In the age of smart transportation, autonomous vehicles, precision agriculture, and urban mapping, accurate positioning is more critical than ever. Choosing the right GNSS antenna is foundational to achieving high-precision results. GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) antennas, like those offered by Harxon, provide reliable satellite signal reception that is essential for applications ranging from outdoor surveying to indoor navigation. However, positioning technology has evolved beyond traditional GNSS. Various methods—such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, UWB, RFID, inertial navigation, visual, geomagnetic, and acoustic-based positioning—offer unique strengths and limitations. Understanding these differences is key to selecting the most suitable solution for your specific application.
GNSS positioning utilizes satellite signals to determine location through Time of Arrival (ToA) measurement. High-quality GNSS antennas can achieve centimeter-level accuracy, making them ideal for outdoor applications. Yet, GNSS requires an unobstructed sky view, making it susceptible to urban canyon effects, dense forests, or indoor environments. Harxon GNSS antennas provide robust reception even in challenging outdoor conditions, minimizing multipath interference and ensuring stable signal acquisition for surveying, mapping, and navigation tasks.
Global coverage
High precision (meter to centimeter level)
Reliable for open-sky environments
Ineffective indoors or in heavily obstructed areas
Sensitive to multipath interference
For scenarios where GNSS signals may be limited, cellular network positioning can be a valuable alternative. By utilizing base station signals and analyzing metrics like RSSI, ToA, TDoA, or AoA, positioning accuracy can reach tens of meters to a few hundred meters. Cellular positioning works best in urban environments with dense network coverage, while rural areas often see reduced accuracy. This method is complementary to GNSS, particularly in hybrid positioning systems.
Works in urban areas with dense base station coverage
Integrates with mobile networks for continuous positioning
Limited accuracy compared to GNSS
Dependent on network coverage
Wi-Fi positioning combines RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) with fingerprint databases or triangulation techniques. It can achieve meter-level accuracy, making it suitable for indoor navigation or hybrid indoor-outdoor applications. However, it requires a dense network of Wi-Fi access points and continuous maintenance of signal databases. In retail spaces, warehouses, and smart buildings, Wi-Fi positioning complements GNSS, bridging gaps where satellite signals are weak.
Effective indoors and in hybrid environments
Cost-efficient leveraging existing Wi-Fi infrastructure
Requires Wi-Fi hotspot density
Maintenance of signal fingerprint databases
Bluetooth-based positioning, using RSSI and ToA/AoA metrics, provides sub-meter to meter-level accuracy within ranges of 10-100 meters. It is widely applied in indoor navigation, proximity marketing, and asset tracking. Bluetooth beacons are easy to deploy, though their range and accuracy can be limited by physical obstacles.
Low-cost deployment
Effective for short-range indoor applications
Limited to 10-100 meters
Requires deployment of beacons
UWB positioning leverages ultra-wideband pulse signals to calculate ToA or TDoA, achieving centimeter-level accuracy even in challenging indoor or mixed environments. UWB is highly resistant to interference and multipath effects, making it ideal for factories, warehouses, and smart logistics applications.
Extremely high accuracy
Strong anti-interference capability
Requires dedicated UWB infrastructure
Limited range (tens of meters)
RFID-based positioning involves reading and writing signals between tags and readers, providing 1-5 meter accuracy within a limited range. It's commonly used for inventory management, asset tracking, and automated identification systems. While effective for specific applications, RFID requires a dense deployment of readers to cover larger areas.
Low-cost for short-range identification
Integrates well with existing asset management systems
Limited coverage
Requires installation of multiple readers
Inertial navigation uses accelerometers and gyroscopes to estimate position over time. It delivers high short-term accuracy without relying on external signals, making it valuable in GPS-denied environments such as tunnels or underground facilities. Regular calibration is necessary to prevent cumulative errors.
Works without external signals
Suitable for GPS-denied areas
Drift over time without correction
Sensor accuracy impacts results
Visual positioning integrates cameras with SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) or landmark matching. It can achieve sub-meter accuracy indoors and outdoors under good lighting conditions. Although computationally intensive, visual positioning excels in environments rich in distinguishable features, such as warehouses, construction sites, and smart cities.
High accuracy with rich visual features
Effective for autonomous robots and AR applications
Dependent on lighting conditions
High computational requirements
Geomagnetic positioning relies on detecting anomalies in the Earth's magnetic field for meter-level accuracy. It's suitable for indoor navigation where GNSS fails, such as subways or large buildings. Pre-built magnetic maps are necessary, and metallic interference can reduce accuracy.
Works indoors without active signals
Stable over time in mapped areas
Requires magnetic field fingerprint database
Sensitive to metal and electromagnetic interference
Acoustic positioning uses ultrasonic or audible waves to calculate ToA or phase differences. It offers meter to sub-meter accuracy, particularly in controlled indoor environments. Temperature, humidity, and air movement can affect wave propagation, so these systems are best for specialized applications like robotics or laboratory tracking.
High accuracy in controlled environments
Complementary to other indoor positioning technologies
Sensitive to environmental conditions
Limited range
In modern applications, no single positioning technology meets all requirements. Hybrid solutions, combining GNSS with Wi-Fi, UWB, inertial sensors, and visual positioning, ensure continuous and reliable accuracy across diverse environments. Harxon GNSS antennas can seamlessly integrate with multi-sensor systems, enhancing overall positioning performance.
Harxon specializes in high-performance GNSS antennas designed for precision applications. Their antennas support multi-frequency GNSS reception, offering reliable centimeter-level accuracy. Whether for autonomous vehicles, precision agriculture, or surveying, Harxon antennas are engineered to minimize multipath interference and maximize signal stability, making them an ideal choice for professional positioning systems.
Selecting the right positioning technology depends on the environment, required accuracy, and application. GNSS antennas like those from Harxon provide unmatched precision outdoors but may need support from indoor solutions such as Wi-Fi, UWB, or visual positioning. Understanding each method's advantages and limitations allows businesses and engineers to design robust, hybrid systems capable of meeting modern positioning demands.
