GPS multipath mitigation: a nonlinear regression approach

Under the assumption that the surrounding environment remains unchanged, multipath contamination of GPS measurements can be formulated as a function of the sidereal repeatable geometry of the satellite with respect to the fixed receiver. Hence, multipath error estimation amounts to a regression problem. We present a method for estimating code multipath error of GPS ground fixed stations. By formulating the multipath estimation as a regression problem, we construct a nonlinear continuous model for estimating multipath error based on well-known sparse kernel regression, for example, support vector regression. We will empirically show that the proposed method achieves state-of-the-art performance on code multipath mitigation with 79 % reduction on average in terms of standard deviation of multipath error. Furthermore, by simulation, we will also show that the method is robust to other coexisting signals of phenomena, such as seismic signals.     

Characteristics of multipath effects in GPS dynamic deformation monitoring

IntroductionThere are many factors that affect the precisionand reliability of GPS measuring. Generally, theerror sources can be grouped into the followingthree classes: errors correlated with the satellites(such as ephemeris error, satellite clock error,…     

Full-scale structural monitoring using an integrated GPS and accelerometer system

Accurate in situ measurement of the full-scale structural responses, especially tall buildings, under severe loading conditions is an important requirement for validating their design, evaluating their construction as well as facilitating their maintenance. Traditionally such response has been measured using accelerometers. However, it is impossible to measure the static and quasi-static components of motion with acceleration sensors. An integrated system comprising of RTK-GPS and accelerometers has been developed with the objective of assessing full-scale structural responses by exploiting the complementary characteristics of GPS and accelerometer sensors. The data used in this paper were obtained from GPS and accelerometer sensors installed on a 108-m-high steel tower in Tokyo, together with other sensors such as anemometer and strain gauge. The seismic and wind-induced responses of the tower were analyzed using the Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) and compared to results from finite element modeling (FEM). In order to study the system reliability, the correlated signals were extracted by applying a digital filtering technique. Then the filtered data sets were converted to displacement (in the case of accelerometer data) and acceleration (in the case of GPS data) through double integration and double differentiation, respectively, for the purpose of direct comparison and to further fuse data from the two different sensors. The results agree with each other very well, although the static and quasi-static components are missing from the accelerometer-derived results. The redundancy of the monitoring system therefore has been achieved.     

GNSS精密控制网在特大型桥梁施工监测中的应用——以虎门二桥为例

以虎门二桥为例,介绍了全球卫星导航系统(GNSS)精密定位技术在特大型桥梁中的具体应用,在基线解算时,通过提高概略坐标精度、选择合适的解算策略、合理的约束条件等提高控制网解算精度,使得控制网成果的各项精度指标满足要求．对虎门二桥8期测量成果的统计,进一步验证了控制网的测量精度,通过对部分点位坐标较差的计算,统计了点位的具[JP2]体变动情况,采用单点检验法评定了控制点的稳定性,为其他类似跨海工程控制网提供了参考.      

布尔沙模型在中山桥顶升监控中的应用

在桥梁顶升作业监控中,通常只对监测点顶升前后的坐标值进行比较,由于没有考虑梁体的整体性,且观测误差和坐标变化量混杂其中,因此难以准确判断桥梁的位置及姿态的变化情况。在中山桥的顶升作业监控中,笔者基于布尔沙模型对监测点坐标及高程进行统一平差处理,获取桥梁在顶升前后位置、姿态等参数变化量的最优估值,从而为桥梁的安全施工提供了科学的依据。     

一种改进扩展卡尔曼滤波算法的GPS多径抑制应用

在用EKF算法消除微弱GPS卫星信号中的噪声,并估计出多径幅度与码相位时延的码跟踪环中,由于各种误差的存在,从而降低了环路的跟踪性能。针对这一问题,该文在EKF算法的基础上提出了一种LSEKF算法,该LSEKF算法用最小二乘估计的原理对EKF算法所用的采样观测点进行修正,构造出一组无偏、均方误差和最小与空间分布确定的新型采样观测点,用来进行后续的滤波估计。仿真结果表明,相比EKF算法,LSEKF算法拥有更高的伪码跟踪精度,而且收敛速度更快,跟踪门限也更低。     

