scholarly journals Performance Assessment of Real-Time Multiconstellation GNSS PPP Using a Low-Cost Dual-Frequency GNSS Module

2021 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 37-56
Author(s):  
Abdelsatar Elmezayen ◽  
Ahmed El-Rabbany
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Autonomous Vehicle ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
Positioning Accuracy ◽  
Gps Satellites ◽  
Solution Convergence ◽  
Challenging Environment ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite

Abstract The release of low-cost dual-frequency (DF) global navigation satellite system (GNSS) modules provides an opportunity for low-cost precise positioning to support autonomous vehicle applications. The new GNSS modules support the US global positioning system (GPS) L1C/L2C or L5 civilian signals, the Russian GNSS Globalnaya Navigazionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (GLONASS) L1/L2, Europe’s GNSS Galileo E1/E5b, and Chinese GNSS BeiDou B1/B2 signals. The availability of the DF measurements allows for removal of the ionospheric delay, enhancing the obtained positioning accuracy. Unfortunately, however, the L2C signals are only transmitted by modernized GPS satellites. This means that fewer GPS DF measurements are available. This, in turn, might affect the accuracy and the convergence of the GPS-only precise point positioning (PPP) solution. Multi-constellation GNSS PPP has the potential to improve the positioning accuracy and solution convergence due to the high redundancy of GNSS measurements. This paper aims to assess the performance of real-time quad-constellation GNSS PPP using the low-cost u-blox Z9D-F9P module. The assessment is carried out for both open-sky and challenging environment scenarios. Static, simulated-kinematic, and actual field-kinematic trials have been carried out to evaluate real-time PPP performance. Pre-saved real-time precise orbit and clock products from the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales are used to simulate the real-time scenario. It is shown that the quad-constellation GNSS PPP using the low-cost u-blox Z9D-F9P module achieves decimeter-level positioning accuracy in both the static and simulated-kinematic modes. In addition, the PPP solution convergence is improved compared to the dual- and triple-constellation GNSS PPP counterparts. For the actual kinematic trial, decimeter-level horizontal positioning accuracy is achieved through the GPS + GLONASS + Galileo PPP compared with submeter-level positioning accuracy for the GPS + GLONASS and GPS + Galileo PPP counterparts. Additionally, submeter-level vertical positioning accuracy is achieved through the GPS + GLONASS + Galileo PPP compared with meter-level positioning accuracy for GPS + GLONASS and GPS + Galileo PPP counterparts.

scholarly journals THE DIRECT GEOREFERENCING APPLICATION AND PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF UAV HELICOPTER IN GCP-FREE AREA

2015 ◽  
Vol XL-1/W4 ◽  
pp. 151-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. F. Lo ◽  
M. L. Tsai ◽  
K. W. Chiang ◽  
C. H. Chu ◽  
G. J. Tsai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Disaster Relief ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Flight Test ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Aerial Images ◽  
Positioning Accuracy ◽  
Dg Module ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite

There are many disasters happened because the weather changes extremely in these years. To facilitate applications such as environment detection or monitoring becomes very important. Therefore, the development of rapid low cost systems for collecting near real-time spatial information is very critical. Rapid spatial information collection has become an emerging trend for remote sensing and mapping applications. This study develops a Direct Georeferencing (DG) based Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) helicopter photogrammetric platform where an Inertial Navigation System (INS)/Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) integrated Positioning and Orientation System (POS) system is implemented to provide the DG capability of the platform. The performance verification indicates that the proposed platform can capture aerial images successfully. A flight test is performed to verify the positioning accuracy in DG mode without using Ground Control Points (GCP). The preliminary results illustrate that horizontal DG positioning accuracies in the x and y axes are around 5 meter with 100 meter flight height. The positioning accuracy in the z axis is less than 10 meter. Such accuracy is good for near real-time disaster relief. The DG ready function of proposed platform guarantees mapping and positioning capability even in GCP free environments, which is very important for rapid urgent response for disaster relief. Generally speaking, the data processing time for the DG module, including POS solution generalization, interpolation, Exterior Orientation Parameters (EOP) generation, and feature point measurements, is less than 1 hour.

