An analysis of carrier phase differential kinematic GPS positioning using DynaPos

A series of activities have been carried out at the University of New Brunswick in an effort to evaluate advances in long-range marine kinematic differential positioning. These activities involved processing and analysis of GPS carrier phase kinematic data sets. Some of the data was collected by UNB and some was provided by The XYZs of GPS Inc. Data were collected using Trimble 5700 and Ashtech Z-12 receivers. The data sets were processed using the software DynaPos provided by the The XYZs of GPS Inc. The best results obtained in our analysis indicate an agreement of 5 cm RMS for the horizontal component and 12 cm RMS for the vertical component between two ionospheric-delay free solutions, in baselines varying from 40 to 100 km.     

Spatially convergent GPS kinematic positioning

It is a known fact that obtaining accurate GPS carrier-phase measurements involves fixed, unknown whole-cycle ambiguity parameters. As the use of cosine functions to eliminate any double-difference integer ambiguities causes spatial ambiguity problems, both reasonably approximated positions and wavelength-dependent convergence ranges are of the utmost importance. Differential GPS-based position solutions are first smoothed to create a polynomial trajectory, leading to less variable position approximations. Long-wavelength wide-lane phase combinations will then be utilized to facilitate convergent GPS positioning, on a stage-by-stage basis. Although double-difference ionospheric path delays are often interpreted as nuisance parameters, they can be obtained when the respective cosines of the original L1 and L2 carrier phases undergo a simultaneous least-squares estimation. In particular, quadratic forms of the estimated phase residuals will be linked with hypothesis testing to allow for a meaningful statistical inference. Some low-dynamics experiments are then performed to prove the feasibility of the proposed hierarchical positioning concept. Electronic Publication     

A windowing-recursive approach for GPS real-time kinematic positioning

All conventional Kalman filtering methods depend to a great extent on dynamic models for describing the motion state of vehicle. However, low-cost GPS navigation systems do not provide velocity and acceleration measurements to construct dynamic models. Therefore, it is rather difficult to establish reasonable dynamic models. A windowing-recursive approach (WRA) which employs previous positions to predict the current position is proposed, and the transition matrix is modeled for transforming the previous positions to the current one. Two typical transition matrices are constructed by numerical polynomial fitting and extrapolation. A real vehicular GPS experiment is carried out to demonstrate the WRA performances in two relative positioning scenarios. The data are processed by the least squares approach and by WRA using the two developed transition matrices. The results show that the WRA performed excellently in a high sampling rate data. In case of a lower sampling rate, higher-order polynomial fitting and extrapolation models work better than lower-order models for a given window. In addition, the extrapolation models can alleviate the computation burdens significantly relative to the polynomial fitting models.     

Absolute seafloor vertical positioning using combined pressure gauge and kinematic GPS data

Knowledge of the position and motion of points on the seafloor can be critically important in both fundamental research (for example, global geodesy and plate tectonics) and for more practical applications such as seismic risk evaluation, off-shore construction and pipeline monitoring. In the Vanuatu subduction zone, for example, measuring deformation underwater could provide valuable information for modeling deformation and understanding the seismic cycle. We report a shallow water experiment in Vanuatu to measure the relative and absolute depth of seafloor points. The experiment differs from previous efforts mainly in that it uses the height of the sea surface determined by kinematic GPS, allowing us to locate the points in a global reference frame. The ITRF2005 ellipsoidal height of a seafloor benchmark was determined with a 1-sigma uncertainty of 0.7–2.1 cm. The estimated ellipsoidal height differs only by a few tenths of a centimeter between measurements made in 2004 and another set made in 2006. These results are encouraging and open new perspectives for vertical underwater deformation monitoring in shallow water areas. Sea-surface GPS measurements can also help to reduce the uncertainty in depth difference determination for relative measurements.     

基于LAMBDA方法的GPS动态相对定位

基于载波相位观测值的RTK(Real time kinematic)定位技术能够在野外实时得到厘米级定位精度,核心技术是在动态条件下快速固定整周模糊度,解算动态条件下的模糊度参数.采用LAMBDA方法快速固定整周模糊度完成初始化,实时探测周跳,搜索并固定新的模糊度.用C++编制软件实现该算法,通过实测数据的计算,验证文...     

