Reliable single-epoch ambiguity resolution for short baselines using combined GPS/BeiDou system

GNSS single-epoch real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning depends on correct ambiguity resolution. If the number of observed satellites in a single epoch is insufficient, which often happens with a standalone GNSS system, the ambiguity resolution is difficult to achieve. China’s BeiDou Navigation Satellite System has been providing continuous passive positioning, navigation and timing services since December 27, 2012, covering China and the surrounding area. This new system will increase the number of satellites in view and will have a significant effect on successful ambiguity resolution. Since the BeiDou system is similar to GPS, the procedure of data processing is easier than that for the Russian GLONASS system. We briefly introduce the time and the coordinate system of BeiDou and also the BeiDou satellite visibility in China, followed by the discussion on the combined GPS/BeiDou single-epoch algorithm. Experiments were conducted and are presented here, in which the GPS/BeiDou dual-frequency static data were collected in Wuhan with the baseline distance varying from 5 to 13 km, and processed in separate and combined modes. The results indicate that, compared to a standalone GPS or BeiDou system, the combined GNSS system can increase the successful ambiguity fixing rate for single epochs and can also improve the precision of short baselines determination.     

Instantaneous BeiDou+GPS RTK positioning with high cut-off elevation angles

As the Chinese BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) has become operational in the Asia-Pacific region, it is of importance to better understand as well as demonstrate the capabilities that a combination of BeiDou with GPS brings to positioning. In this contribution, a formal and empirical analysis is given of the single-epoch RTK positioning capabilities of such a combined system. This will be done for the single- and dual-frequency case, and in comparison with the BDS- and GPS-only performances. It will be shown that with the combined system, when more satellites are available, much larger than the customary cut-off elevations can be used. This is important, as such measurement set-up will significantly increase the GNSS applicability in constrained environments, such as e.g. in urban canyons or when low-elevation multipath is present.     

基于GPS/GLONASS/BDS组合的单历元单频短基线RTK定位算法研究

随着多个GNSS系统不断建成,天空中的导航卫星越来越多,使得RTK作业时的观测量也越来越多,这对提高单频单历元RTK的可靠性起到了至关重要的作用。本文分析了GLONASS信号频分多址的特点,对GPS/GLONASS/BDS单历元单频RTK定位的算法和模型进行了研究,提出了一种适用于三系统组合条件下短基线单频单历元RTK定位的算法,并采用实测数据对算法进行了验证,结果表明,GPS/GLONASS/BDS单历元单频RTK定位是可行的。     

一种基于多频模糊度快速解算方法的BDS/GPS中长基线RTK定位模型

随着全球卫星导航系统（global navigation satellite system,GNSS）进入多系统时代,空中导航卫星的可见卫星数不断增加,中国北斗卫星导航系统（BeiDou navigation satellite system,BDS）已开始面向用户提供三频导航信号,这都有利于改善单历元实时动态定位（real-time kinematic,RTK）的精度和可靠性。中长基线单历元RTK通常采用电离层无关组合算法,但是该方法将观测噪声进行了放大,模糊度固定成功率随着基线长度的增加而明显降低。提出一种BDS/GPS（global positioning system）中长基线单历元多频RTK定位算法,先以较高成功率快速固定BDS的两个超宽巷模糊度,继而通过简单变换得到BDS宽巷模糊度,然后将其辅助提高GPS宽巷模糊度固定成功率,最后采用将电离层延迟误差参数化的策略以提高BDS/GPS窄巷模糊度固定成功率。结合实测数据进行验证分析,结果表明本文算法是可行的。     