scholarly journals Gauss process regression for real-time ionospheric delay estimation from GNSS observations

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Balazs Lupsic ◽  
Bence Takacs
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Autonomous Vehicle ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Ionospheric Delay ◽  
Single Frequency ◽  
Gauss Process ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite ◽  
Autonomous Vehicle Navigation ◽  
Gnss Observations

AbstractThe number of devices equipped with global satellite positioning has exceeded seven billion recently. There are a wide variety of receivers regarding their accuracy and reliability. Low cost, multi-frequency units have been released on the market latterly; however, the number of single-frequency receivers is still significant. Since their measurements are influenced by ionospheric delay, accurate ionosphere models are of utmost importance to reduce the effect. This paper summarizes how Gauss process regression (GPR) can be applied to derive near real-time regional ionosphere models using raw Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) observations of permanent stations. While Gauss process is widely used in machine learning, GPR is a nonparametric, Bayesian approach to regression. GPR has several benefits for ionosphere monitoring since it is quite robust and efficient to derive a grid model from data available in irregular set of ionospheric pierce points. The corresponding instrumental delays are estimated by a parallel Kalman filter. The presented algorithm can be applied near real-time, however the results are offline calculated and are compared to two high quality TEC map products. Based on the analysis, the accuracy of the GPR modell is in 2 TECu range. The developed methods could be efficiently applied in the field of autonomous vehicle navigation with meeting both accuracy and integrity requirements.

scholarly journals Kinematic PPP Using Mixed GPS/Glonass Single-Frequency Observations

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 97-112
Author(s):  
Mostafa Hamed ◽  
Ashraf Abdallah ◽  
Ashraf Farah
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Single Frequency ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Frequency Data ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
Trajectory Data ◽  
Average Improvement ◽  
Kinematic Ppp ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite

Abstract Nowadays, Precise Point Positioning (PPP) is a very popular technique for Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning. The advantage of PPP is its low cost as well as no distance limitation when compared with the differential technique. Single-frequency receivers have the advantage of cost effectiveness when compared with the expensive dual-frequency receivers, but the ionosphere error makes a difficulty to be completely mitigated. This research aims to assess the effect of using observations from both GPS and GLONASS constellations in comparison with GPS only for kinematic purposes using single-frequency observations. Six days of the year 2018 with single-frequency data for the Ethiopian IGS station named “ADIS” were processed epoch by epoch for 24 hours once with GPS-only observations and another with GPS/GLONASS observations. In addition to “ADIS” station, a kinematic track in the New Aswan City, Aswan, Egypt, has been observed using Leica GS15, geodetic type, dual-frequency, GPS/GLONASS GNSS receiver and single-frequency data have been processed. Net_Diff software was used for processing all the data. The results have been compared with a reference solution. Adding GLONASS satellites significantly improved the satellite number and Position Dilution Of Precision (PDOP) value and accordingly improved the accuracy of positioning. In the case of “ADIS” data, the 3D Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) ranged between 0.273 and 0.816 m for GPS only and improved to a range from 0.256 to 0.550 m for GPS/GLONASS for the 6 processed days. An average improvement ratio of 24%, 29%, 30%, and 29% in the east, north, height, and 3D position components, respectively, was achieved. For the kinematic trajectory, the 3D position RMSE improved from 0.733 m for GPS only to 0.638 m for GPS/GLONASS. The improvement ratios were 7%, 5%, 28%, and 13% in the east, north, height, and 3D position components, respectively, for the kinematic trajectory data. This opens the way to add observations from the other two constellations (Galileo and BeiDou) for more accuracy in future research.

scholarly journals Multi-GNSS Combined Precise Point Positioning Using Additional Observations with Opposite Weight for Real-Time Quality Control

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenju Fu ◽  
Guanwen Huang ◽  
Yuanxi Zhang ◽  
Qin Zhang ◽  
Bobin Cui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Precise Point Positioning ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Convergence Time ◽  
Navigation Satellite ◽  
Positioning Accuracy ◽  
Global Navigation ◽  
Point Positioning ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite

