Correlation acceleration in GNSS software receivers using a CUDA-enabled GPU

GPS Solutions - The correlation process in a GNSS receiver tracking module can be computationally prohibitive if it is executed on a central processing unit (CPU) using single-instruction...     

Feasibility assessment of MEMS oscillators for GNSS receivers

We analyze results from using a temperature-sensing MEMS oscillator as frequency source for the front end of a software-based GNSS receiver. Results show that although MEMS oscillators are highly sensitive to temperature, GNSS receivers can still make use of them even without any form of temperature information or compensation. Nevertheless, using a temperature sensor in close proximity to the resonator can significantly decrease acquisition time and improve tracking performance if the temperature measurements are properly filtered to remove noise. In this case, no negative effect on the measured carrier-to-noise density ratio was detected, and phase-locked tracking of strong signals was possible over a temperature range of ?40 to +85 °C.     

基于接收机位置信息的GNSS干扰源定位技术

全球卫星导航系统（GNSS）目前得到了十分广泛的应用,但是GNSS信号到达地面的功率很低,同时民用信号的格式是公开的,因此极易受到各种无意和人为故意的干扰,会对GNSS定位和授时的精度造成影响．查找和消除干扰源十分重要,目前通用的干扰源查找手段是采用测向设备实现干扰源的交叉定位,但在不知道GNSS干扰源的大致位置时,采用测向设备查找干扰源将耗费很长的时间．如果能够通过提取一些通用接收机的输出量实现干扰源的粗定位,就可以为测向定位提供初始参考位置和大概的查找范围．本文利用几乎所有的通用接收机都能输出的位置信息实现干扰源的粗定位,随着GNSS接收机逼近干扰源,会造成接收机位置信息的丢失,随着GNSS接收机远离干扰源,接收机又会重新获取位置信息,本文利用一定区域内众多受干扰的接收机的位置信息丢失点和位置信息重捕获点来实现干扰源的粗定位．通过仿真验证,分析了该技术的定位误差,仿真结果表明,该方法能够实现GNSS干扰源的粗定位,为进一步准确查找干扰源提供位置参考．      

低成本GNSS模块RTK性能比较分析

针对低成本GNSS模块及天线类型直接影响RTK性能的问题,该文选取了具有代表性的3种GNSS定位模块华大HD9310、UBLOX NEO-M8T、UBLOX ZED-F9P,以及测地型天线U35和螺旋天线BT-3070两种不同类型的天线。采集GNSS天线和模块不同组合的原始观测数据,深入分析了不同组合的原始GNSS数据的信噪比、模糊度解算初始化时间、伪距与载波相位的双差残差以及定位精度。结果表明:U35天线性能优于BT-3070天线;ZED-F9P模块性能优于NEO-M8T模块和HD9310模块。实验结果可为无人设备、工程测量等领域选取合适的RTK组合提供参考。     

Evaluation of three ionospheric delay computation methods for ground-based GNSS receivers

GNSS observables for ionospheric estimation are commonly based on carrier-to-code leveling (CCL) and precise point positioning (PPP) methods. The CCL method is a geometry-free method which uses carrier phase to level pseudorange observation for decreasing multipath error and observation noise. However, the ionospheric observable based on the CCL has been proven to be affected by leveling errors. The leveling errors are caused by pseudorange multipath and intraday variation of receiver DCB. To obtain more accurate ionospheric observable, the PPP method takes advantage of precise satellite-to-ground range for retrieving slant total electron content and is less affected by the leveling errors. Previous studies have only proven that the ionospheric observables extracted by the two methods are affected by the leveling errors. The influence on ionospheric observable by the pseudorange inter-receiver satellite bias (IRSB) of the receiver has not been taken into consideration. Also, the magnitude of the differences between the ionospheric observables extracted by the two methods has also not been given. In this work, three methods, namely, the CCL, the conventional ionospheric-free PPP method which uses the ionospheric-free Hatch–Melbourne–Wubbena (HMW) function, and the University of Calgary (UOFC) PPP method, are selected to analyze and compare the differences of ionospheric observables and the global ionospheric maps, using a large number of measured data from international GNSS service global stations. Experimental results show that the accuracy of ionospheric observables obtained by the three methods is not only related to the leveling error, but also pseudorange IRSB. The IRSB of the receiver exerts a major effect on the ionospheric observables obtained by the CCL method and a minor effect on the ionospheric observables obtained by the HMW and UOFC methods. The accuracies in the latter case are similar and superior to those obtained by the CCL. The differences of the ionospheric observables obtained by the CCL and UOFC methods, or the CCL and HMW methods, are at decimeter level, whereas the difference of the ionospheric observables obtained by the UOFC and HMW methods is at centimeter level. The UOFC method presented the highest single-frequency pseudorange positioning accuracy using estimated global ionospheric products, followed by the HMW and the CCL methods which presented the lowest positioning accuracy.     