GPS/BDS/GLONASS双频RTK定位算法研究

针对GLONASS采用频分多址技术导致双差观测方程中双差模糊度失去整周特性的问题,提出了一种基于站间单差模糊度分别求解的方法,并结合附加模糊度参数的卡尔曼滤波模型,实现了GPS/BDS/GLONASS组合RTK定位。通过自编RTK程序对GPS、BDS与GLONASS双频实测短基线数据进行测试,并对比分析其他RTK模式下的稳定性与定位精度。结果表明,GLONASS单频和双频定位的模糊度固定率分别为99.8%、99.7%,其定位精度与BDS、GPS相差不大。在单频或双频RTK定位中,双系统、三系统组合定位的稳定性和定位精度明显高于单系统,其中三系统组合定位的稳定性最好,精度最高。随着频率增加,初始化时间明显减少,为实现单历元获得固定解提供了可能性。     

GPS／BeiDou 组合单点定位的定权与结果分析

利用Helmert方差分量估计方法为GPS/BeiDou组合单点定位不同系统观测值定权,获得了合理的权值。分析了开阔环境和遮挡环境两种情况下的动态GPS/BeiDou组合单点定位的精度。结果表明：在静态观测和动态观测中,组合单点定位与单独G PS单点定位相比精度有显著提高。     

北斗系统在南极中山站地区的基本定位性能评估

对北斗区域卫星导航系统（BDS）正式运行后在南极中山站地区的基本导航定位性能进行了评估,包括卫星可用性、位置精度因子（PDOP）、伪距观测值质量、电离层模型精度及单频伪距导航定位性能等方面。对南极中山站地区实测数据分析的结果表明,首先,北斗卫星导航系统的可用性与伪距观测值质量在总体上与GPS处于同一水平,并已初步具备了全天导航定位的能力,但存在卫星分布不够均匀、GEO卫星高度角较低、电离层模型精度较差等问题。其次,北斗单频伪距单点定位北、东方向的精度分别优于22 m和9 m,高程方向优于25 m;超短基线的单频伪距差分定位在北、东、高程三个方向的精度分别为3.6 m、2.3 m和3.3 m;总体而言与GPS相比有一定差距。最后,北斗/GPS组合定位相对于单一的GPS定位不仅增加了系统的可靠性,还对定位的精度有明显改善,对于单频伪距单点定位、伪距差分定位的三维点位精度可分别提高10%、22%。     

Assessment of GPS + Galileo and multi-frequency Galileo single-epoch precise positioning with network corrections

Several processing strategies that use dual-frequency GPS-only solution, multi-frequency Galileo-only solution, and finally tightly combined dual-frequency GPS + Galileo solution were tested and analyzed for their applicability to single-epoch long-range precise positioning. In particular, a multi-system GPS + Galileo solution was compared to GPS double-frequency solution as well as to Galileo double-, triple-, and quadruple-frequency solutions. Also, the performance of the strategies was analyzed under clear-sky and obstructed satellite visibility in both single-baseline and multi-baseline modes. The results indicate that tightly combined GPS + Galileo instantaneous positioning has a clear advantage over single-system solutions and provides an accurate and reliable solution. It was also confirmed that application of multi-frequency observations in case of Galileo system has an advantage over a dual-frequency solution.     

Joint estimation of GPS/BDS real-time clocks and initial results

We present the joint estimation model for Global Positioning System/BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (GPS/BDS) real-time clocks and present the initial satellite clock solutions determined from 106 stations of the international GNSS service multi-GNSS experiment and the BeiDou experimental tracking stations networks for 1 month in December, 2012. The model is shown to be efficient enough to have no practical computational limit for producing 1-Hz clock updates for real-time applications. The estimated clocks were assessed through the comparison with final clock products and the analysis of post-fit residuals. Using the estimated clocks and corresponding orbit products (GPS ultra-rapid-predicted and BDS final orbits), the root-mean-square (RMS) values of coordinate differences from ground truth values are around 1 and 2–3 cm for GPS-only and BDS-only daily mean static precise point positioning (PPP) solutions, respectively. Accuracy of GPS/BDS combined static PPP solutions falls in between that of GPS-only and BDS-only PPP results, with RMS values approximately 1–2 cm in all three components. For static sites, processed in the kinematic PPP mode, the daily RMS values are normally within 4 and 6 cm after convergence for GPS-only and BDS-only results, respectively. In contrast, the combined GPS/BDS kinematic PPP solutions show higher accuracy and shorter convergence time. Additionally, the BDS-only kinematic PPP solutions using clock products derived from the proposed joint estimation model were superior compared to those computed using the single-system estimation model.     