The emergence of multiple global navigation satellite systems (multi-GNSS), including global positioning system (GPS), global navigation satellite system (GLONASS), Beidou navigation satellite system (BDS), and Galileo, brings not only great opportunities for real-time precise point positioning (PPP), but also challenges in quality control because of inevitable data anomalies. This research aims at achieving the real-time quality control of the multi-GNSS combined PPP using additional observations with opposite weight. A robust multiple-system combined PPP estimation is developed to simultaneously process observations from all the four GNSS systems as well as single, dual, or triple systems. The experiment indicates that the proposed quality control can effectively eliminate the influence of outliers on the single GPS and the multiple-system combined PPP. The analysis on the positioning accuracy and the convergence time of the proposed robust PPP is conducted based on one week’s data from 32 globally distributed stations. The positioning root mean square (RMS) error of the quad-system combined PPP is 1.2 cm, 1.0 cm, and 3.0 cm in the east, north, and upward components, respectively, with the improvements of 62.5%, 63.0%, and 55.2% compared to those of single GPS. The average convergence time of the quad-system combined PPP in the horizontal and vertical components is 12.8 min and 12.2 min, respectively, while it is 26.5 min and 23.7 min when only using single-GPS PPP. The positioning performance of the GPS, GLONASS, and BDS (GRC) combination and the GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo (GRE) combination is comparable to the GPS, GLONASS, BDS and Galileo (GRCE) combination and it is better than that of the GPS, BDS, and Galileo (GCE) combination. Compared to GPS, the improvements of the positioning accuracy of the GPS and GLONASS (GR) combination, the GPS and Galileo (GE) combination, the GPS and BDS (GC) combination in the east component are 53.1%, 43.8%, and 40.6%, respectively, while they are 55.6%, 48.1%, and 40.7% in the north component, and 47.8%, 40.3%, and 34.3% in the upward component.

scholarly journals Assessment of the Steering Precision of a Hydrographic USV along Sounding Profiles Using a High-Precision GNSS RTK Receiver Supported Autopilot

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 5637
Author(s):  
Łukasz Marchel ◽  
Cezary Specht ◽  
Mariusz Specht
Keyword(s):  
High Precision ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Path Following ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Magnetic Compass ◽  
Reference Station ◽  
Positioning System ◽  
Positioning Accuracy ◽  
Unmanned Surface Vehicles ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite

Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV) are increasingly used to perform numerous tasks connected with measurements in inland waters and seas. One of such target applications is hydrography, where traditional (manned) bathymetric measurements are increasingly often realized by unmanned surface vehicles. This pertains especially to restricted or hardly navigable waters, in which execution of hydrographic surveys with the use of USVs requires precise maneuvering. Bathymetric measurements should be realized in a way that makes it possible to determine the waterbody’s depth as precisely as possible, and this requires high-precision in navigating along planned sounding profiles. This paper presents research that aimed to determine the accuracy of unmanned surface vehicle steering in autonomous mode (with a Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller) along planned hydrographic profiles. During the measurements, a high-precision Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Real Time Kinematic (RTK) positioning system based on a GNSS reference station network (positioning accuracy: 1–2 cm, p = 0.95) and a magnetic compass with the stability of course maintenance of 1°–3° Root Mean Square (RMS) were used. For the purpose of evaluating the accuracy of the vessel’s path following along sounding profiles, the cross track error (XTE) measure, i.e., the distance between an USV’s position and the hydrographic profile, calculated transversely to the course, was proposed. The tests were compared with earlier measurements taken by other unmanned surface vehicles, which followed the exact same profiles with the use of much simpler and low-cost multi-GNSS receiver (positioning accuracy: 2–2.5 m or better, p = 0.50), supported with a Fluxgate magnetic compass with a high course measurement accuracy of 0.3° (p = 0.50 at 30 m/s). The research has shown that despite the considerable difference in the positioning accuracy of both devices and incomparably different costs of both solutions, the authors proved that the use of the GNSS RTK positioning system, as opposed to a multi-GNSS system supported with a Fluxgate magnetic compass, influences the precision of USV following sounding profiles to an insignificant extent.