Web-based resources on software GPS receivers

This column provides the Web-based GPS resources and their technical background information. Its purpose is to inform the reader about the data, software, electronic documents that are available online. This column is coordinated by Dr. Jinling Wang, The University of New South Wales, Sydney. Comments and suggestions are appreciated (jinling.wang@unsw.edu.au). In this issue’s column, Mr. Ravindra Babu introduces the online resources on software GPS receivers.     

A study on the dependency of GNSS pseudorange biases on correlator spacing

We provide a comprehensive overview of pseudorange biases and their dependency on receiver front-end bandwidth and correlator design. Differences in the chip shape distortions among GNSS satellites are the cause of individual pseudorange biases. The different biases must be corrected for in a number of applications, such as positioning with mixed signals or PPP with ambiguity resolution. Current state-of-the-art is to split the pseudorange bias into a receiver- and a satellite-dependent part. As soon as different receivers with different front-end bandwidths or correlator designs are involved, the satellite biases differ between the receivers and this separation is no longer practicable. A test with a special receiver firmware, which allows tracking a satellite with a range of different correlator spacings, has been conducted with live signals as well as a signal simulator. In addition, the variability of satellite biases is assessed through zero-baseline tests with different GNSS receivers using live satellite signals. The receivers are operated with different settings for multipath mitigation, and the changes in the satellite-dependent biases depending on the receivers’ configuration are observed.     

不同型号GNSS接收机短基线检定实验研究

全球卫星导航系统(GNSS)以其全天候、操作简便、高精度等优点在测绘、航空、地质勘察、环境监测与保护等领域得到了广泛应用。为提高GNSS接收机检定设备的利用率和检定工作的效率,也为测量工作中提高GNSS接收机的使用效率提供可靠依据,文中设计了不同型号的GNSS接收机与相同型号GNSS接收机联合检测和联合数据处理的实验。实验证明,不同型号GNSS接收机联合检测具有可行性。     

Vectorized and federated software receivers combining GLONASS and GPS

GPS Solutions - In traditional federated receiver, all the tracking channels work independently, and there is no interaction among them. However, in vectorized receiver, stronger channels aid...     

Analyzing GNSS data in precise point positioning software

This work demonstrates that precise point positioning (PPP) can be used not only for positioning, but for a variety of other tasks, such as signal analysis. The fact that the observation model used for accurate error modeling has to take into consideration the several effects present in GPS signals, and that observations are undifferenced, makes PPP a powerful data analysis tool sensitive to a variety of parameters. The PPP application developed at the University of New Brunswick, which is called GAPS (GPS Analysis and Positioning Software), has been designed and built in order to take advantage of available precise products, resulting in a data analysis tool for determining parameters in addition to position, receiver clock error, and neutral atmosphere delay. These other estimated parameters include ionospheric delays, code biases, satellite clock errors, and code multipath among others. In all cases, the procedures were developed in order to be suitable for real-time as well as post-processing applications. One of the main accomplishments in the development described here is the use of very precise satellite products, coupled with a very complete observation error modeling to make possible a variety of analyses based on GPS data. In this paper, several procedures are described, their innovative aspects are pointed out, and their results are analyzed and compared with other sources. The procedures and software are readily adaptable for using data from other global navigation satellite systems.     

TSAnalyzer,a GNSS time series analysis software

GPS Solutions - In geodesy and geophysics, continuous GNSS observations have been used globally. As the number of GNSS observing stations increases, GNSS time series analysis software should be...     

A MATLAB-based Kriged Kalman Filter software for interpolating missing data in GNSS coordinate time series

GNSS coordinate time series data for permanent reference stations often suffer from random, or even continuous, missing data. Missing data interpolation is necessary due to the fact that some data processing methods require evenly spaced data. Traditional missing data interpolation methods usually use single point time series, without considering spatial correlations between points. We present a MATLAB software for dynamic spatiotemporal interpolation of GNSS missing data based on the Kriged Kalman Filter model. With the graphical user interface, users can load source GNSS data, set parameters, view the interpolated series and save the final results. The SCIGN GPS data indicate that the software is an effective tool for GNSS coordinate time series missing data interpolation.     

GNSS模糊度整数估计方法图形可视化软件设计与应用分析

模糊度快速准确估计是全球卫星导航系统(GNSS)高精度定位的关键,整数取整、序贯取整和整数最小二乘估计是模糊度常用的三类整数估计方法.尽管从程序上较易实现三类估计方法,但是如何根据模糊度浮点解和精度构建整数估值的几何图形却缺乏较多的研究,不利于我们对整数估计过程的直观认知.因此,本文从理论上分别给出三类估计方法的一般形式,然后基于MATLAB GUI设计了一套三类估计方法二维几何图形构建的可视化分析软件,其功能包括三类估计方法的归整域构建、映射图构建和蒙特卡洛模拟及成功率计算.实验测试结果表明,本文设计的软件能够从几何图形角度较直观地表达出三类整数估计过程及其解算性能.      

