Triple-frequency carrier ambiguity resolution for Beidou navigation satellite system

The Chinese Beidou system, also known as Compass, has entered its trial operational stage and can already provide services for triple-frequency users. Using triple-frequency signals is expected to be of great benefit for ambiguity resolution. Based on error characteristic analysis of the Beidou frequencies, we introduce the procedure of selecting the best combinations of triple-frequency signals. The geometry-based model and geometry-free model of triple-frequency signals are presented. Three triple-frequency carrier ambiguity resolution (TCAR) methods are described, which include the cascading rounding method, the stepwise AR method and the modified stepwise AR method. In order to evaluate the performance of these methods, observations from baselines of various lengths were collected using Beidou triple-frequency receivers and were processed epoch-by-epoch using the three methods. The same observation data were also processed in a dual-frequency mode for comparison. The results show that, compared to the dual-frequency based solution, the single epoch ambiguity resolution success rate with triple frequency improved nearly 30 % for the short baselines (<20 km) and 100 % for the mid-length baselines (20–50 km) using the proposed modified stepwise AR method.     

Three-frequency BDS precise point positioning ambiguity resolution based on raw observables

All BeiDou navigation satellite system (BDS) satellites are transmitting signals on three frequencies, which brings new opportunity and challenges for high-accuracy precise point positioning (PPP) with ambiguity resolution (AR). This paper proposes an effective uncalibrated phase delay (UPD) estimation and AR strategy which is based on a raw PPP model. First, triple-frequency raw PPP models are developed. The observation model and stochastic model are designed and extended to accommodate the third frequency. Then, the UPD is parameterized in raw frequency form while estimating with the high-precision and low-noise integer linear combination of float ambiguity which are derived by ambiguity decorrelation. Third, with UPD corrected, the LAMBDA method is used for resolving full or partial ambiguities which can be fixed. This method can be easily and flexibly extended for dual-, triple- or even more frequency. To verify the effectiveness and performance of triple-frequency PPP AR, tests with real BDS data from 90 stations lasting for 21 days were performed in static mode. Data were processed with three strategies: BDS triple-frequency ambiguity-float PPP, BDS triple-frequency PPP with dual-frequency (B1/B2) and three-frequency AR, respectively. Numerous experiment results showed that compared with the ambiguity-float solution, the performance in terms of convergence time and positioning biases can be significantly improved by AR. Among three groups of solutions, the triple-frequency PPP AR achieved the best performance. Compared with dual-frequency AR, additional the third frequency could apparently improve the position estimations during the initialization phase and under constraint environments when the dual-frequency PPP AR is limited by few satellite numbers.     

FirCAR算法的OTF快速定位方法

根据GNSS不同频率间整周模糊度的约束关系,提出一种基于多频整周模糊度间关系约束的模糊度新算法(dual-frequency integer relationship constrained ambiguity resolution,FirCAR)。FirCAR可快速动态解算出高高度角卫星的整周模糊度,将已经固定的整周模糊度视为高精度的伪距观测值应用到下一步的浮点解重算中。结合模糊度搜索算法,如LAMBDA,在模糊度搜索方面的高效性,根据重算后的浮点解进一步解算其他未固定的模糊度解。模糊度固定成功后,即可实现OTF(on the fly)快速定位。实测数据表明,FirCAR算法在静态和动态观测条件下,模糊度初始化所用的平均观测历元数分别为1.04和1.10。与常规的模糊度搜索算法的对比试验表明,结合FirCAR算法模糊度固定所用的观测历元数分别减少了39%和18%。     

A modified geometry- and ionospheric-free combination for static three-carrier ambiguity resolution

