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POSITIONING · COMPARISON

GNSS vs GPS: What Is the Difference?

GPS is one satellite navigation system, run by the United States. GNSS (global navigation satellite system) is the umbrella term for all of them, including GPS, Europe's Galileo, Russia's GLONASS and China's BeiDou. A multi-constellation GNSS receiver can see more satellites at once, which improves accuracy and keeps a fix where views of the sky are limited.

01

The Short Answer

Most modern receivers are GNSS receivers even when people call them GPS. For vehicles and trains, the extra satellites matter in cuttings, cities and near tall structures, where only part of the sky is visible. Where satellites are blocked entirely, an IMU carries the position through.

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    Multi-constellation Support for GPS, Galileo, GLONASS and BeiDou.
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    Corrections RTK or SBAS where higher accuracy is needed.
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    IMU pairing Inertial sensors for continuous position.
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    Form factor Mini PCIe or M.2 cards fit inside edge computers.
02

Why It Matters

Our RTK GPS FAQ covers centimetre-level positioning, and our IMU FAQ explains inertial sensors. See the railway track inspection case study and our railway computers.