A High-Performance,High-Accuracy RTK GPS Machine Guiadance System

As technology matures, Real Time Kinematic (RTK) global positioning system (GPS) receivers are providing increased performance in accuracy, on-the-fly (OTF) initialization times, measurement speed, and latency. Leica's Dozer 2000 machine guidance system combines an MC1000 GPS sensor, graphic intensive guidance software, a digital terrain model, and a digital site plan. Figure 1 shows the operator's view of the system. The end results is a highly accurate, extremely responsive local navigation system. Engineers can easily upload design information onto a touch-screen machine guidance personal computer (PC) and greatly reduce earthmoving costs while simultaneously recording “as-built” inspection data. The Leica MC1000 machine control sensor is a true 10-Hz, centimeter-level-accuracy, open-architecture GPS sensor specifically designed for machine guidance and control. At the heart of the MC1000's performance are a very stable oven-controlled oscillator (3 × 10⁻¹¹/s short-term stability), a low-power Intel 486-DX4-80 processor, and four user-configurable input/output (I7O) ports. Special algorithms mitigate the effects of multipath and Selective Availability (SA) while providing centimeter accuracy up to 10 times per second with only 30 milliseconds' latency. The high update rate and low latency are essential for machine guidance and control. The MC1000 GPS reference station is capable of outputting RTK and Differential GPS (DGPS) data simultaneously, providing and entire site with GPS information for machine guidance and control, tracking and dispatching of vehicles, and support of survey crews. This article describes how recent advances in technology have combined to produce the Leica Dozer 2000 – a machine guidance system that is ideal for a wide range of earthmoving and inspection applications. ? 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Real-Time River Level Monitoring Using GPS Heighting

This paper presents the current progress of the River Level Monitoring using GPS Heighting (RiGHt) project. The aim of the project is to develop an integrated system to allow the continuous monitoring of river heights using a buoy equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) and satellite communications and using Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques. ? 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Weighting GPS Dual Frequency Observations: Bearing the Cross of Cross-Correlation

A proper choice of the observation weight matrix is of importance for both adjusting and testing GPS data. Our understanding of the noise characteristic of GPS observations, on which the weight matrix should be based, is, however, still underdeveloped. This makes it difficult to draw up an appropriate weight matrix. The first and foremost purpose of this contribution is therefore to draw attention to the need to improve upon our rudimentary knowledge of the GPS stochastic model. To this end, results will be presented of a relatively simple case study in which the possible presence of cross-correlation between observables is considered. With these results we hope to spur further discussion and research on this important topic. ? 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

基于GPS卫星测量的远距离滑坡监测应用研究

利用GPS进行远距监控滑坡区并做适用性的评估研究,整合系统中含供电系统(室内及室外电源设置)、无线传输(利用GSM传输)、GPS资料后处理软件及监控软件等。所组合的系统将应用在某滑坡区,进行长时间持续监测。试验方式包含现场模拟试验、滑坡模拟测试,同时以远近两不同距离的主控站来评估此监测系统因基线长短不同所造成的精度影响,以期能通过此研究提出GPS监测系统设置的经验。根据研究成果指出,GPS监测系统应用在滑坡监测上可行,利用无线传输(GSM)可成功将现场的资料传给远程的操作者。试验结果显示,利用近基站观测可提高观测的精度及解算的成功率,但不论在远基线或近基线的试验,GPS监测系统的精度均可达到公分等级。     

The Role of Ground-Based GPS Meteorological Observations in Numerical Weather Prediction