Combined GPS and BDS for single-frequency continuous RTK positioning through real-time estimation of differential inter-system biases

Double-differenced (DD) ambiguities between overlapping frequencies from different GNSS constellations can be fixed to integers if the associated differential inter-system biases (DISBs) are well known. In this case, only one common pivot satellite is sufficient for inter-system ambiguity resolution. This will be beneficial to ambiguity resolution (AR) and real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning especially when only a few satellites are observed. However, for GPS and current operational BDS-2, there are no overlapping frequencies. Due to the influence of different frequencies, the inter-system DD ambiguities still cannot be fixed to integers even if the DISBs are precisely known. In this contribution, we present an inter-system differencing model for combined GPS and BDS single-frequency RTK positioning through real-time estimation of DISBs. The stability of GPS L1 and BDS B1 DISBs is analyzed with different receiver types. Along with parameterization and using the short-term stability of DISBs, the DD ambiguities between GPS and BDS pivot satellites and the between-receiver single-difference ambiguity of the GPS pivot satellite can be estimable jointly with the differential phase DISB term from epoch to epoch. Then the inter-system differencing model can benefit from the near time-constant DISB parameters and thus has better multi-epoch positioning performance than the classical intra-system differencing model. The combined GPS and BDS single-frequency RTK positioning performance is evaluated with various simulated satellite visibilities. It will be shown that compared with the classical intra-system differencing model, the proposed model can effectively improve the positioning accuracy and reliability, especially for severely obstructed situations with only a few satellites observed.     

基于多普勒测速的GPS单历元动态定位算法

在传统的GPS单历元动态定位参数估计中,由于先验约束信息较少,模糊度求解和定位性能往往较低。据此,研究了多普勒测速在GPS单历元动态定位中的应用,提出了一种附有GPS多普勒测速信息约束的坐标更新方法,即利用移动载体先验坐标和多普勒测速信息预测当前历元坐标。考虑到该方法进行坐标更新的精度较高和传统单点定位坐标更新的稳健性较强等特点,在此基础上给出了相应的单历元整周模糊度参数求解策略,进一步提高了该方法的定位性能。试验结果表明,所提出的算法相对于传统的无速度信息坐标约束的GPS单历元动态定位算法,其模糊度浮点解精度、模糊度固定率和平均定位精度均有了进一步提高,尤其是在观测卫星数较少、卫星几何结构较差的情况下更为明显。     

北斗地基增强系统测试及精度分析

文中主要结合南宁市北斗地基增强系统示范区项目实际,对该系统在南宁地区的时间可用性、RTK定位精度(包括加密站间之后效果)、空间可用性等进行了测试。测试结果表明,南宁市北斗地基增强系统满足全天候95％覆盖南宁市厘米级RTK定位精度要求,GPS+BDS组合较单GPS、单BDS在隐蔽环境下的RTK定位时间可用性得到明显提高,参考站点的加密也有助于提高系统的时间可用性。      

A new GPS/BDS tropospheric delay resolution approach for monitoring deformation in super high-rise buildings

A new approach for deformation monitoring of super high-rise building using GPS/BDS technology is proposed for the case when prior coordinates are known and the baseline is short but has a large height difference. The approach is based on the ambiguity function method (AFM). Considering that the double-differenced (DD) troposphere delay residual error cannot be ignored, the relative zenith tropospheric delay (RZTD) parameter is introduced into the original AFM equation. Thus, the RZTD and 3D coordinate parameters are together obtained through the modified AFM (MAFM). Due to the low computational efficiency of conventional AFM, an improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) algorithm is used to search the four optimal parameters X/Y/Z/RZTD and replaces the grid search method. In this study, GPS/BDS deformation monitoring data for buildings with approximately 290 m height difference were used to verify the feasibility of the proposed MAFM. Numerical results show a single-epoch average computation time of approximately 0.3 s, which meets the requirements of near-real-time dynamic monitoring. The average accuracy of the GPS single-epoch RZTD solution is better than 1 cm, the combined GPS/BDS MAFM performance outperforms the GPS-only system, and using multi-epoch observations can further improve the accuracy of the RZTD solution. After RZTD correction, GPS/BDS monitoring precision can be improved, particularly the height dimension, whose precision is improved by approximately 6 cm.     

