Komatsu Australia has expanded its Smart Construction suite with the launch of K-RTK, a subscription service that delivers high-accuracy positioning corrections directly to connected machines.
Marc Brook from Komatsu Australia says GPS or GNSS-equipped machinery with real-time kinematic (RTK) is now the preferred site positioning approach on many complex earthmoving projects, particularly where traditional survey set out and grade checking practices struggle to keep pace with program and scale.
“Australian earthmoving projects have very little room for positioning error. With rapidly evolving designs and models, changing site conditions, multiple crews working at once and shorter delivery timeframes, small inaccuracies can show up straight away. When positioning slips, productivity drops, rework increases and site confidence quickly takes a hit,” Marc says.
This operating environment has driven Komatsu Australia to introduce K-RTK, a subscription-based network service delivering high-accuracy corrections to GNSS-enabled equipment via the mobile data network. Positioning corrections come from a network of reference stations across the region and are streamed directly to machines in real time. That means site teams no longer need to install, manage or protect their own base station hardware.
“Systems like this are becoming standard on worksites, plus customers prefer a single supplier and a single point of contact rather than coordinating multiple vendors and systems, so it just made sense for us to add this to our already strong Smart Construction range,” Marc says.
Traditionally, setting up RTK corrections for GPS or GNSS enabled machinery meant buying and managing a base station for each site, often with a significant upfront cost. This subscription service removes the need to purchase, maintain or reconfigure base stations every time work fronts move.
Radio-based base stations can also suffer from signal dropouts, black spots and interference, disrupting work and impacting productivity. K-RTK removes those limitations, delivering consistent coverage across active worksites.
“K-RTK operates through more than 900 reference stations across Australia, making it one of the most extensive coverage networks available. In most areas where construction is underway, the service is readily accessible,” Marc says.