way to lower the barriers to introducing such RTK receivers is the option of renting equipment instead of purchasing it. By leveraging rentals, you do not need to secure substantial upfront capital for initial deployment, and you can borrow the equipment only for the periods you need. A major advantage is that this can significantly reduce initial costs.

Adopting rentals offers advantages beyond cost. First, the burden of equipment maintenance is reduced. High-precision instruments require regular calibration and inspection, but with rentals the provider supplies equipment that is managed and maintained. Repairs in the event of a malfunction are also handled by the provider, so there is no need to hold spare parts or secure specialized technicians in-house. Also, when new models or technologies emerge, renting can make it possible to always use the latest models. Continuously updating purchased equipment is difficult, but rental services refresh their equipment lineup to match market needs, so they can reduce the risk of obsolescence.

Furthermore, rentals are flexible for short-term on-site needs. For example, if “high-precision surveying is required only for this particular construction,” you can rent the equipment for a short period and return it after completion. There is no worry about leaving equipment idle for long periods, and it also has the advantage of making cost management by project easier. For sudden surveying needs, as long as the rental company has stock, equipment can be procured immediately, providing the reassurance of being able to use it right when needed. Additionally, rental services often offer support for operating procedures and technical consultation, making it easier to introduce RTK equipment even on sites using it for the first time.

As described above, introducing RTK receiver rentals brings multifaceted benefits such as cost reduction, reduced maintenance burden, and flexible equipment operation. However, it is important to note that if usage becomes frequent, rental fees can accumulate and become comparatively costly. In the next chapter, we will compare the main rental methods used in the market and examine the options according to usage patterns.

Comparison of Major RTK Receiver Rental Methods in the Market

There are several forms of renting and using RTK receivers. Here, we compare the representative methods and summarize the characteristics of each.

Cost-effectiveness and on-site suitability of short-term rentals and annual plans

As shown in the table above, short-term spot rentals and annual plans (subscription-based) each have suitable use cases. In terms of cost-effectiveness, renting on a per-use basis is cheaper when usage frequency is low, but when used frequently, an annual plan tends to be more economical overall. For example, if the daily rental fee is, say, several tens of thousands of yen, renting multiple times a month would make the total annual rental amount quite high. In that case, securing equipment with an annual contract from the start not only reduces total cost but also saves the hassle of arranging rentals each time, making it more efficient.

On the other hand, if your use is limited to occasional, once-a-year or less spot use, an annual plan may leave you with equipment you don't use and the cost may not be justified. Therefore, "how frequently you will perform RTK surveys" becomes an important point in deciding between a short-term rental and an annual plan. It may be wise to start with a rental to see how things go, and consider switching to a long-term plan if opportunities to use it increase.

From the perspective of site adaptability, the advantage of securing equipment year-round through an annual plan truly stands out. If a company owns its own RTK receivers, able to survey immediately when needed, there is no waiting in line for surveys or construction interruptions caused by arranging subcontracted work. For example, at one construction site each site supervisor carried a terminal equipped with an RTK receiver and was able to perform their own as-built measurements and stakeout for pile locations, and tasks that had previously been halted while waiting for the surveying crew to arrive began to proceed smoothly. The effect of construction not stopping due to "waiting for surveying" is significant and leads to improved productivity across the entire site.

Also, bringing operations in-house and reducing reliance on specific individuals is another benefit. In the past, even small-scale surveys were outsourced to external surveying companies or staff had to compete for expensive equipment within the company, but with affordable smartphone surveying devices, surveys can be handled solely by in-house staff. Surveying tasks no longer need to be the responsibility of particular technicians, and each work team can independently perform measurements and record data, streamlining on-site data collection across the organization. Additionally, when "one device per person" operation—where each individual carries high-precision equipment—is realized, not only is time spent waiting for surveys eliminated, but faster data sharing accelerates decision-making, leading to a dramatic overall improvement in operational efficiency.