For lack of sufficient observations, the definition of atmospheric moisture fields (including water vapor and clouds) remains a difficult problem whose solution is essential for improved weather forecasts. Moisture fields are under-observed in time and space, primarily because the distribution of water in the atmosphere is highly variable. Because water is important in weather and climate processes, a significant effort has been expended to develop new or improved remote sensing systems to mitigate this problem. One such system uses ground-based Global Positoning System (GPS) receivers to make accurate all-weather estimates of atmospheric refractivity at very low cost. This largely unanticipated application of GPS had led to a new and potentially significant upper-air observing system for meteorological agencies and researchers around the world (Wolfe & Gutman, 2000). The first and most mature use of GPS for this purpose is in the estimation of integrated (total column) precipitable water vapor above a fixed site (Duan et al., 1996, with improvements by Niell, 1996, and Fang et al., 1998). The techniques currently used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Forecast Systems Laboratory (NOAA/FSL) to collect, process, and distribute GPS water vapor observations are mature and almost ready for transition to operational use. NOAA/FSL has shown that GPS integrated water vapor data can be used effectively in objective (i. e., numerical weather prediction) and subjective weather forecasting. To understand the strengths and limitations of GPS for weather forecasting, it is essential to understant what types of information are currently available to forecasters and modelers, and how models use the data to describe the current and probable future state of the atmosphere. It is also important to understand the current trends in modern weather prediction to ensure that GPS observing system play a significant role in the future. ? 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Information Rich GIS Dissemination in Disconnected Environments

Information‐rich maps are today rendered from powerful back‐end servers. Unfortunately, there may be circumstances in which access to such Internet‐resident web services is infeasible or unreliable. These disconnected environments can theoretically occur during major power outages, malicious attacks on communications infrastructure, natural disasters, or in remote operating environments. One might also envision applications in which a disconnected service is preferred over Internet‐resident services, such as when the local internet service is overloaded with traffic, making communication though it difficult. To this end, this article presents a software stack (a map stack) that can serve GIS information from low power embedded nodes. The system combines a spatially enabled SQL database, location‐based routing, and multi‐scale map rendering to serve information‐rich GIS data on common hand‐held devices at minimal energy consumption. The maps are rendered on browsers on off‐the‐shelf mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets. The system also provides a crowd sourced capability where end users can annotate maps with up‐to‐date information on the scene of the natural disaster. We have prototyped a fully functional map stack on a battery powered Gumstix Overo air platform. We show that the map stack is a highly extensible platform that provides low latency, and low energy dissemination of maps during a natural disaster.     

利用VSAT网络实现GPS差分数据传输

主要讨论了GPS差分基准站与数据中心之间差分信息的传输。介绍了GPS差分网络系统的组成和VSAT卫星通信情况与优势，利用网络技术，以VSAT系统为实例研究了基准站与数据中心之间的实时信息传输，同时通过软件开发完成了数据中心利用VSAT网络对差分基准站的监控。     

GPS-derived orbits for the GOCE satellite

The first ESA (European Space Agency) Earth explorer core mission GOCE (Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer) was launched on 17 March 2009 into a sun-synchronous dusk–dawn orbit with an exceptionally low initial altitude of about 280 km. The onboard 12-channel dual-frequency GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver delivers 1 Hz data, which provides the basis for precise orbit determination (POD) for such a very low orbiting satellite. As part of the European GOCE Gravity Consortium the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern and the Department of Earth Observation and Space Systems are responsible for the orbit determination of the GOCE satellite within the GOCE High-level Processing Facility. Both quick-look (rapid) and very precise orbit solutions are produced with typical latencies of 1 day and 2 weeks, respectively. This article summarizes the special characteristics of the GOCE GPS data, presents POD results for about 2 months of data, and shows that both latency and accuracy requirements are met. Satellite Laser Ranging validation shows that an accuracy of 4 and 7 cm is achieved for the reduced-dynamic and kinematic Rapid Science Orbit solutions, respectively. The validation of the reduced-dynamic and kinematic Precise Science Orbit solutions is at a level of about 2 cm.     

The International GLONASS Service – Pilot Project

The International GLONASS Service – Pilot Project (IGLOS-PP), a project of the International GPS Service, was launched in order to underscore the importance and benefits of integrating data from multiple systmes and techniques within IGS products. At first this article summarizes the contributing organizations and the available infrastructure. Later on the GLONASS related modeling techniques at the involved IGS Analysis Centers are described and we conclude with some remarks concerning the advantages for the expected user commmunity. ? 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

An experimental performance analysis of real-time kinematic positioning with NASA’s Internet-Based Global Differential GPS

