The Global Navigation Satellite System—Real-Time Network (GNSS-RTN) is a satellite-based positioning system using a network of ground receivers (also called continuously operating reference stations (CORSs)) and a central processing center that provides highly accurate location services to the users in real-time over a broader geographic region. Such systems can provide geospatial location data with centimeter-level accuracy anywhere within the network. Geospatial location services are not only used in measuring ground distances and mapping topography; they have also become vital in many other fields such as aerospace, aviation, natural disaster management, and agriculture, to name but a few. The innovative and multi-disciplinary applications of geospatial data drive technological advancement towards precise and accurate location services available in real-time. Although GNSS-RTN technology is currently utilized in a few industries such as precision farming, construction industry, and land surveying, the implications of precise real-time location services would be far-reaching and more critical to many advanced transportation applications. The GNSS-RTN technology is promising in meeting the needs of automation in most advanced transportation applications. This article presents an overview of the GNSS-RTN technology, its current applications in transportation-related fields, and a perspective on the future use of this technology in advanced transportation applications.

Understanding the influence of intersections on operating conditions along connecting roadway segments is important for the analysis of highway facilities and corridors. This study aims at assessing the influence area at signalized and stop-control intersections along rural corridors. The study used speed as a performance measure in examining the spatial extent of operational effects at intersections. High-fidelity connected vehicle (CV) trajectory data, collected at 11 different sites in Florida, was used in this study. The CV trajectory data consists of individual waypoints that included timestamps and location coordinates along with other attributes. Drivers’ speed profiles while driving through the intersection were established and analyzed to determine the length of upstream and downstream influence areas. Quantile regression models were developed to estimate the 50th, 70th, and 85th percentiles of upstream and downstream influence areas separately for signalized and stop-control intersections. Study results indicate that the upstream influence area is longer for a signalized intersection than for a stop-control intersection for comparable segment running speeds. Further, the downstream influence area is significantly longer than the upstream influence area at signalized intersections, and this was consistent at all study sites. Traffic flow level did not have a significant effect on the upstream or downstream influence area; however, midblock running speed, percent heavy vehicles, and facility type (multilane versus two-lane) were found to significantly affect the upstream and downstream influence areas at signalized intersections.

Geospatial location service is not only used in measuring ground distances and mapping topography, but has also become vital in many other fields such as aerospace, aviation, natural disaster management, and agriculture, to name but a few. The innovative and multi-disciplinary applications of geospatial data drive technological advancement toward precise and accurate location services available in real-time. Although the RTN technology is currently utilized in a few industries such as precision farming, construction industry, and land survey, the implications of precise real-time location services would be far-reaching and critical to many advanced transportation applications. The GNSS real-time network (RTN) technology, introduced in the mid-1990s, is promising in meeting the needs of automation in most of the advanced transportation applications. This article presents an overview of the GNSS-RTN technology, its current applications in transportation-related fields, and a perspective on the future use of this technology in advanced transportation applications.