Conversely, with spot rentals, arranging equipment can take time, making flexible responses difficult, and there are cases where people set unrealistic schedules, thinking "let's only complete the work necessary within the rental period." If you want to promote on-site DX (digital transformation) and make everyday use of survey data, keeping equipment permanently in place under an annual plan is, after all, the preferable option.

How to Continue Utilizing RTK Surveying While Minimizing Upfront Costs

So, what methods can be considered to continuously utilize RTK surveying while reducing the burden of initial costs? The key is skillfully combining rentals and leases, as discussed so far, and adopting the latest technological solutions.

First, on the financial side, the idea of smoothing costs as operating expenses (OPEX) rather than relying on equipment purchases is important. By confirming effectiveness through short-term rentals while gradually expanding usage and switching to leases or annual plans according to needs, you can incorporate high-precision surveying into your company's workflows without a large upfront investment. The key to continued use is to align rental periods with your company's project cycle and choose a plan that can be utilized without undue strain.

Next, on the technical side, leveraging low-cost, easy-to-use RTK solutions is effective. In recent years, ultra-compact RTK-GNSS receivers that can be attached to smartphones and tablets have emerged and are being offered at significantly lower prices than conventional units. With these new devices, it becomes realistic even on sites that previously shared expensive surveying equipment to introduce multiple units relatively inexpensively and operate on a one-device-per-person basis. Systems that integrate smartphone apps with cloud services are intuitive to operate and easy to learn, so even on-site staff who are not surveying specialists can handle them, lowering the barrier to personnel training for continued use.

By devising financing strategies and leveraging technological innovation in this way, you can overcome the barrier of upfront costs and establish RTK surveying on site. A concrete solution that emerged from this is our company's LRTK Annual Plan. In the next chapter, we will look at how using this annual plan makes it easy to introduce RTK surveying and achieve effects such as reduced manpower and time savings.

Simplified Implementation and Labor/Time Savings with the LRTK Annual Plan

Our company’s LRTK annual plan is an RTK surveying solution developed to address the challenges described above. It is an annual subscription plan that packages an ultra-compact RTK-GNSS receiver that can be mounted on an iPhone or iPad (weighing approximately 125 g) together with a dedicated cloud-connected app and services. There is no need to purchase expensive surveying equipment at initial deployment; by simply attaching the device to your existing smartphone, centimeter-level positioning becomes possible. Because you can use the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan’s network of electronic reference points and satellite augmentation signals (Michibiki’s CLAS) via the smartphone without installing a base station, high-precision surveying can be completed with a single receiver.

The major features of the LRTK annual plan are its comprehensive service offering and the low barrier to adoption thanks to a flat-rate system. Positioning, 3D point-cloud scanning, AR-guided stakeout, high-precision photogrammetry, volume calculations, and other versatile functions required on site are all available in one package. Assembling these features individually with other vendors can mean expenses on the order of several million yen plus multiple monthly service contracts, but with LRTK you only need a single device and a simple annual contract. New features are added sequentially via software updates, so functions you may need in the future can be tried at no additional cost. Its cost-effectiveness is such that one could say, "If even one feature is useful, not adopting it is a loss," and many construction companies and local governments are currently switching to LRTK.

By utilizing the LRTK annual plan, you can concretely achieve labor reduction and shorter operation times. Survey work that previously required two or more people can be completed by a single person, and equipment setup and teardown times can be greatly shortened. Because it can be operated with intuitive smartphone controls even without a specialized survey technician, anyone on site can perform surveying and recording when needed based on their own judgment. As a result, other work will no longer be halted while "waiting for the survey staff to arrive," enabling zero-wait-time site operations. In addition, because the acquired data is shared to the cloud immediately, post-processing and reporting tasks after returning to the office are also streamlined. Overall, you can expect a significant increase in productivity and reduction in workload compared to conventional methods.

In this way, the LRTK annual plan is a solution that lowers the initial implementation hurdle while transforming on-site surveying styles with the latest technology. Next, let's look at concrete examples of how LRTK can be applied on actual construction sites in several case-by-case scenarios.

