RFGNSS Data Formats: NMEA, RINEX, RTCM, and More
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This page provides an overview of various GNSS data formats used for transmitting GNSS data to receivers. We’ll cover NMEA, RINEX, RTCM, SP3, BINEX, and GPX formats.
Introduction
GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) encompasses various satellite systems like GPS, Galileo, BeiDou, and GLONASS, used worldwide. These systems are designed to provide positioning and timing information to receivers on Earth.
The positioning and timing data are transmitted using several data formats by these GNSS systems. The transmitted data includes ephemeris data, almanac data, and timing information.
GNSS Data Formats
The following table describes various GNSS data formats used to encode navigation data from satellites for GNSS receivers.
| GNSS Data Format | Description |
|---|---|
| NMEA 0183 | NMEA stands for National Marine Electronics Association. It consists of ASCII strings transmitted as serial data. NMEA sequences provide GPS receiver information such as position, current time, velocity, etc. There are different NMEA sequences used to carry different types of information. These NMEA sentences include GPGGA, GPRMC, GPVTG, GPGSA, GPGSV, etc. |
| RINEX | It is the short form of Receiver Independent Exchange. This format is used to store GNSS data collected by GNSS receivers. RINEX files contain various information such as raw measurement data, ephemeris data, almanac data, etc. This information is used for post-processing and analysis. |
| RTCM | It is the short form of Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services. This format carries correction data for GNSS receivers and is transmitted by ground stations. This data helps improve the accuracy of positioning information. |
| SP3 | It is the short form of Standard Product 3. It is used to store satellite orbit information. SP3 files contain precise orbit and clock data for each GNSS satellite. |
| BINEX | It is the short form of binary GPS data format. This format is used to exchange GPS data between GPS receivers and analysis centers. They are better than RINEX in terms of compactness and efficiency. BINEX contains various fields which include time of observation, Satellite ID, carrier phase measurements, pseudoranges, etc. |
| GPX | It is the short form of GPS Exchange Format. This format is used to exchange GPS data which includes waypoints, tracks, and routes. It contains various fields such as latitude, longitude, elevation, etc. |
GNSS data formats are related to GNSS signal codes, as they contain the information necessary to extract positioning and timing information from the signals transmitted by the GNSS satellites.