The reliability of the classical geometry- and ionospheric-free (GIF) three-carrier ambiguity resolution (TCAR) degrades when applied to long baselines of hundreds of kilometers. To overcome this deficiency, we propose two new models, which are used sequentially to resolve wide-lane (WL) and narrow-lane (NL) ambiguities and form a stepwise ambiguity resolution (AR) strategy. In the first model, after a successful extra-wide-lane AR, the pseudorange and phase observations are combined to estimate WL ambiguities, in which the residual ionospheric delays and geometry effects are eliminated. In the second model, using the resolved ambiguities from the first step, the two WL ambiguities are combined to remove ionospheric and geometry effects. The unknown coefficients in the two models are determined in such that they minimize the formal errors in the ambiguity estimates to optimize the ambiguity estimation. Using experimental BeiDou triple-frequency observations, we evaluate our method and identify three advantages. First, the two models use double-differenced phase observations that are not differences across frequency. Second, the two models are entirely free from ionospheric delay and geometry effects. Third, the unknown estimates in the two models satisfy the minimum noise condition, which makes the formal errors in the float NL ambiguity estimates much lower than those obtained with common GIF TCAR methods, thereby directly and significantly increasing the success rate of AR compared to the cascaded integer resolution method and two other GIF combinations.     

Network-based triple-frequency carrier phase ambiguity resolution between reference stations using BDS data for long baselines

Network-based ambiguity resolution (AR) between reference stations is the prerequisite to realize a precise real-time kinematic positioning service. With the help of BDS triple-frequency signals, we can efficiently deal with the ionospheric delay and tropospheric delay, and achieve rapid and reliable AR. To overcome the inaccurate ionospheric delay estimated by the geometry-free three carrier ambiguity resolution (GF TCAR) technique, which leads to failure in the original ambiguity resolution, we propose an ionospheric-free (IF) TCAR method to resolve the ambiguity between the reference stations over long baselines. Taking full advantage of the known positions of the reference stations, the easily resolved extra-wide-lane (EWL) ambiguity, and the IF phase combinations, we can reliably fix the wide-lane (WL) ambiguity. A Kalman filter is applied to estimate precise IF ambiguities and the original ambiguity is resolved with the fixed WL ambiguity. A numerical analysis with triple-frequency BDS data from three long baselines of a CORS network is provided to compare the AR performance of GF TCAR with that of IF TCAR. The results show that both methods can reliably resolve the WL ambiguity with a remarkable correctly-fixed rate of higher than 99%, and the reliably-fixed rates of the IF TCAR slightly increase from 92.19, 94.67 and 94.61–98.26, 99.54 and 97.51% for the three baselines. Herein “correctly-fixed” and “reliably-fixed” mean the difference between the float ambiguity and the true one are less than ± 0.5 and ± 0.25 cycles, respectively. On the other hand, the AR performance of the original signals with the IF TCAR method is much better than that with the GF TCAR method attaining a 100% correctly-fixed rate, while the GF TCAR method can hardly fix the original ambiguity with the largest bias being as much as 4 cycles because of the amplified systematic bias.     

GPS/Galileo long baseline computation: method and performance analyses

Modernized GPS and Galileo will provide triple-frequency signals for civil use, generating a high interest to examine the improvement of positioning performance using the triple-frequency signals from both constellations over baselines up to hundreds or thousands of kilometers. This study adopts a generalized GPS/Galileo long-range approach to process the mutually compatible GPS and Galileo triple-frequency measurements for high-precision long baseline determination. The generalized approach has the flexibility to deal with GPS and Galileo constellations separately or jointly, and also the capability to handle dual or triple-frequency measurements. We compared the generalized long-range approach with the Bernese v5.0 software on two test baselines located in East Asia and obtained highly compatible computational results. Further, in order to assess possible improvement of GPS/Galileo long baseline determination compared with the current dual-frequency (L1/L2) GPS, we simulated GPS and Galileo measurements of the test baselines. It is shown that the current level of accuracy of daily baseline solutions can be improved by using the additional Galileo constellation. Both the additional constellation and the triple-frequency measurements can improve ambiguity resolution performance, but single-constellation triple-frequency ambiguity resolution is more resistant to the influences of code noise and multipath than dual-constellation dual-frequency ambiguity resolution. Therefore, in environments where large code noise or multipath is present, the use of triple-frequency measurements is the main factor for improving ambiguity resolution performance.     

