IT was recently announced in the 2018-19 Federal Budget that $160 million would be invested in the Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS).
Corrigin Farm Improvement Group (CFIG) is at the forefront of this technology development and is co-ordinating a project between the Australia and New Zealand Co-operative Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRCSI) and Think Spatial to determine the accuracy and precision of Precise Point Positioning (PPP) and SBAS for various farm tasks.
The new technologies augment and correct the positioning signals already transmitted to Australia by the United States’ Global Positioning System (GPS) improving accuracy, integrity, continuity and availability.
SBAS technology isn’t available in Australia but is widely used overseas and is already proven to increase GPS functionality.
CFIG is one of WA’s leading grower groups.
It is a dynamic, grower-driven, not-for-profit organisation that operates in the Wheatbelt shires of Corrigin, Quairading, Kondinin, Kulin, Narembeen and Bruce Rock.
The group strives to provide businesses with access to relevant and timely research and information on production, environmental and economic sustainability and our membership represents some of the State’s most innovative farmers.
The CFIG project aims to assess the accuracy and reliability of SBAS and PPP technologies in farming operations using multi-GNSS positioning, commercial GNSS correction services and Real-Time Kinetics GNSS positioning.
Preliminary results indicate that the SBAS receivers are showing significant improvement to free-to-air GPS and are comparable with commercially available SBAS-enabled devices.
Improved and cheaper access to SBAS technologies will lead to increased efficiencies and production outcomes for Australian growers.
For example, it could enable better management of resources such as variable rate application of on-farm inputs, virtual fencing of farms and so on.
CFIG is excited that the Federal government is investing in a technology that has the potential to provide 10 centimetres or less accuracy free for farmers.
Having access to high precision positioning information could open the door for technology investment to aid SBAS and PPP to be used in farming environments (for example, new autosteer technologies or phone app developments).
The CFIG project is part of suite of projects funded by the CRCSI and Geoscience Australia that is looking at the benefits of SBAS across a range of industries.
Three SBAS technologies are being trialled: first generation SBAS, second generation SBAS and PPP.
The technologies were turned on in June, September and October 2017 respectively.
It is the first time anywhere in the world that second-generation SBAS signals have been transmitted.
Australia is also the first country in the world to trial PPP corrections integrated into a SBAS service.
The funding announcement of $160.9m over four years and a further $39.2m in ongoing funding from 2022-23, made in the Federal budget, will support continued work to deliver accurate positioning information for users directly via satellites.
This will overcome gaps in mobile and radio communications and ensure accurate positioning information across all of Australia and its maritime zones to an expected accuracy of 10cm.
CFIG will deliver the results of its project at the end of year and anticipate that this project will have significant influence on the agricultural sector.
