Quick Links
The Utah Reference Network (TURN) is a high-precision global navigation satellite system (GNSS) reference network providing real-time corrections and data for post processing. Our network consists of permanently located GPS receivers installed across Utah and portions of Idaho, Wyoming, and southern Nevada that generate real-time, high-accuracy GNSS positioning. These receivers send their data using the Networked Transport of RTCM via Internet Protocol (NTRIP) to a central system that analyzes the input to adjust and correct the data to provide the most accurate locations, usually down to centimeter level. Our network uses the Trimble Pivot VRS Platform.
Drones
Our real-time GPS network plays a crucial role in keeping drones in designated flight corridors and away from controlled airspaces. This aids a multitude of services including critical medical deliveries.
Driverless vehicles
The centimeter-level precision of a real-time network greatly improves driverless vehicles' navigation compared to standard GPS' potential error of a dozen feet or more. Having a reliable network helps keep drivers safe by preventing collisions and keeping vehicles in the appropriate lane.
Monitoring
High-accuracy GNSS networks are used in science and research to study and better understand the world around us. Whether it's monitoring tectonic plate movements measured in millimeters per year or unstable hillsides that shift a couple of feet a month, our GNSS network can help support disaster response management, agricultural and forestry, landslide monitoring, and more!
Watch this interesting video of GPS base stations capturing the intensity of Japan's 2011 earthquake, revealing the horizontal displacement by up to 400 centimeters on the left, and a vertical shift of 75 centimeters on the right.
Weather
High-accuracy GNSS networks play a crucial role in meteorology and mitigating the effects of climate change. Real-time measurements can help improve weather predictions, severe weather monitoring, atmospheric modeling, and much more!