Modeling and quality control for reliable precise point positioning integer ambiguity resolution with GNSS modernization

Recent research has demonstrated that the undifferenced integer ambiguities can be recovered using products from a network solution. The standard dual-frequency PPP integer ambiguity resolution consists of two aspects: Hatch-Melbourne-Wübbena wide-lane (WL) and ionosphere-free narrow-lane (NL) integer ambiguity resolution. A major issue affecting the performance of dual-frequency PPP applications is the time it takes to fix these two types of integer ambiguities, especially if the WL integer ambiguity resolution suffers from the noisy pseudorange measurements and strong multipath effects. With modernized Global Navigation Satellite Systems, triple-frequency measurements will be available to global users and an extra WL (EWL) model with very long wavelength can be formulated. Then, the easily resolved EWL integer ambiguities can be used to construct linear combinations to accelerate the PPP WL integer ambiguity resolution. Therefore, we propose a new reliable procedure for the modeling and quality control of triple-frequency PPP WL and NL integer ambiguity resolution. First, we analyze a WL integer ambiguity resolution model based on triple-frequency measurements. Then, an optimal pseudorange linear combination which is ionosphere-free and has minimum measurement noise is developed and used as constraint in the WL and the NL integer ambiguity resolution. Based on simulations, we have investigated the inefficiency of dual-frequency WL integer ambiguity resolution and the performance of EWL integer ambiguity resolution. Using almanacs of GPS, Galileo and BeiDou, the performances of the proposed triple-frequency WL and NL models have been evaluated in terms of success rate. Comparing with dual-frequency PPP, numerical results indicate that the proposed triple-frequency models can outperform the dual-frequency PPP WL and NL integer ambiguity resolution. With 1 s sampling rate, generally, only several minutes of data are required for reliable triple-frequency PPP WL and NL integer ambiguity resolution. Under benign observation situations and good geometries, the integer ambiguity can be reliably resolved even within 10 s.     

基于部分固定策略的多系统长距离基准站间模糊度快速解算

基准站间整周模糊度的快速准确固定是实现网络RTK高精度快速定位的前提。对于GPS/GLONASS/BDS组合系统长基线,模糊度维数大幅度增加,加之观测噪声、大气残余误差等因素的影响,很难快速准确地固定所有模糊度,尤其是低高度角卫星模糊度。提出了一种基于部分固定策略的GPS/GLONASS/BDS组合网络长基线部分模糊度快速解算方法,以截止高度角、模糊度固定成功率以及Ratio值为主要参数,优选模糊度固定子集,以实现长距离基准站间模糊度快速固定。通过实测GPS/GLONASS/BDS三系统长基线数据的实验验证,部分模糊度固定方法可有效避免低高度角卫星对模糊度固定的影响,从而显著提高模糊度固定时的成功率及Ratio值,缩短长距离基准站间模糊度准确固定所需的时间。     

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.     

Network-based geometry-free three carrier ambiguity resolution and phase bias calibration

Continuously operating reference stations (CORS) are increasingly used to deliver real-time and near-real-time precise positioning services on a regional basis. A CORS network-based data processing system uses either or both of the two types of measurements: (1) ambiguity-resolved double-differenced (DD) phase measurements, and (2) phase bias calibrated zero-differenced (ZD) phase measurements. This paper describes generalized, network-based geometry-free models for three carrier ambiguity resolution (TCAR) and phase bias estimation with DD and ZD code and phase measurements. First, the geometry-free TCAR models are constructed with two Extra-Widelane (EWL)/Widelane (WL) virtual observables to allow for rapid ambiguity resolution (AR) for DD phase measurements without distance constraints. With an ambiguity-resolved WL phase measurement and the ionospheric estimate derived from the two EWL observables, an additional geometry-free equation is formed for the third virtual observable linearly independent of the previous two. AR with the third geometry-free model requires a longer period of observations for averaging than the first two, but is also distance-independent. A more general formulation of the geometry-free model for a baseline or network is also introduced, where all the DD ambiguities can be more rigorously resolved using the LAMBDA method. Second, the geometry-free models for calibration of three carrier phase biases of ZD phase measurements are similarly defined for selected virtual observables. A network adjustment procedure is then used to improve the ZD phase biases with known DD integer constraints. Numerical results from experiments with 24-h dual-frequency GPS data from three US CORS stations baseline lengths of 21, 56 and 74 km confirm the theoretical predictions concerning AR reliability of the network-based geometry-free algorithms.