利用三维激光扫描技术监测矿区桥梁结构形变

利用三维激光扫描技术测得的建筑物点云数据能够较清晰地表示建筑物的三维空间信息,提供高精度、高密度的建筑物表面描述。点云本身不直接显示自身所包含的特征信息,在进行局部形变提取时,需要进行点云分割工作。现有的应用于建(构)筑物的分割算法大多依赖于建(构)筑物特征设定突变阈值,当遇到复杂场景时,这些假设往往会导致错误。随着机器学习在点云处理领域的延伸,建(构)筑物点云数据边界的识别和分割有了新的实现思路。本文以某矿区工作面上方铁路桥两期三维激光扫描数据为例,采用神经网络方法对桥拱钢结构实行分割提取,在对1000万个标记桥梁点云数据进行训练后,神经网络模型可以学习操作人员识别点云中各点的属性并进行标记,并提取两期数据中的钢结构点云;对使用神经网络分割出的桥拱钢结构点云进行分析,通过对钢结构底边线进行特征线拟合、长度提取,计算钢结构的位移及拉伸量,并结合桥拱位移、形变量分析桥梁形变。研究表明:使用神经网络模型对标记数据进行训练可以有效识别建(构)筑物特征,并应用于建(构)筑物局部形变分析。     

Measuring segregation: an activity space approach

While the literature clearly acknowledges that individuals may experience different levels of segregation across their various socio-geographical spaces, most measures of segregation are intended to be used in the residential space. Using spatially aggregated data to evaluate segregation in the residential space has been the norm and thus individual’s segregation experiences in other socio-geographical spaces are often de-emphasized or ignored. This paper attempts to provide a more comprehensive approach in evaluating segregation beyond the residential space. The entire activity spaces of individuals are taken into account with individuals serving as the building blocks of the analysis. The measurement principle is based upon the exposure dimension of segregation. The proposed measure reflects the exposure of individuals of a referenced group in a neighborhood to the populations of other groups that are found within the activity spaces of individuals in the referenced group. Using the travel diary data collected from the tri-county area in southeast Florida and the imputed racial–ethnic data, this paper demonstrates how the proposed segregation measurement approach goes beyond just measuring population distribution patterns in the residential space and can provide a more comprehensive evaluation of segregation by considering various socio-geographical spaces.     

Dynamic geometry monitoring system and its application in Sutong Bridge construction

The construction period of large cable-stayed bridges is long, and the structure deformation is complicated. Any error during construction will potentially affect the cantilever alignments and the internal forces. In order to ensure safety during construction and exactly determine the cantilever alignments, dynamic deformation monitoring is needed immediately when the construction of the superstructure starts. This paper aims at the requirement of deformation monitoring during the Sutong Bridge construction, and introduces the realization and observing schemes of the GPS and georobot based on remote real-time dynamic geometrical deformation monitoring system, then researches the data processing methods and enumerates some of the application achievements. Long-term operation during the Sutong Bridge construction indicates that the system runs steadily and the results are reliable.     

基于灰色关联分析的卡尔曼滤波在桥梁变形监测中的应用

在某长江特大桥桥面挠度变形监测过程中,考虑引起桥梁挠度变化的相关因素,采用灰色关联分析确定其中较重要的影响因子后,在传统卡尔曼滤波模型基础上建立改化后的状态方程和观测方程,从而完成相关因素的预测预报工作。实际应用结果表明,基于灰色关联分析的卡尔曼滤波对桥梁挠度变化的预测结果比传统滤波模型更加接近最终实测值,具有更高的准确性与可信度。     

黄河口海岸线遥感动态监测

本文以1976年至2002年间18景多时相遥感影像为主要数据源,在遥感与GIS技术的支持下,对影像进行几何校正与配准,并运用近红外波段的水体反射辐射率明显单一并低于其他地物的特性提取了逐年河口海岸的平均高潮线,另外经GIS叠加分析计算等获取了海岸线时空变化的数据,进一步分析了海岸线的演变过程,并根据河口来水来沙等条件提出了防止海岸蚀退的对策。     

