Positioning Regional Victoria (PRV) Project

In its May 2008 budget the Victorian Government committed $6.9 million in funding to extend Vicmap Position – GPSnet™, a high accuracy Networked Real-Time Kinematic (NRTK) positioning service, state-wide in a five (5) stage prioritised rollout from 2008 through to 2011.

The Positioning Regional Victoria project was allocated $4.9 million to augment Victoria’s Vicmap Position - GPSnet™ Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) network. The successful completion of this project provides high accuracy positioning and navigation corrections for Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) applications state-wide.

The remaining $2 million is being invested by the Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) to install a further estimated 11 GNSS CORS (including 8 AuScope GNSS CORS sites) and upgrade the Vicmap Position - GPSnet™ backend infrastructure.

On completion of the entire program, Vicmap Position – GPSnet™ will consist of approximately 100 GNSS CORS providing a nominal state-wide real-time horizontal accuracy of ±2cm.

Project components

The project is being managed as a series of sub-projects:

Industry economic benefits analysis of high accuracy positioning
Expansion and densification of the Vicmap Position - GPSnet™ CORS infrastructure (estimated 57 new CORS installations statewide)
Vicmap Position – GPSnet™ web site redevelopment
Vicmap Position – GPSnet™ automated tracking and billing system
Marketing and promotion of Vicmap Position - GPSnet™

Benefits of the project

The expansion of the Vicmap Position – GPSnet™ network will help drive business productivity and competitiveness, and improve environmental and social outcomes.
The project offers a strategic and rational alternative to the proliferation of ad-hoc and typically single arrays of individual overlapping short range base stations.

The PRV Project will deliver the following state-wide benefits:

Reducing cost of entry to high precision satellite positioning by eliminating the need for a user to acquire, manage and operate their own dedicated GNSS base station
Virtually distortion free positioning and navigation at a nominal horizontal accuracy of ±2cm
Support for legal traceability of position
Synchronisation to the national spatial referencing system, enabling user positioning outcomes in strict compliance with the Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994 (GDA94)
Universal nonproprietary data formats, increasing user choice of equipment and flexibility
Remote control and monitoring of all network CORS for data quality and impact by space weather and other external effects.

A wide range of GNSS user sectors will benefit from access to one multi-modal infrastructure, providing a technological advantage to attract and spatially enable businesses.

Table 1: High Precision GNSS Applications which can expect to gain benefits from the PRV project

Applications	Industry Sector	High Precision GNSS Applications
Guidance	Automation	Robotics
	Construction	Automation of grading Heavy construction and structural assembly Machine-guidance and grade control
	Precision Farming	Machine control
Research	Academia	Atmospheric data Archaeology and restoration Advanced timing and research. Geological deformation Landslide studies and monitoring Ionospheric and tropospheric modelling Monument preservation Tectonic plate movement
Social	Compliance	Construction inspection and compliance inspection
Social	Emergency Services	Disaster preparedness Emergency response incident mapping Forensics and scene investigation Post-event analysis Recovery and reconstruction
Spatial	Engineering	Engineering studies Physical plant management Preliminary engineering Structural integrity monitoring of dams, bridges, building and plants
	Mapping	Aerial mapping control Asset inventory Environmental mapping Geographic information system resource mapping Utility location and clearances
	Remote sensing	Geophysical studies
	Surveying	Construction staking Construction surveying Control monumentation Design-grade topographic surveying Grade checking Land surveying Project control
Transportation	Air, land & water	Intelligent transportation and route delineation Maritime portage and hazard clearances Precise navigation Rail and port operations Snowplough guidance