scholarly journals Implementation and Analysis of Tightly Coupled Global Navigation Satellite System Precise Point Positioning/Inertial Navigation System (GNSS PPP/INS) with Insufficient Satellites for Land Vehicle Navigation

Sensors ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 4305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue Liu ◽  
Fei Liu ◽  
Yang Gao ◽  
Lin Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Single Frequency ◽  
Vehicle Navigation ◽  
Land Vehicle ◽  
Land Vehicle Navigation ◽  
Gps Satellites ◽  
Tightly Coupled ◽  
Gnss Measurements ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite

This paper implements and analyzes a tightly coupled single-frequency global navigation satellite system precise point positioning/inertial navigation system (GNSS PPP/INS) with insufficient satellites for land vehicle navigation using a low-cost GNSS receiver and a microelectromechanical system (MEMS)-based inertial measurement unit (IMU). For land vehicle navigation, it is inevitable to encounter the situation where insufficient satellites can be observed. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the performance of tightly coupled integration in a GNSS-challenging environment. In addition, it is also of importance to investigate the least number of satellites adopted to improve the performance, compared with no satellites used. In this paper, tightly coupled integration using low-cost sensors with insufficient satellites was conducted, which provided a clear view of the improvement of the solution with insufficient satellites compared to no GNSS measurements at all. Specifically, in this paper single-frequency PPP was implemented to achieve the best performance, with one single-frequency receiver. The INS mechanization was conducted in a local-level frame (LLF). An extended Kalman filter was applied to fuse the two different types of measurements. To be more specific, in PPP processing, the atmosphere errors are corrected using a Saastamoinen model and the Center for Orbit Determination in Europe (CODE) global ionosphere map (GIM) product. The residuals of atmosphere errors are not estimated to accelerate the ambiguity convergence. For INS error mitigation, velocity constraints for land vehicle navigation are adopted to limit the quick drift of a MEMS-based IMU. Field tests with simulated partial and full GNSS outages were conducted to show the performance of tightly coupled GNSS PPP/INS with insufficient satellites: The results were classified as long-term (several minutes) and short-term (less than 1 min). The results showed that generally, with GNSS measurements applied, although the number of satellites was not enough, the solution still could be improved, especially with more than three satellites observed. With three GPS satellites used, the horizontal drift could be reduced to a few meters after several minutes. The 3D position error could be limited within 10 m in one minute when three GPS satellites were applied. In addition, a field test in an urban area where insufficient satellites were observed from time to time was also conducted to show the limited solution drift.

scholarly journals Low-Cost Real-Time PPP/INS Integration for Automated Land Vehicles

Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (22) ◽  
pp. 4896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Elsheikh ◽  
Walid Abdelfatah ◽  
Aboelmagd Nourledin ◽  
Umar Iqbal ◽  
Michael Korenberg
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Estimation Algorithm ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Single Frequency ◽  
The Road ◽  
Land Vehicles ◽  
On The Road ◽  
Vehicle Automation ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite

The last decade has witnessed a growing demand for precise positioning in many applications including car navigation. Navigating automated land vehicles requires at least sub-meter level positioning accuracy with the lowest possible cost. The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Single-Frequency Precise Point Positioning (SF-PPP) is capable of achieving sub-meter level accuracy in benign GNSS conditions using low-cost GNSS receivers. However, SF-PPP alone cannot be employed for land vehicles due to frequent signal degradation and blockage. In this paper, real-time SF-PPP is integrated with a low-cost consumer-grade Inertial Navigation System (INS) to provide a continuous and precise navigation solution. The PPP accuracy and the applied estimation algorithm contributed to reducing the effects of INS errors. The system was evaluated through two road tests which included open-sky, suburban, momentary outages, and complete GNSS outage conditions. The results showed that the developed PPP/INS system maintained horizontal sub-meter Root Mean Square (RMS) accuracy in open-sky and suburban environments. Moreover, the PPP/INS system could provide a continuous real-time positioning solution within the lane the vehicle is moving in. This lane-level accuracy was preserved even when passing under bridges and overpasses on the road. The developed PPP/INS system is expected to benefit low-cost precise land vehicle navigation applications including level 2 of vehicle automation which comprises services such as lane departure warning and lane-keeping assistance.

scholarly journals Is GNSS real-time positioning a reliable option to validate erosion studies at olive grove environments?