Impact of GPS satellite and pseudolite geometry on structural deformation monitoring: analytical and empirical studies

Global positioning systems (GPS) have in recent years been increasingly used to monitor the deformations of large structures, particularly the deflections of long suspension bridges. When appropriately employed, and with the presence of a strong satellite geometry, GPS can supply timely and accurate structural deformation information. However, the three-dimensional (3-D) positioning accuracies in a local coordinate system are uneven. For instance, the vertical component of 3-D coordinates is less accurate than the horizontal component. In addition, GPS satellite availability tends to be a function of the latitude of the observation site and its surrounding obstructions. As a consequence, the accuracy of the north–south component is typically worse than that of the east–west component in mid-latitude areas (>45), and in some of the worst situations the horizontal positioning accuracy could even degrade to the same level as that of the vertical component. With such measurements it might not be possible to correctly interpret the real structural deformations. Furthermore, an insufficient number of satellites, caused by signal obstruction, could make it impossible to use GPS alone for kinematic positioning, even when integrated with other sensors such as triaxial accelerometers. With the aim of improving 3-D positioning accuracies for the monitoring of structural deflections, especially in vertical and northern directions, the optimal location selection of an array of ground-based pseudolites to augment GPS satellite geometry using an analytical simulation technique proposed by the authors is considered. Achievable 3-D positioning accuracies are estimated by simulating a real bridge deformation scenario using augmented transmitter geometry and compared with actual positioning accuracies calculated from the measurements gathered from a bridge trial. The results show that with an augmented satellite geometry and multipath mitigation it is possible to achieve uniform 3-D positioning accuracies of a few millimetres.     

一种无偏模型在变形监测中的应用

针对变形发展趋势多样性的特点,将无偏NGM(1,1,k)模型应用于变形监测数据的分析预测中,说明无偏NGM(1,1,k)模型可分别用于拟合近似线性-指数增长趋势变形序列、近似非齐次指数变形序列和近似齐次指数变形序列。根据监测数据的发展特点可选择适合的建模方法。实例分析结果显示,无偏NGM(1,1,k)模型具有良好的拟合和预测精度,可用于滑坡位移的分析预测中。     

Local deformation monitoring using GPS in an open pit mine: initial study

High-performance GPS RTK software has been developed within the Geodetic Research Laboratory (GRL) at the University of New Brunswick (UNB). This software was initially designed for gantry crane auto-steering. Due to limitations with classical geodetic deformation monitoring techniques, the Canadian Centre for Geodetic Engineering (CCGE) at UNB has decided to augment its fully automated deformation monitoring system with GPS. As a result, the GRL and CCGE have combined efforts to achieve the required precision. As a first step, tests of the GPS real-time kinematic (RTK) software have been carried out at Highland Valley Copper Mine in British Columbia, Canada. An open-pit mine environment places certain constraints on the achievable accuracies attainable with GPS. Consequently, the software has been modified to meet the needs of this particular project and data have been post-processed for analysis. This paper describes the approach taken at UNB to address high precision requirements in a constrained signal availability environment. Technical and scientific aspects of the UNB software, especially in handling two predominant errors (residual tropospheric zenith delay and multipath) at the mine, are discussed. Results of tests that have been carried out at the mine are presented.     

Geotechnical and environmental considerations in highway layouts: an integrated GIS assessment approach

Highway route layout design typically relies on aerial photographs, topographic maps and geologic maps. In this paper, a GIS platform, which incorporates the main digital data needed for evaluating route layouts, is used in a computer-based approach for highway layout assessment. Possible layouts are evaluated based on two sets of criteria. First, traditional evaluation criteria focussing on geometric design factors and impact on man-made features are considered. Next, the developed assessment framework builds on the GIS platform to generate specific environmental and geotechnical criteria for route layout evaluation. The developed approach integrates highway design, slope stability, and traffic noise modeling packages and specifically written codes with the GIS packages ARC/INFO and ArcView. A prototypical application of the assessment framework for a proposed highway south of the city of Beirut, Lebanon is presented. The results demonstrate the potential of the developed approach in incorporating new evaluation criteria at the route layout design stage and in automating the route layout assessment procedure.     