Instantaneous BDS + GPS undifferenced NRTK positioning with dynamic atmospheric constraints

As the Chinese BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) has become operational in the Asia-Pacific region, it is important to better understand and demonstrate the benefits of combining triple-frequency BDS with dual-frequency GPS observations for network-based real-time kinematic (NRTK) services. Undifferenced NRTK is a new NRTK service mode, it extends the concept of NRTK by not requiring reference station and specified reference satellite at the rover processing. In order to realize the undifferenced NRTK service, a strategy for real-time modeling the undifferenced (UD) augmentation information is given, in which the fixed double-differenced ambiguities are transformed into UD ones with the help of datum settings. Since this strategy is insensitive to existing ephemeris products, it is applicable to the services of current BDS regional reference networks. Furthermore, a processing scheme for ambiguity resolution (AR) with arbitrary-frequency observations is also presented in detail. An instantaneous and reliable BDS + GPS positioning service can be provided to the rovers in undifferenced NRTK processing mode. With the data collected at 31 stations from a continuously operating reference station network in Guangdong Province (GDCORS) of China, the efficiency of the proposed approaches using combined BDS and GPS observations is confirmed. For three rover stations during days 327–329, a total of 12,960 1-min tests were performed separately to demonstrate the performance of AR. Thanks to the dynamically refined priori information of residual tropospheric and ionospheric error, and the availability of more satellites and observations, the AR fixing rates of combined BDS and GPS systems improve by 13 to 65%, compared with those of the GPS-only system using the traditional WL-L1-IF scheme. The positioning accuracy has also significantly improved.     

An enhanced calibration method of GLONASS inter-channel bias for GNSS RTK

A user of heterogeneous GPS and GLONASS receiver pairs in differential positioning mode will experience ambiguity fixing challenges due to the presence of inter-channel biases. These biases cannot be canceled by differencing GLONASS observations, whether pseudorange or carrier phase. Fortunately, pre-calibration of GLONASS pseudorange and carrier phase observations can make ambiguity fixing for GPS/GLONASS positioning much easier. We propose an effective algorithm that transforms an RTK (real-time kinematic) solution in a mixed receiver baseline from a float to a fixed ambiguity solution. Carrier phase and code inter-channel biases are estimated from a zero baseline. Then, GLONASS both carrier phase and code observations are corrected accordingly. The results show that a mixed baseline can be transformed from a float (~100 %) to a fixed (more than 92 %) solution.     

利用单频GPS／Galileo组合观测值的导航性能分析

针对不同观测值的初始方差比值,对比GPS／Galileo组合单点定位的结果。利用不同测站的观测数据和广播星历数据进行单频GPS／Galileo组合单点定位试验。结果表明,组合GPS／Galileo单点定位的平面方向精度优于2m,高程方向精度优于4m,点位精度优于5m;相比于GPS单系统,GPS／Galileo组合系统在平面方向的定位精度略有提高,高程方向的定位精度改善率为11％。同时给出基于4颗IOV卫星的Galileo单点定位结果。     