Usage Scenarios and Examples at Construction Sites (As-built Management · Pile-driving Guidance · Photo Management)

Finally, let's look at several cases of how RTK surveying using LRTK can be concretely utilized on construction sites.

• As-built management: LRTK demonstrates its power even in situations requiring high-precision measurement and recording of as-built conditions (finished geometry) after construction. Earthwork volumes and finished surface elevations that were traditionally measured painstakingly with batter boards, tape measures, or large equipment can be 3D-scanned on site in a short time with LRTK to obtain point cloud data, enabling immediate earthwork volume calculations and comparisons with design shapes. For example, in completion inspections of embankment works, the required fill volume can be calculated from high-density point clouds acquired in just a few minutes, resulting in substantial labor savings and time reductions compared with conventional methods. Because the acquired data can be overlaid with drawings in the cloud, checking as-built outcomes and preparing reports is also streamlined.

• Pile-driving guidance: An example of an application for setting out structural positions and pile-driving operations. The LRTK system integrates with AR technology and can display design positions on a tablet screen in real time while guiding pile-driving work by a single person. Traditionally, surveyors needed to place stakes at survey points and the construction crew would use them as reference marks, but after introducing LRTK, on-site staff can follow the on-screen instructions to drive piles to the exact positions themselves. This simultaneously achieves improved positioning accuracy and reduced manpower, enabling layout work to proceed efficiently even on complex terrain or at sites with poor visibility.

• Photo management: The high-precision positioning of RTK can also be used for photographing and managing construction records. With LRTK, the coordinates and orientation of the shooting location are automatically recorded on photos taken with a smartphone, making it immediately clear from which point and in which direction a photo was taken. You can plot shooting locations on a cloud map and manage photos chronologically, so later you can confirm “where that photo was taken” or compare the same location across multiple inspections, making such tasks dramatically easier. Streamlining photo management is also beneficial for quality and safety management, and compared with traditional methods that relied on paper ledgers it significantly enhances information sharing.

FAQ

Q: Should I choose to purchase or rent an RTK receiver?

A: It depends on how often and for what purpose you use it. If you only need it very occasionally, renting and borrowing it when required is more economical; however, if you use it regularly, purchasing or subscribing is often more cost-effective in the long run. In particular, flat-rate services like the LRTK annual plan keep initial costs down and provide constant access to equipment, so on sites where surveying is performed frequently they offer better cost-effectiveness than renting.

Q: What is included in the LRTK annual plan?

A: The LRTK annual plan includes the loan of a smartphone-mounted RTK-GNSS receiver unit (LRTK device) and access to the surveying app and cloud services. Positioning, point-cloud processing, AR functions, and other features are all packaged together, so there is no need to purchase expensive additional software. Software updates and support are also included in the contract, allowing you to use the latest features with confidence at all times (the only item you need to provide separately is a compatible iPhone/iPad).

Q: Can beginners who have never used RTK still master it?

A: Yes—LRTK is designed to be usable without specialized knowledge via an intuitive smartphone app. There is guidance during the initial setup, and complicated base-station configurations are unnecessary. Even those without surveying experience can learn the basic operations with a short training session and put them to use on site immediately. In addition, our support team will handle any questions after deployment, so you can use it with confidence.

Q: Can positioning be performed in locations without network connectivity, such as out-of-service areas or mountainous regions?

A: Yes, LRTK devices are compatible with the centimeter-class augmentation service (CLAS) provided by Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System, and can maintain centimeter-level positioning using correction signals from satellites even in environments where cellular signals cannot reach. Therefore, high-precision surveying is possible even in locations with unstable communications infrastructure, such as mountainous areas or disaster sites (however, positioning becomes difficult in places where satellite signals themselves cannot be received, such as inside tunnels).

Q: Do I need to prepare my own base station (reference station) for RTK surveying?

A: No. LRTK adopts a network RTK that obtains correction information from public electronic reference station networks and private VRS services, so users do not need to install their own base stations. With just one GNSS receiver (rover) you can start surveying immediately, eliminating the upfront burden of purchasing and installing an entire base-station set as was previously required.