The Global Differential GPS (GDGPS) system developed by JPL aims at seamless global real-time positioning at the dm accuracy level for dual-frequency receivers either fixed or mobile, anywhere and at any time. The GDGPS system relies on GPS data transmitted in real-time to a central processing center at JPL from a global network of permanently operating GPS dual-frequency receivers. At the processing center, the Internet-based Global Differential GPS (IGDG) system, the heart of JPLs GDGPS, generates and disseminates over the open Internet special 1-s global differential corrections (IGDG corrections) to the GPS broadcast ephemerides. The IGDG corrections enhance the accuracy of GPS broadcast orbits and clocks down to the dm level and serve as the key-factor for high-precise real-time positioning of a stand-alone receiver. An experimental verification of the dm positional accuracy of the IGDG system was carried out in the Netherlands, by means of both a static and a kinematic test. During the static test GPS data were collected for 5 consecutive days using a fixed immobile receiver and processed as if in real-time. Within the framework of the kinematic test, an experiment was carried out using a kinematic platform. Our tests confirmed the dm accuracy of stand-alone receiver positioning with IGDG. The standard deviation for positioning both in static and kinematic mode appears to be 10 cm in each horizontal component and 20 cm in the vertical component. More than 99% of the IGDG corrections were received with the expected 1-s interval in the field via mobile communication, the latency of the corrections was generally from 7 to 8 s.     

TEQC单点定位的系统性偏差分析

TEQC是由UNAVCO Facility研制的GPS数据预处理软件,可进行单历元C/A码伪距单点定位的计算,获得各历元GPS接收机的WGS84坐标。利用TEQC对大量GPS观测数据的计算表明:TEQC软件的单点定位结果在东坐标和高程方向上带有明显的系统性偏差。作者研制的单点定位软件GPP,由于考虑了地球自转、对流层折射和电离层折射等误差对GPS定位的影响,因此单点定位的结果较为准确,而且对上述系统性偏差产生的原因进行了分析和探讨。     

A GPS-Based Online Control and Alarm System

A global positioning system (GPS)-based online control and alarm system (GOCA) for monitoring of three-dimensional movements has been developed at the Karlsruhe University of Technology. The GOCA hardware consists of an array of GPS sensors and communication units to be placed in the monitoring area. The hardware-dependent control software communicates with the GPS sensors and provides the GPS baseline data and covariance information to the GOCA deformation analysis software. The GOCA center, which comprises both the control software and the GOCA software, may be linked – for example, over a long distance – to another personal computer (PC) that serves as a remote control station. GOCA is able to provide the full capabilities of classical deformation analysis online (with stations grouped into stable points and moving object points). Both types of points may be occupied either continuously or over short periods at different times. The object points are determined with respect to the stable points. A network adjustment is performed for each interval of data collection, and the coordinate and covariance information may optionally be transformed into a specific reference system (e. g., the building system). Unstable reference points are to be detected by statistical tests. The estimated object point time series are filtered with respect to gross errors using robust estimation techniques. Online filters are used to smooth the time series data of critical displacements and to predict other deformation functions. The time series data, as well as prediction results, are displayed graphically for each object point. An example concerning the online monitoring of a slag heap in a coal-mining area is included. ? 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

An Introduction to SnapTrack® Wireless-Assisted GPS Technology™

With more than 30 worldwide patent applications filed and nearly 20 granted, SnapTrack is the first to create a location determination system that embeds high-performance GPS receiving capability into a mobile terminal (e. g., a wireless phone or PDA) without significantly altering its shpae, size, or cost. SnapTrack's technology fuses the intelligence and power of wireless networks in the mobile environment with the accuracy and worldwide coverage of the Global Positioning System. The distributed SnapTrack^? Wireless-Assisted GPS system architecture is superior to conventional GPS-based approaches and other location technologies in terms of cost, sensitivity, time-to-first-fix, and power consumption. This paper describes the advantages of Wireless-Assisted GPS and demonstrates the technology with a presentation of field test results. ? 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

TEQC数据质量可视化分析软件设计与应用

全球卫星导航系统（GNSS）观测值的数据质量是保证GNSS高精度定位的前提,为提高数据质量需要对GNSS观测值进行数据预处理,目前应用较为广泛的是UNAVCO Facility机构开发的TEQC软件．由于TEQC是DOS环境下的命令式,没有图形操作界面,人机交互性较差,生成的绘图结果文件需要借助QCVIEW等可视化软件处理,但这些软件尚无法对TEQC 2013.3.15以上版本生成的compact 3格式文件进行图形分析．因此,本文基于MATLAB GUI开发了一套适用于compact 3结果文件的可视化界面软件(TEQCplot View),实验测试结果表明:该软件性能稳定,可实现对不同结果文件的可视化分析．      

