GPS didn't fail, the GPS enhancing systems known as Satellite-Based
Augmentation System, at least the one used in NZ, failed.
This is from a post on Reddit:
Few people in these comments understand how Ag GPS systems works. My
systems track GPS And Glonass satellites. I’m tracking anywhere from 10
to 20 satellites at a time. The more satellites I can track at a time
the better. To make the solution accurate enough to be useful for
farming, a correction service is used. That’s what the malfunctioning
satellite was passing to the farmers. In the US we have a free
correction system called WAAS that takes it from meters of accuracy to
something like six to 12 inches. A paid subscription service will get
you down to an inch of repeatability. These services are usually
delivered by satellite because it’s normally the most reliable way. You
can also deliver them by cell or by radio. Rural areas aren’t known for
great cell coverage and radios are only capable of shorter distances.
Farmers use this to automatically steer their tractors, tell their
planters where and when to plant, and turn sections of their sprayer
booms on and off. They’re also used to log where and what you’ve done
which is very important for crop management. Equipment is so wide that
the operator can’t just efficiently freehand it without overlapping. You
can also work late into the night when you just can’t see anymore. Sub
meter, sub foot, and sub inch levels of accuracy are amazing technology
that I’d rather not farm without. I can do it, but it makes for a harder
less efficient day.
This explains how Real Time Kinematic (RTK) GPS works.
https://www.fjdynamics.com/blog/12-Why-Is-RTK-Essential-to-Agriculture--
There's more about all this at
https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/12u1ugc/farming_satellite_failure_cripples_farmers_as/
--
Regards
brd
Bernard Robertson-Dunn
Canberra Australia
email: [email protected]
_______________________________________________
Link mailing list
[email protected]
https://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link