ERTK: extra-wide-lane RTK of triple-frequency GNSS signals

Triple-frequency signals have thus far been available for all satellites of BeiDou and Galileo systems and for some GPS satellites. The main benefit of triple-frequency signals is their formation of extra-wide-lane (EWL) combinations whose ambiguities can be instantaneously fixed for several 10–100 km baselines. Yet, this benefit has not been fully exploited and only used as a constraint for narrow-lane (NL) ambiguity resolution (AR) in most previous studies. In this study, we comprehensively investigate the real-time kinematic (RTK) capabilities of EWL observations, also referred to as EWL RTK (ERTK). We begin by mathematically expressing the ease of EWL AR and the difficulty of NL AR, respectively, using a numerical demonstration. We then present the mathematical models for ERTK including the ionosphere-ignored, ionosphere-float and ionosphere-smoothed types. The experiments are conducted using a four-station network of real triple-frequency BeiDou data with baseline lengths from 33 to 75 km. The results show that the ionosphere-ignored ERTK achieves real-time solutions with a horizontal accuracy of about 10 cm. Although the ionosphere-float ERTK solutions are very noisy, they can be quickly improved at the centimetre level by further applying the ionosphere-smoothed model. Note that such accurate results are very promising and already satisfy many applications without complicated NL AR. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study to make full use of EWL observations of triple-frequency signals on RTK.     

Increasing GNSS RTK availability with a new single-epoch batch partial ambiguity resolution algorithm

GPS Single-epoch Real-Time Kinematic positioning is immune to cycle slips and can be immediately re-initialized after loss-of-lock, providing high availability. This technique requires reliable ambiguity resolution: incorrect ambiguities can cause position errors of several meters, and failed ambiguity resolution reduces availability. However, a bias or inaccuracy in a single phase observation can prevent successful resolution of the whole set of ambiguities. Partial ambiguity resolution allows a subset of ambiguities to be resolved with greater probability of success than the full set. A new algorithm for resolving a subset of ambiguities with validation from previous epochs is described. If normal ambiguity resolution fails, all ambiguity subsets are generated and ordered with the best subsets first. Each subset is then resolved in turn. Fixed subsets are validated against values from previous epochs; this validation procedure greatly reduces the proportion of epochs with incorrect ambiguities. An additional algorithm is described that uses the fixed ambiguities as precise ranges to resolve the remaining unfixed ambiguities. In order to test these new algorithms, GPS data were collected from static and ship-based GPS receivers around Harwich harbor and processed from reference stations at distances up to 111 km. In the static tests the distance over which a 90% ambiguity resolution success rate for dual-frequency data was achieved was increased from 15 to 76 km. However, in some cases, the processing time was too long for this algorithm to be practical without a time-based cut-off. There is also a risk of incorrect ambiguities being propagated, particularly for single-frequency processing. In a ship-based test, the distance over which sufficient availability to support harbor navigation was achieved using single-epoch dual-frequency RTK was increased from 1 to 66 km.     

北斗三频宽巷组合网络RTK单历元定位方法

利用三频超宽巷/宽巷模糊度波长较长从而易于固定的优势,提出了一种基于北斗三频宽巷组合的网络RTK单历元定位方法。数据处理中心利用基准站实时生成并播发包含双差对流层和电离层延迟改正信息的虚拟观测值;用户站利用载波、伪距组合及分步解算的TCAR方法基于单个卫星对、单历元可靠固定两个超宽巷或宽巷模糊度。最后利用已固定模糊度且噪声最小的宽巷观测值和内插得到的大气延迟改正进行实时动态定位解算。试验结果表明,对于本文提出的网络RTK单历元定位方法,用户站宽巷模糊度单历元解算准确率高于99.9%,统计的定位中误差平面为3~4cm,高程方向约为5cm。     

GPS测站多路径效应建模研究

GPS伪距观测量由于不存在周跳和整周模糊度的问题,可用来实现动态导航定位,但受到多路径效应影响较为严重,定位精度较低。本文以BJFS站为例,计算了伪距多路径效应,首次大量采用单历元数据,以球谐函数的形式建立了伪距多路径效应、高度角和方位角间的函数模型。建模过程中用截断奇异值分解方法解决了单历元数据引起的的病态问题,求得了模型的最小二乘解。在伪距观测数据中加入模型计算的伪距多路径效应改正,用Bernese软件的动态单点定位功能进行伪距单点定位。对BJFS站的伪距动态定位结果进行统计分析,结果表明单点定位精度得到了改善。