GNSS Receivers for Drone Surveying & GIS Mapping

Septentrio-powered RTK/PPK receivers · 0.6 cm + 0.5 ppm accuracy · CE & FCC compliant

Drone survey GNSS receiver for aerial surveying and mapping

Centimetre-Level Accuracy for Professional Drone Surveys

Whether you are capturing photogrammetric data for topographic mapping, georeferencing LiDAR point clouds, or feeding precise positions into a GIS pipeline, the GNSS receiver on your drone determines the quality of every deliverable.

Our Septentrio-powered receivers deliver 0.6 cm + 0.5 ppm RTK horizontal accuracy and support full PPK post-processing workflows — giving surveying teams and drone integrators a single receiver that handles real-time guidance, direct georeferencing, and post-flight processing without compromise.

✓ Stock held in EU & North America | ✓ CE marked & FCC certified | ✓ Pix4D & Metashape compatible

Why Accurate GNSS Matters on Survey Drones

Photogrammetry & Ortho — Sub-centimetre accuracy for GCP-free or GCP-reduced orthomosaic workflows.
Topographic Mapping — RTK/PPK delivers survey-grade DEMs and contour models from a single drone flight.
LiDAR Point Clouds — PPS time-sync and dual-antenna heading for precise LiDAR georeferencing without GCPs.
BIM & Construction — Centimetre-accurate as-built surveys feeding directly into BIM and CAD pipelines.

Septentrio at a Glance

0.6 cm + 0.5 ppm — RTK accuracy

9.5 g — module weight

<10 s — RTK convergence

448 — tracking channels

6 — constellations tracked

Key Features Built for Survey Applications

Every feature is designed to solve a real problem that surveying professionals face in the field.

AIM+ Interference Mitigation

Maintains RTK fix in electrically noisy environments — power line corridors, urban canyons, and sites with heavy plant machinery. Up to 60 dB of interference suppression across broadband, narrowband, and pulse interference.

Multi-Constellation Support

GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS, NavIC — tracked simultaneously across L1/L2/L5 for faster RTK fix and better sky availability in obstructed sites.

RTK + PPK Simultaneous Output

Real-time RTK output to flight controller AND raw SBF observation logging for PPK post-processing — from the same receiver, on the same flight, with no reconfiguration needed.

PPS Hardware Time Sync

Hardware pulse-per-second output for camera shutter synchronisation and LiDAR timestamp locking — the key to accurate direct georeferencing without GCPs.

IONO+ Ionospheric Compensation

Ionospheric correction for long-baseline or low-latitude surveys where standard RTK accuracy degrades. Maintains consistent cm-level accuracy across large survey blocks.

Application-Specific Use Cases

Use Case	Key Requirement	Septentrio Feature
GCP-free photogrammetry	3-5 cm absolute accuracy	PPK + IONO+ + multi-constellation
LiDAR point cloud survey	Hardware time sync + heading	PPS output + dual-antenna (G5 P3H)
Corridor mapping	RTK fix in RF-noisy environments	AIM+ interference mitigation
Topographic / cadastral survey	Survey-grade DEM accuracy	RTK + PPK + RAIM+ integrity
Large-area GIS mapping	Consistent km-scale accuracy	IONO+ + multi-frequency L1/L2/L5
Construction as-built survey	BIM-grade cm accuracy	RTK with AIM+ near machinery

RTK vs PPK — Which Workflow Suits Your Survey?

Our receivers support both approaches simultaneously. The choice depends on your site conditions and deliverable requirements.

RTK (Real-Time Kinematic)

✓ 1-2 cm horizontal accuracy (live)

✓ Requires live NTRIP or radio link to base station

✓ Best for urban surveys, sites with good NTRIP coverage

✓ GCPs: Optional — 1-2 for quality check

PPK (Post-Processed Kinematic)

✓ 1-3 cm horizontal accuracy (post-flight)

✓ No live link needed — base station logged separately

✓ Best for remote sites, no-comms zones, maximum accuracy

✓ GCPs: Optional — none required with good base setup

With a Septentrio receiver, you do not have to choose — both outputs are recorded simultaneously on every flight.

Software Ecosystem & Integration

Works with the tools you already use. Native support for leading photogrammetry and GIS platforms.

Pix4Dmapper

Native SBF import and RINEX 3.x. Direct georeferencing workflow supported.

Agisoft Metashape

RINEX 3.x import, PPK trajectory integration, camera event log support.

DJI Terra

RTCM and NMEA output compatible for DJI autopilot integration.

RTKLIB / PPK Tools

Full raw RINEX output for open-source PPK processing pipelines.

Compliance & Regional Availability

Our receivers are CE marked for Europe and FCC certified for North America — ready to deploy on commercially operated survey drones without additional certification overhead. Stock is held in both regions for fast delivery.

European Customers

Stock held in the EU — fast local shipping
CE marked — compliant for commercial UAV survey operations
Compatible with EUREF, national CORS, SmartNet NTRIP networks
EU-based support for PPK setup, SBF logging, Pix4D & Metashape
VAT-registered EU invoicing available

North American Customers

Stock held in US/Canada — fast domestic shipping
FCC certified — ready for Part 107 commercial survey operations
Compatible with NGS CORS, state DOT, Trimble RTX, Leica SmartNet
Local support for ArduPilot, PX4, and custom autopilot integrations
USD invoicing, standard US shipping terms

Operating in another region? Contact us → — we ship globally and can advise on compliance requirements for your market.

Frequently Asked Questions

Using a Septentrio receiver in PPK mode with a well-surveyed base station, you can typically achieve 3-5 cm absolute horizontal accuracy without any GCPs on flat to moderately undulating terrain. Adding 1-2 GCPs improves absolute accuracy further and provides a quality check for deliverable reporting.

Yes. The mosaic-X5 logs raw observations in SBF format, which can be exported to RINEX 3.x for both platforms. Pix4D also supports native SBF import. The PPS output enables hardware-synchronised camera triggering for accurate direct georeferencing.

Yes — this is a key advantage of the Septentrio platform. The mosaic-X5 and mosaic-G5 series simultaneously output RTK position data to the flight controller while logging raw SBF observations for PPK post-processing. No hardware changes or reconfiguration are needed between flights.

The receiver provides high-rate position data (up to 100 Hz) and a PPS signal for hardware time synchronisation with the LiDAR scanner. The mosaic-G5 P3H adds dual-antenna heading output for boresight calibration and direct georeferencing without relying on an IMU for heading estimation.

All receivers accept RTCM 3.x corrections via NTRIP over serial or network connection. Compatible with EUREF and national CORS networks in Europe, and NGS CORS, state DOT networks, Trimble RTX, Leica SmartNet, and Hexagon CORSnet in North America.

Yes — this is where AIM+ interference mitigation makes a direct difference. Power line corridors generate significant electromagnetic interference. AIM+ provides up to 60 dB of suppression, maintaining RTK fix throughout the corridor. The 100 Hz update rate also ensures accurate position tagging at fast ground speeds.

Ready to Upgrade Your Survey Drone?

Browse our full range of Septentrio-powered GNSS receivers, or contact our engineering team for RTK/PPK workflow setup, software integration advice, and platform-specific recommendations.

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All receivers on this page are powered by Septentrio GNSS technology and are CE marked and FCC certified. Intended for civilian survey and mapping applications only.