What question did this study set out to answer?

The study aims to evaluate the performance of no-fee GNSS augmentation systems in improving tractor guidance accuracy.

March 26, 2026Open Access

Performance assessment of no-fee GNSS augmentation systems for tractor guidance

Key Points

The study aims to evaluate the performance of no-fee GNSS augmentation systems in improving tractor guidance accuracy.
Assessed five no-fee GNSS augmentation systems: EGNOS, GLIDE, RTK, VRS-NRTK, and on-site RTK.
Conducted both static tests and guidance tests using three GNSS receiver types: Navilock NL8022MP, Novatel Smart2, and Harxon TS108PRO.
Recorded trajectory data during straight-line guidance using a tractor with two GNSS receivers.
Unaugmented GNSS guidance errors ranged from 2–3 m, reduced to below 1 m for intervals less than 15 min.
EGNOS improved guidance errors by approximately 41%.
GLIDE achieved guidance errors below 20 cm for short pass-to-pass intervals without long-term improvement.
RTK errors decreased with shorter baseline lengths, reaching 1 cm with on-site RTK.

Abstract

• Unaugmented GNSS gives 2–3 m guidance errors, reduced below 1 m for pass-to-pass 100 km yielded > 17 cm, 20–100 km yielded 3–20 cm, and < 20 km yielded 2–3 cm; (v) VRS-NRTK slightly outperformed RTK with similar baseline lengths; and (vi) on-site RTK enabled 1 cm guidance error. In summary: low-cost receivers without augmentation or with EGNOS result in metre-level errors; mid-range receivers with GLIDE deliver decimetre-level guidance errors in the short term; and high-end receivers using on-site RTK or VRS-NRTK on baselines up to 100 km achieve centimetre-level errors, enabling farmers to replicate tractor trajectories consistently year to year.

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