Near real-time characterisation of urban environments: a holistic approach for monitoring dengue fever risk areas

Despite frequent use of digital devices in everyday life, cost-effective measurement of public health issues in urban areas is still challenging. This study was, therefore, planned to extract land-use types using object-based and spatial metric approaches to explore the dengue incidence in relation to the surrounding environment in near real-time using Google and Advanced Land Observation Satellite images. The characterised image showed useful classification of an urban area with 77% accuracy and 0.68 kappa. Geospatial analysis on public health data indicated that most of the dengue cases were found in densely populated areas surrounded by dense vegetation. People living in independent houses having sparsely vegetated surroundings were found to be less vulnerable. Disease incidence was more prevalent in people of 5–24 years of age (67%); while in terms of occupation, mostly students, the unemployed, labourers and farmers (88%) were affected. In general, males were affected slightly more (10%) than females. Proximity analyses indicated that most of the dengue cases were around institutions (40%), religious places (18%) and markets (15%). Thus, usage of Digital Earth scalable tools for monitoring health issues would open new ways for maintaining a healthy and sustainable society in the years ahead.     

用MODIS热量指数动态监测东北地区水稻延迟型冷害

水稻低温冷害是东北地区主要的农业气象灾害之一。与耗时、费力的传统灾情监测和调查方式相比,遥感技术能以宏观视角高效地监测灾害发生的范围及程度。为顺应立体化农业气象服务的发展趋势,探索利用Terra\Aqua MODIS反射率和地表温度数据进行水稻延迟型冷害动态监测的可能性,本文在遥感估算全天候平均气温分布、遥感识别水稻种植区及其关键生育期的基础上,构建了基于相对累积生长度日距平r AGDDa的水稻延迟型冷害指标,并开展了东北地区2000年—2012年水稻延迟型冷害动态监测的应用研究。结果表明:(1)MODIS估算的累积生长度日(MODIS_AGDD)与其对应台站估算值之间存在高度相关,除了5月上旬及9月下旬外,两者差值的多年平均值随时间变化幅度基本保持在55℃·d左右;(2)r AGDDa与其对应台站估算值的相关性比累积生长度日距平(AGDDa)的更高,采用r AGDDa指标监测东北地区水稻生长季热量条件的年际差异更有效;(3)基于MODIS_r AGDDa指标的监测结果与用气象行业标准指标(ΔT5-9)监测得到的延迟型冷害分布在众多灾害年均有较好的空间一致性,通过对比水稻减产率分布图,认为以MODIS_r AGDDa≤-5%判断水稻延迟型冷害的发生具有一定可行性;(4)分阶段统计的r AGDDa指标能反映出水稻各生育阶段的低温累积效应和高温补偿效应,可用于水稻延迟型冷害动态监测业务服务。     

塔里木河流域2000-2014年地表覆盖动态变化监测

针对塔里木河流域脆弱的生态环境,该文采用地理信息系统、遥感技术手段提取2000年、2006年、2009年、2012年以及2014年塔里木河流域地表覆盖分类数据并对其变化特征进行分析.结果表明:2000-2014年塔里木河流域除水域、荒漠与裸露地表面积减少外,其余地表类型均呈增加趋势,其中变化量最大的为荒漠与裸露地表、冰川与积雪、耕地、草地,其变化量分别为-34 558.1 km2、14 351.15 km2、6 471.79 km2、6 383.94 km2.2000-2014年塔里木河流域荒漠与裸露地表面积减小,主要转变为了草地、林地与耕地;耕地面积增加主要来自于林地、草地、荒漠与裸露地表;冰川和积雪的面积增加主要增加来源为林地、草地和荒漠与裸露地表.