GNSS antenna array-aided CORS ambiguity resolution

Array-aided precise point positioning is a measurement concept that uses GNSS data, from multiple antennas in an array of known geometry, to realize improved GNSS parameter estimation proposed by Teunissen (IEEE Trans Signal Process 60:2870–2881, 2012). In this contribution, the benefits of array-aided CORS ambiguity resolution are explored. The mathematical model is formulated to show how the platform-array data can be reduced and how the variance matrix of the between-platform ambiguities can profit from the increased precision of the reduced platform data. The ambiguity resolution performance will be demonstrated for varying scenarios using simulation. We consider single-, dual- and triple-frequency scenarios of geometry-based and geometry-free models for different number of antennas and different standard deviations of the ionosphere-weighted constraints. The performances of both full and partial ambiguity resolution (PAR) are presented for these different scenarios. As the study shows, when full advantage is taken of the array antennas, both full and partial ambiguity resolution can be significantly improved, in some important cases even enabling instantaneous ambiguity resolution. PAR widelaning and its suboptimal character are hereby also illustrated.     

基于北斗三频的短基线单历元模糊度固定

采用三频观测值能组成更多波长更长、噪声较小的观测值;通过依次固定超宽巷、宽巷、窄巷模糊度,可以实现模糊度的快速固定。目前以TCAR、CIR为代表的方法均是基于无几何模型的方法,通过伪距直接求解相位模糊度;由于不同卫星模糊度各自单独求解,没有综合利用所有卫星的观测值信息。基于有几何模型,使用LAMBDA方法进行逐级模糊度固定,依次固定超宽巷、两个宽巷、两个无电离层组合窄巷模糊度,最后使用模糊度固定的两个无电离层组合进行最终基线解算。北斗实测数据验证表明,针对10km的短基线数据,采用本文方法可以实现100%的单历元模糊度固定的成功率。     

0.99999999 confidence ambiguity resolution with GPS and Galileo

In this short contribution it is demonstrated how integer carrier phase cycle ambiguity resolution will perform in near future, when the US GPS gets modernized and the European Galileo becomes operational. The capability of ambiguity resolution is analyzed in the context of precise differential positioning over short, medium and long distances. Starting from dual-frequency operation with GPS at present, particularly augmenting the number of satellites turns out to have beneficial consequences on the capability of correctly resolving the ambiguities. With a 'double' constellation, on short baselines, the confidence of the integer ambiguity solution increases to a level of 0.99999999 or beyond. Electronic Publication     

Ambiguity resolution for triple-frequency geometry-free and ionosphere-free combination tested with real data

The recent GPS Block IIF satellites SVN62 and SVN63 and the Galileo satellites GIOVE-A, GIOVE-B, PFM and FM2 already send signals on more than two frequencies, and more GNSS satellites will provide tracking data on at least three frequencies in the near future. In this paper, a simplified general method for ambiguity resolution minimizing the noise level for the triple-frequency geometry-free (GF) and ionosphere-free (IF) linear combinations is presented, where differently scaled code noise on the three frequencies was introduced. For the third of three required linear combinations, the most demanding one in triple-frequency ambiguity resolution, we developed a general method using the ambiguity-corrected phase observations without any constraints to search for the optimal GF and IF linear combination. We analytically demonstrate that the noise level of this third linear combination only depends on the three frequencies. The investigation concerning this frequency-dependent noise factor was performed for GPS, Galileo and Compass frequency triplets. We verified the theoretical derivations with real triple-frequency GPS and Galileo data from the Multi-GNSS Experiment (M–GEX) of the International GNSS Service (IGS). The data of about 30 M–GEX stations around the world over 11 days from 29 April 2012 to 9 May 2012 were used for the test. For the third linear combinaton using Galileo E1, E5b and E5a, which is expected to have the worst performance among all the GNSS frequency triplets in our investigation, the formal errors of the estimated ambiguities are in most cases below 0.2 cycles after 400 observation epochs. If more GPS satellites sending signals on three frequencies or more stations tracking Galileo E6 signal are available in the future, an improvement by a factor of two to three can be expected.     