GPS Application to Time Transfer and Dissemination

The Global Positioning System (GPS), in addition to providing precise navigation and positioning information, produces precise time and frequency measurements. These measurements result from the atomic clocks in the GPS satellites, which are closely coupled to Universal Coordinated Time as maintained by the U. S. Naval Observatory [UTC(USNO)]. The application of these measurements to timekeeping and other systems requiring precise time and frequency is distinct from the navigation/positioning mission. This article will describe the differences in application of GPS to time and frequency uses. These uses will be described in the major areas of timekeeping; stationary uses, such as communications networking; and mobile use for aircraft and shipboard applications. The major considerations in application and operation with precise and less-capable oscilators will be described. Examples and data will be presented to illustrate the applications. ? 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Recent Improvements to IERS Bulletin A Combination and Prediction

Driven by a need for increased accuracy in real-time Earth orientation parameters (EOPs), the Bulletin A (Rapid Servce and Predictions) of the International Earth Rotation Service (IERS) has recently made several major changes to its combination and prediction procedures. Changes to the process ob combining multi-technique results include creation of a daily Bulletin A updata, inclusion of several new data sets, and use of polar motion rantes for the latest epoch. Notably, the contributions from GPS observations have grown steadily in significance, both for polar motion and Universal Time (UT1). The prediction procedure has, in turn, benefited from these changes as well as improvements to the polar motion prediction model. As a result, demanding real-time applications, such as for satellite orbit extrapolations should observe a major improvement in the accuracy of our real-time EOP products. All results, together with supporting and diagnostic information, are available at the website http://maia.usno.navy.mil. The maximum EOP errors (root-mean-squared sense) that a real-time user would experience using the latest available update of Bulletin A are currently estimated to be ∼0.9 milliarcseconds (mas) for polar motion and ∼0.15 milliseconds (ms) for UT1-UTC. The data latency (the lag since the most recent observations) for EOP predictions need not exceed ∼41 hours for users who avail themselves of the daily updates. Over the past four years, the accuracy for real-time applications has improved by nearly a factor of 4 in polar motion and a factor of 10 in UT1. This is primarily due to the large reduction in data latency, which in turn is mostly possible due to the Rapid product delivery of the International GPS Service (IGS) (see Mireault et al, 1999). ? 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Variances of GPS Phase Observations: The SIGMA-ɛ Model

The noise term of GPS phase data can be calculated from the measured carrier-to-noise power density ratios (C/N0). The C/N0 values are used in the proposed SIGMA-ɛ model to calculate the variance matrix of double-differenced GPS phase data. Examples show the capability of this model to yield higher accuracies for GPS surveys than the use of the standard weighting scheme. Most importantly, the SIGMA-ɛ model allows the use of noisier phase data from very low elevation satellites to overcome poor satellite geometry problems. ? 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

GPS参考站网络技术

“空间数据基础设施（SDI）”是联合国和美国政府首脑倡导的为迎接新世纪挑战的战略措施，也就是建立起资源、环境、社会、经济等多种信息数据的采集、传输、分享、处理、分析和反馈的服务网络体系。GPS连续运行参考站网络系统是“空间数据基础设施”最重要的组成部分，文中针对GPS参考站建立的有关技术问题进行阐述。     

90年代动态 GPS 遥感信息对地定位系统

从GPS的特点、发展趋势及应用分类,介绍了GPS的概况及应用趋势。动态GPS遥感信息对地定位系统是GPS技术在遥感方面的应用。文中充分分析了以往遥感信息对地定位存在的问题,预测了GPS在遥感信息对地定位方面应用前景,并提出了发展这一系统的试验研究总体框图。     

Eye on the Ionosphere: Measuring Ionospheric Scintillation Effects from GPS Signals

From time to time, this column will include short contributions from invited guest contributors on specialized subjects pertaining to inonospheric effects on GPS signals. In this issue, Dr. A. J. Van Dierendonck discusses the required specifications of a civilian GPS receiver specially designed to make quantitative measurements of both ionospheric amplitude and carrier phase scintillation effects from GPS signals. ? 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.