Feature interview by Drones World Editor Kartikeya
The ZED-X20D marks a clear push into the U.S. autonomy market. What specific operational or technological gaps in UAV navigation are you aiming to solve with this launch?
ZED-X20D is based on the u-blox innovative all-band (L1, L2, L5, L6, L-band) X20 high precision GNSS technology, it is a breakthrough dual-antenna solution that delivers robust centimeter-level RTK positioning and reliable, motion-independent high precise heading information, bringing capabilities previously limited to high-end niche systems into the global UAV mass market.
With a 1-meter geodetic antenna baseline, open sky, ZED-X20D can deliver best-in-class heading accuracy at approximately 0.1° RMS.
The module introduces motion-independent GNSS heading. How does this capability improve performance in low-speed or stationary drone operations compared to conventional GNSS-IMU fusion systems?
Unlike the conventional GNSS-IMU fusion system which is a single-antenna solution depends on vehicle movement, gyroscope bias and IMU quality, ZED-X20D utilizes dual all-band antennas to compute heading information by measuring the relative position (baseline vector) between the two antennas using carrier‑phase observations, thus allowing reliable and precise heading determination even when the device is at standstill or at low speed.
Small heading errors can translate into significant positional drift over distance. How does the ZED-X20D quantitatively improve navigation accuracy and mission reliability in real-world UAV deployments?
A 1° heading error results in approximately 17 m of lateral position error over just 1 km of flight. Therefore, to have accurate heading information before take-off or during hover and low-speed flying is very important for UAVs, particularly for commercial and mission-critical drone operations.
Thanks to all-band support on both GNSS antennas, ZED-X20D delivers precise heading information based on carrier-phase differencing from two fixed installed antennas, completely independent of UAV motion. This enables true, absolute heading estimation even when stationary or flying slowly, prevents meter‑level position ‘walk’ during these operation phases, and helps to eliminate yaw drift accumulation from gyroscope bias.
In addition, ZED-X20D’s advanced security and integrity features help mitigate GNSS interference and ensure the delivery of accurate heading information during the whole UAV operation, improving overall navigation accuracy and mission reliability.
The “all bands on both antennas” approach is positioned as a key differentiator. What measurable performance gains does this deliver in contested or degraded GNSS environments?
ZED-X20D supports all GNSS constellations on L1, L2, L5, and L6 on both antennas, as well as L-band. This “all band on both antennas – no compromises” approach increases signal observability, redundancy, and attack detectability, thus maximizing heading availability, continuity and integrity, delivering best-in-class positioning and heading accuracy in challenging GNSS conditions.
All-band support on both antennas also helps ZED-X20D to achieve faster recovery in case of interference or signal loss compared to none all-band heading module. It is a robustness solution for real-world heading applications.
With increasing concerns around GNSS jamming and spoofing, how critical is end-to-end security becoming for commercial drone operations, and how does ZED-X20D address these risks at a system level?
End-to-end security is rapidly becoming foundational for commercial drone operations, nowadays it is a public‑space and national‑security concern.
In addition to the all-band RF architecture on both antennas, the ZED-X20D is designed with u-blox end-to-end hardened security, which protects heading and positioning data from satellite to host. It features secure boot, signed firmware, and a hardware root of trust for cryptographic material, supports Galileo OSNMA, and uses encrypted correction data. All-band frequency diversity and advanced interference monitoring provide robust protection against jamming and other threats, helping end customers to maintain trustworthy operation in critical applications. ZED-X20D is an ideal GNSS-based heading module for commercial drone’s safe and scalable operation, as well as for high‑value mission-critical drone applications.
The module supports RTK, PPP-RTK, PPP, and integrates with PointPerfect and Galileo HAS. How does this flexibility impact deployment cost, scalability, and adoption across different UAV use cases?
To meet diverse positioning accuracy and deployment needs of UAV applications, the ZED-X20D supports RTK, PPP-RTK, and PPP correction services.
Thanks to the comprehensive portfolio of u-blox PointPerfect (PointPerfect Live – regional network RTK; PointPerfect Flex – usage based continental PPP‑RTK; PointPerfect Global – worldwide PPP‑AR via IP + L‑band), and built-in support for Galileo E6 enables the free-to-use Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS), customers have the best possible flexibility for selecting the most suitable correction service according to their UAV use cases.
End-to-end security and all-band GNSS are no longer optional—they are foundational for safe, scalable commercial drone operations.”
With growing demand in the U.S. for trusted, non-restricted technology sources, how does u-blox differentiate itself strategically from other GNSS providers in the autonomy ecosystem?
u-blox, a reliable European GNSS solution provider, has built up a high precision RTK industry standard for a wide-range of mass-market autonomy applications. u‑blox continues innovation in resilience, all-band GNSS technology, advanced security and integrity, as well as developing the u-blox antenna portfolio and u-blox PointPerfect correction service as parts of the high precision GNSS ecosystem to support the mass adoption.
As a trustful long-term partner, u-blox provides a complete solution that brings together leading hardware and software, high product quality, services, and customer support, covering the entire lifecycle of customer applications.