Removing attitude-related variations in the line-of-sight for kinematic GPS positioning

We are presenting a method for removing attitude-related variations (ATTRVs) in dynamic 1 Hz GPS positioning. The ATTRVs are separated into vertical and horizontal components. These result from the translational and rotational motions of the vehicle, which is a marine research vessel in our case. We have developed new observation equations that use corrected pseudoranges and carrier phases to account for ATTRVs. In the present contribution, we are only focusing on the vertical signals. These modeled ATTRVs are included as corrections in the line-of-sight (LoS) to each GPS satellite in the RINEX data sets using a new software called RNXATTCOR. Precise IGS sp3-orbits are used as inputs together with precise lever arm coordinates of the onboard GPS antennas, observations from the marine inertial navigation system and a priori 3D position of the vessel. The corrected RINEX data sets are then processed using kinematic processing or sequential processing in Precise Point Positioning (PPP) mode. The reduction of the standard deviation from a running mean in the final processed GPS time series is about 95%. The current method is being proposed for marine geodesy science applications such as along-track calibration/validation of altimetry products, and also for applications related to offshore kinematic high precision GPS positioning such as drilling, offshore platforms stability, marine pipeline positioning, earthquake monitoring and tsunami detection.     

GPS rapid static and kinematic positioning based on GPS active network

This paper presents a data processing strategy for GPS kinematic Positioning by using a GPS active network to model the GPS errors in double difference observable.Firstly,the double difference residuals are estimated between the reference stations in the active network.Then the errors at a user station are predicted as the network corrctions to user measurements,based on the location of the user,Finally conventional kinematic positioning algorithms can be applied to determine the position of the user station.As an example,continuous 24-hour GPS data in March 2001 has been processed by this method.It clearly demonstrates that,after applying these corrections to a user within the network,both the success rate for ambiguity resolution and the positioning accuracy have been significantly improved.     

GPS动态定位数据处理模型的比较研究

The characteristics of three GPS kinematic data processing models, Least Squares （LS）, Kalman filtering and filtering are discussed and their advantages and disadvantages are compared. With observational data and pertinent data processing software, the applicable condition, context and effect of the three models are experimented. Results show that when the mobile platform is in uniform motion, the accuracy of the three models are almost equal; when the mobile platform is in stochastic acceleration, the accuracy of H∞ filtering model is superior to that of LS, while that of Kalman filtering is the worst.     

Geometrical aspects of differential GPS positioning

Differential GPS positioning is considered from the purely geometric point of view. The tetrahedron formed by two ground stations and two satellite locations is the basic geometrical building block for differential satellite positioning. Relationships between the various vectors involved in this tetrahedron are described. These relationships are used to develop linear mathematical models which relate the vector baseline between the two ground stations to various kinds of differential GPS observations. Geometrically, all proposed observation types can be considered as either differential range observations or differential range difference observations. In the absence of instrumental and refraction effects, it is found that differential range observations are geometrically superior to differential range difference observations. Some implications of these geometrical considerations to practical differential GPS positioning are discussed.     

差分GPS水下立体定位系统的迭代算法分析

差分GPS水下立体定位系统通过将差分GPS定位技术和水下声学定位技术进行集成,实现高精度水下定位。本文基于差分GPS水下立体定位系统的基本观测方程,简要介绍了迭代法的基本原理,从双曲线差分定位观测方程出发,使用求解非线性方程组常用的牛顿迭代法构造迭代方程式,并用实测数据验证了该算法的可行性。     

Reparameterization of single difference and undifferenced kinematic GPS positioning models

A series of advantages of single difference(SD)and undifferenced(ZD)models are given as compared with the double difference(DD)model.However,rank defects exist in SD and ZD models.The reparameterization method is provided to resolve this rank defect problem by estimating some combinations of the unknowns rather than the unknowns themselves.The reparameterization of SD and ZD functional models is discussed in detail with their stochastic models.The theoretical confirmation of the equivalence of undifferenced and differenced models is described in a straightforward way.The relationship between SD and ZD residuals is given and verified for some special purposes,e.g.research on the stochastical properties of GPS observations.     

Impact of systematic errors on precise long-baseline kinematic GPS positioning

Many kinematic GPS applications rely on high accuracy, which usually requires the ambiguities to be fixed. Normally, a reference station in the rover’s vicinity is needed for successful ambiguity resolution. Alternatively, a network surrounding the rover and allowing one to derive area correction parameters is needed. Unfortunately, both approaches are not feasible in certain situations. This paper is a contribution to precise kinematic positioning over long baselines. Atmospheric refraction becomes critical in the error budget, but progress has been made to use numerical weather models to derive tropospheric corrections, for instance. The spatial correlation of both ionospheric and tropospheric propagation delays is investigated in this paper and special attention is paid on the systematic error behavior of tropospheric refraction. The principles developed are applied to an extended reliability test of the ambiguities. Finally, it is demonstrated in positioning experiments that kinematic positioning retrieval with fixed ambiguities is actually possible for baselines between 150 and 300 km with an accuracy of approximately 2 cm in post-mission processing.