A USRP2-based reconfigurable multi-constellation multi-frequency GNSS software receiver front end

We present a multi-constellation multi-band GNSS software receiver front end based on USRP2, a general purpose radio platform. When integrated with appropriate daughter boards, the USRP2 can be used to collect raw intermediate frequency (IF) data covering the entire GNSS family of signals. In this study, C++ class-based software receiver processing functions were developed to process the IF data for GPS L1, L2C, and L5 and GLONASS L1 and L2 signals collected by the USRP2 front end. The front end performance is evaluated against the outputs of a high end custom front end driven by the same local oscillator and two commercial receivers, all using the same real signal sources. The results show that for GPS signals, the USRP2 front end typically generates carrier-to-noise ratio (C/N ₀) at 1–3 and 1–2 dB below that of the high end front end and a NovAtel receiver, respectively. For GLONASS signals, the USRP2 C/N ₀ outputs are comparable to those of a Septentrio receiver. The carrier phase noise from the USRP2 outputs is similar to those of the benchmarking devices. These results demonstrate that the USRP2 is a suitable front end for applications, such as ionosphere scintillation studies.     

石油工程GNSS精密单点定位研究及软件研发

针对传统的GPS相对定位模式已不能满足石油工程项目快速发展的需求,如在非洲或沙漠地区,通常难以获取高精度的参考点来进行GPS相对定位,而且GPS单系统则严重依赖于其单系统的稳定性、观测值数目及质量。随着我国北斗导航定位系统(BDS)的发展,使得GNSS多系统日趋完善,使用GNSS多系统精密单点定位方法则可满足现今的石油工程要求。因此,基于目前已建成运行的GNSS多系统(BDS/GPS/GLONASS)对多系统组合的精密单点定位进行了研究,采用精确的时间系统模型,并综合了抗差Kalman滤波估计及Helmert方差分量估计的方法来增强系统的抗粗差能力及合理分配各GNSS系统的权比关系。基于该研究,自主研发了BDS/GPS/GLONASS精密单点定位软件,并采用实测数据对理论及软件进行验证。结果表明,采用BDS/GPS/GLONASS多系统能够有效提高定位结果的稳定性及精度,可为石油工程行业提供定位技术支持。     

GNSS integration with vision-based navigation for low GNSS visibility conditions

In urban canyons, buildings and other structures often block the line of sight of visible Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites, which makes it difficult to obtain four or more satellites to provide a three-dimensional navigation solution. Previous studies on this operational environment have been conducted based on the assumption that GNSS is not available. However, a limited number of satellites can be used with other sensor measurements, although the number is insufficient to derive a navigation solution. The limited number of GNSS measurements can be integrated with vision-based navigation to correct navigation errors. We propose an integrated navigation system that improves the performance of vision-based navigation by integrating the limited GNSS measurements. An integrated model was designed to apply the GNSS range and range rate to vision-based navigation. The possibility of improved navigation performance was evaluated during an observability analysis based on available satellites. According to the observability analysis, each additional satellite decreased the number of unobservable states by one, while vision-based navigation always has three unobservable states. A computer simulation was conducted to verify the improvement in the navigation performance by analyzing the estimated position, which depended on the number of available satellites; additionally, an experimental test was conducted. The results showed that limited GNSS measurements can improve the positioning performance. Thus, our proposed method is expected to improve the positioning performance in urban canyons.     

The role of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) software radios in embedded systems

This paper outlines the motivation for Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) software receivers. Features of traditional and software-based GNSS receiver architectures are highlighted and compared, focusing on the advantages of the software design. The choice of which architecture is advantageous, particular in the case of embedded systems, is present along with design criteria—both for the current environment as well as what can be expected in the future. Electronic Publication     

卫星导航接收机抗欺骗干扰方法研究

在分析各种可能的欺骗干扰方法的基础上,研究了欺骗干扰信号的特性,并从信号体制设计和接收机信号处理两个不同层面提出了一系列通用的抗欺骗措施,可直接用于关键民用基础设施GNSS接收机的抗欺骗设计。     

GNSS观测值的压缩方法研究

随着GNSS系统在军事和经济中的广泛应用,每天都会记录大量观测值,这些数据需要存储和在网络上传输。为了减少数据的存储空间和提高网络的传输效率,进行GNSS观测值的压缩算法研究是十分必要的。提出了采用六十进制的数位存储方法,利用递推差分算法进行GNSS观测值压缩,开发了相应的软件GnssRAR(V1.0)。实验表明,GnssRAR的压缩比率达到80%左右,具有非常好的压缩效果。