Today's farms are more than fields. They are intelligent ecosystems. Precision agriculture turns traditional farming into a data-driven, location-aware system. It optimizes each task using exact location, real-time conditions, and work context.
At the heart of this transformation is GNSS-enabled positioning, enabling location-aware operations that increase yields, reduce resource inputs, and support environmental sustainability.
With centimeter-level GNSS precision, farmers can boost productivity per hectare by 5–15%1. This matters as food demand rises and arable land shrinks.
u-blox helps farmers achieve:
1 European Union Agency for the Space Programme. (2023). Report on agriculture and forestry user needs and requirements
Watch our latest webinar, in which we explore how high-precision GNSS supports autonomous and sustainable farming.
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The agricultural industry faces a convergence of pressures that make precision technology not just an advantage, but a necessity. Three interconnected trends are reshaping farming worldwide.
The world population is projected to reach nearly 10 billion by 2050. Global agricultural land use has already peaked and is now declining, while global agricultural production continues to rise. This decoupling of land use from output is only possible through smarter, more precise farming. Precision positioning is a key enabler of this efficiency.
The agricultural workforce is facing a structural crisis. According to the International Labour Organization, agriculture accounted for 43% of global employment in 1991. By 2023, that share had fallen to just 26%.
At the same time, the number of farms is in decline and farmers are aging. The global average age of a farmer is now 55 years (World Economic Forum). In the EU, the average age is 57 with only 12% of farmers under the age of 40 (European Commission, 2025).
Autonomous and semi-autonomous farming machines powered by precise GNSS directly address this workforce gap. They enable machines to work precisely, while humans focus on higher-value tasks.
Global agriculture relies on millions of tons of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and growth regulators annually to sustain output. The costs are high: Runoff and water pollution, soil degradation, human health risks, and the direct financial costs. Precision technology addresses this trade-off directly. Precise sprayers and drones apply inputs where and when needed, preventing over-application.
Different agricultural tasks demand different levels of GNSS precision. u-blox technology enables the development of high-performance, global, and scalable precision agriculture solutions. Technologies include standard precision GNSS, high precision GNSS, and GNSS correction services.
Here is a summary of the most common use cases and the positioning requirements for each.
Standard GNSS positioning delivers 1–2 m horizontal accuracy and 2–4 m vertical accuracy. This is sufficient for asset tracking and basic telematics, but not for precision agriculture. Achieving centimeter-level positioning requires understanding and correcting the sources of error in the satellite signal path.
GNSS signals travel through the ionosphere and troposphere on their way from satellite to receiver. Each layer introduces measurement errors. They combine with other sources of error, such as satellite orbit and clock errors, multipath reflections, and receiver noise. Total positioning errors can range from sub-meter to tens of meters in challenging environments.
Three main correction approaches exist, each offering a different balance of accuracy, convergence time, and required infrastructure:
Modern GNSS receivers support all signal bands (L1/L2/L5/L6) and give access to all satellite constellations. This enables faster convergence to centimeter-level accuracy, and more reliable signals.
u-blox offers a complete, integrated portfolio that combines hardware, correction services, and expert support. This enables fast, reliable go-to-market for precision agriculture OEMs.
The ZED-X20P is u-blox's flagship module for precision agriculture. It combines all-band GNSS (L1/L2/L5/L6) in a compact module with support for u-blox PointPerfect, nRTK, PPP-RTK, PPP-AR, and Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS) enables flexible correction service options. End-to-end security provides confidentiality, integrity, and authentication from satellite signal to host system. A single-chip design ensures robust hardware and a reliable supply chain.
The ZED-X20D is u-blox’s all-band GNSS module designed for applications that require both high-precision positioning and accurate heading. It supports all GNSS constellations on L1/L2/L5/L6 on both antennas, delivering robust centimeter-level RTK positioning and motion-independent GNSS heading, even at standstill. Support for u-blox PointPerfect, nRTK, PPP-RTK, PPP-AR, and Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS) enables flexible correction service options. End-to-end security protects positioning and heading data from satellite signal to host system. The industry-proven ZED form factor simplifies integration and upgrades for existing designs.
The ANN-MB2 is a robust, high-performance all-band antenna developed specifically for the u-blox X20 platform. It supports L1, L2, L5/E5/B2/NavIC, E6/B3, and L-band frequencies, covering all major GNSS systems for maximum position availability. Easy-to-deploy design with versatile mounting options enables fast time-to-market.
PointPerfect is u-blox's suite of centimeter-level GNSS correction services, available in three tiers to match different application requirements:
u-blox X20 all-band high precision GNSS heading module
u-blox X20 all-band high precision GNSS module
u-blox F20 triple-band high precision GNSS module
Uniquely flexible usage-based plans ideal for large fleets
Seamless worldwide coverage - even in remote areas
Superior high precision positioning performance
All-band high precision GNSS antennas
Host-based automotive modules with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3
Host-based multiradio modules with Wi-Fi 4 and Bluetooth 5.2
u-blox F9 high precision GNSS module
u-blox X20P high precision GNSS evaluation kit
All-band high precision GNSS antennas
GNSS evaluation software for Windows
IoT service delivery platform
M.2 card with JODY-W3 Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 module
Evaluation kit for NINA-W15 stand-alone gateway modules with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth / Bluetooth low energy
Easy evaluation of ZED-F9P with multi-band RTK
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