GNSS双频整周关系约束模糊度算法研究

根据GNSS双频载波相位观测值间的特定关系,提出了一种基于双频整周关系约束的模糊度解算方法(FirCAR)。该方法在局部整数范围内可将载波相位的等效波长增长,以利于整周模糊度的快速解算。不同长度的基线数据实验证明了该算法的正确性和有效性,并分析了卫星截止高度角对解算结果的影响。     

北斗三号新三频相位模糊度固定方法

针对北斗三号新的三频观测值,通过分析BDS-3三频线性组合观测值特性,选取高质量组合观测值,采用无几何相关GF(Geometry-Free)模型和无几何无电离层相关GIF(Geometry-Ionospheric-Free)模型分别对实测BDS-3卫星数据进行单历元三频相位模糊度解算TCAR(Triple-freque...     

Triple-frequency GPS precise point positioning with rapid ambiguity resolution

At present, reliable ambiguity resolution in real-time GPS precise point positioning (PPP) can only be achieved after an initial observation period of a few tens of minutes. In this study, we propose a method where the incoming triple-frequency GPS signals are exploited to enable rapid convergences to ambiguity-fixed solutions in real-time PPP. Specifically, extra-wide-lane ambiguity resolution can be first achieved almost instantaneously with the Melbourne-Wübbena combination observable on L2 and L5. Then the resultant unambiguous extra-wide-lane carrier-phase is combined with the wide-lane carrier-phase on L1 and L2 to form an ionosphere-free observable with a wavelength of about 3.4 m. Although the noise of this observable is around 100 times the raw carrier-phase noise, its wide-lane ambiguity can still be resolved very efficiently, and the resultant ambiguity-fixed observable can assist much better than pseudorange in speeding up succeeding narrow-lane ambiguity resolution. To validate this method, we use an advanced hardware simulator to generate triple-frequency signals and a high-grade receiver to collect 1-Hz data. When the carrier-phase precisions on L1, L2 and L5 are as poor as 1.5, 6.3 and 1.5 mm, respectively, wide-lane ambiguity resolution can still reach a correctness rate of over 99 % within 20 s. As a result, the correctness rate of narrow-lane ambiguity resolution achieves 99 % within 65 s, in contrast to only 64 % within 150 s in dual-frequency PPP. In addition, we also simulate a multipath-contaminated data set and introduce new ambiguities for all satellites every 120 s. We find that when multipath effects are strong, ambiguity-fixed solutions are achieved at 78 % of all epochs in triple-frequency PPP whilst almost no ambiguities are resolved in dual-frequency PPP. Therefore, we demonstrate that triple-frequency PPP has the potential to achieve ambiguity-fixed solutions within a few minutes, or even shorter if raw carrier-phase precisions are around 1 mm. In either case, we conclude that the efficiency of ambiguity resolution in triple-frequency PPP is much higher than that in dual-frequency PPP.     

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。     

北斗三频电离层延迟及码硬件延迟解算方法

准确固定非差模糊度是利用相位观测量获取高精度电离层延迟的关键。三频观测条件下常规的处理策略需依次固定超宽巷、宽巷以及窄巷模糊度,通常利用MW（melbourne-wubbena）组合解算宽巷模糊度时易受到码硬件延迟和观测噪声的影响而固定错误。利用北斗三频数据和GIM（grid ionosphenimap）产品,通过固定的超宽巷模糊度以及构造相位无几何组合解算宽巷模糊度,进而重构得到高精度电离层延迟,并且分离了码硬件延迟总量。结果表明,GIM模型辅助条件下宽巷模糊度固定成功率能达到100%,且消除了系统性偏差;电离层重构值与GIM模型改正值存在约1 m的差异,等效精度约6TECU;分离的码硬件延迟变化平稳,标准偏差不超过0.3 m。     

BDS三频与双频模糊度解算性能分析

全球导航卫星系统(GNSS)已进入多频多系统时代。针对两条短基线,对比分析BDS三频与BDS／GPS三频对于BDS双频与BDS／GPS双频在模糊度固定率、成功率及定位精度等方面的改善情况。结果表明,BDS三频与BDS／GPS三频可有效提高BDS双频与BDS／GPS双频的固定率和成功率,但BDS三频与BDS／GPS三频对于BDS双频与BDS／GPS双频的定位精度基本上没有改善。