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Quality-control issues relating to instantaneous ambiguity resolution for real-time GPS kinematic positioning

An integrated method for the instantaneous ambiguity resolution using dual-frequency precise pseudo-range and carrier-phase observations is suggested in this paper. The algorithm combines the search procedures in the coordinate domain, the observation domain and the estimated ambiguity domain (and therefore benefits from the integration of their most positive elements). A three-step procedure is then proposed to enhance the reliability of the ambiguity resolution by: (1) improving the stochastic model for the double-differenced functional model in real time; (2) refining the criteria which distinguish the integer ambiguity set that generates the minimum quadratic form of residuals from that corresponding to the second minimum one; and (3) developing a fault detection and adaptation procedure. Three test scenarios were considered, one static baseline (11.3 km) and two kinematic experiments (baseline lengths from 5.2 to 13.7 km). These showed that the mean computation time for one epoch is less than 0.1 s, and that the success rate reaches 98.4% (compared to just 68.4% using standard ratio tests). Received: 5 June 1996; Accepted: 16 January 1997     

GPS动态定位自适应卡尔曼滤波算法研究

Sage-Husa滤波和强跟踪滤波是2种常规的自适应卡尔曼滤波,有各自的优缺点.综合2种滤波的特点,给出一种抗粗差的修正算法,实验效果比较好,能有效抑制少部分粗差带来的影响,计算结果表明效果比较理想.     

GPS导航中的抗差自适应Kalman滤波算法

GPS导航与定位的质量取决于对动态载体函数模型和随机模型的认知。本文首先基于机动载体的当前统计模型 ,设计了离散系统的Kalman滤波器 ,进而基于方差分量估计给出了一种适合GPS动态定位的抗差自适应卡尔曼滤波算法。该算法模型简单 ,实时性好。实测数据计算结果表明 ,滤波导航解能有效地控制观测异常和动态扰动异常对导航解的影响 ,使导航解更能反映导航目标的真实情况     

Real-time kinematic positioning of LEO satellites using a single-frequency GPS receiver

Due to their low cost and low power consumption, single-frequency GPS receivers are considered suitable for low-cost space applications such as small satellite missions. Recently, requirements have emerged for real-time accurate orbit determination at sub-meter level in order to carry out onboard geocoding of high-resolution imagery, open-loop operation of altimeters and radio occultation. This study proposes an improved real-time kinematic positioning method for LEO satellites using single-frequency receivers. The C/A code and L1 phase are combined to eliminate ionospheric effects. The epoch-differenced carrier phase measurements are utilized to acquire receiver position changes which are further used to smooth the absolute positions. A kinematic Kalman filter is developed to implement kinematic orbit determination. Actual flight data from China’s small satellite SJ-9A are used to test the navigation performance. Results show that the proposed method outperforms traditional kinematic positioning method in terms of accuracy. A 3D position accuracy of 0.72 and 0.79 m has been achieved using the predicted portion of IGS ultra-rapid products and broadcast ephemerides, respectively.     

Modified ambiguity function approach for GPS carrier phase positioning

This paper presents a new strategy for GPS carrier phase data processing. The classic approach generally consists of three steps: a float solution, a search for integer ambiguities, and a fixed solution. The new approach is based on certain properties of ambiguity function method and ensures the condition of integer ambiguities without the necessity of the additional step of the integer search. The ambiguities are not computed explicitly, although the condition of “integerness” of the ambiguities is ensured in the results through the least squares adjustment with condition equations in the functional model. An appropriate function for the condition equations is proposed and presented. The presented methodology, modified ambiguity function approach, currently uses a cascade adjustment with successive linear combinations of L1 and L2 carrier phase observations to ensure a correct solution. This paper presents the new methodology and compares it to the three-stage classic approach which includes ambiguity search. A numerical example is provided for 25 km baseline surveyed with dual-frequency receivers. All tests were performed using an in-house developed GINPOS software and it has been shown that the positioning results from both approaches are equivalent. It has also been proved that the new approach is robust to adverse effects of cycle slips. In our opinion, the proposed approach may be successfully used for carrier phase GPS data processing in geodetic applications.     

BDS/GPS网络差分定位试验分析

针对在传统网络差分定位中,单GPS系统在观测条件不好情况下会出现可用卫星数量偏少甚至不够、观测值存在粗差而影响定位等问题,该文提出BDS/GPS双系统组合网络伪距差分定位的数学模型,并加入基于最小二乘残差法探测粗差观测数据的质量控制算法。基于省CORS网实时BDS/GPS双系统数据,以国产的手持机终端作为流动端,利用BDS/GPS伪距差分平台进行了车载动态试验,根据试验对比和分析,动态定位平面精度优于1m,在加入质量控制算法模式下,定位精度和可靠性都有一定提高。