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. e0204
Author(s):  
María S. Garrido-Carretero ◽  
María I. Ramos-Galán ◽  
María C. De Lacy-Pérez de los Cobos ◽  
Sergio Blanca-Mena ◽  
Antonio J. Gil-Cruz
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Single Frequency ◽  
Olive Grove ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Digital Elevation ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Spatial Redistribution ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite

Aim of study: Soil degradation in agricultural areas is a widespread problem. In this framework, a data validation methodology is presented, including a study of the spatial resolution of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) measurements, the calculation of erosion/deposition models, and the contribution of dual frequency and low-cost single frequency GNSS receivers.Area of study: A test olive grove in SE Spain.Material and methods: The study is based on three observation campaigns, between 2016 and 2018, using different GNSS receivers and working modes. The comparison between different surveys provide the volumetric variation over the analyzed period.Main results: Considering the dual-frequency receiver, there was no statistically significant difference between the means and the variances from 1.5 m and from 4.5 m data resolution at the 0.05 significance level. In order to estimate vertical differences from successive GNSS campaigns a differential digital elevation approach was applied. Although the differences depended on the zone of the test area and they changed along the monitoring period, the erosion rate could be catalogued as very low. The dual-frequency receiver satisfied the vertical centimetric precision limits for high accurate Digital Elevation Model (DEM), making it a reliable and accurate option to validate erosion studies in small areas.Research highlights: The results have allowed the characterization of multi-annual spatial redistribution of the topsoil at local scale, being of great help to design future prevention actions for the “tillage erosion” in olive grove environments. However, more tests are needed to guarantee the feasibility of low-cost receivers.

scholarly journals A Low-Cost Global Navigation Satellite System Positioning Accuracy Assessment Method for Agricultural Machinery

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 693
Author(s):  
Dorijan Radočaj ◽  
Ivan Plaščak ◽  
Goran Heffer ◽  
Mladen Jurišić
Keyword(s):  
Global Navigation Satellite System ◽  
Accuracy Assessment ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Base Station ◽  
Navigation Satellite ◽  
Agricultural Machinery ◽  
Positioning Accuracy ◽  
Global Navigation ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite

The high-precision positioning and navigation of agricultural machinery represent a backbone for precision agriculture, while its worldwide implementation is in rapid growth. Previous studies improved low-cost global navigation satellite system (GNSS) hardware solutions and fused GNSS data with complementary sources, but there is still no affordable and flexible framework for positioning accuracy assessment of agricultural machinery. Such a low-cost method was proposed in this study, simulating the actual movement of the agricultural machinery during agrotechnical operations. Four of the most commonly used GNSS corrections in Croatia were evaluated in two repetitions: Croatian Positioning System (CROPOS), individual base station, Satellite-based Augmentation Systems (SBASs), and an absolute positioning method using a smartphone. CROPOS and base station produced the highest mean GNSS positioning accuracy of 2.4 and 2.9 cm, respectively, but both of these corrections produced lower accuracy than declared. All evaluated corrections produced significantly different median values in two repetitions, representing inconsistency of the positioning accuracy regarding field conditions. While the proposed method allowed flexible and effective application in the field, future studies will be directed towards the reduction of the operator’s subjective impact, mainly by implementing autosteering solutions in agricultural machinery.

scholarly journals Precise Orbit Determination of the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES) Using Onboard GPS and BDS Observations

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 3234
Author(s):  
Yun Qing ◽  
Jian Lin ◽  
Yang Liu ◽  
Xiaolei Dai ◽  
Yidong Lou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Orbit Determination ◽  
Precise Orbit Determination ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Gps Tracking ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
Precise Orbit ◽  
Gps Satellites ◽  
Geo Satellites ◽  
Antenna Phase Center ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite

The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) occultation receiver onboard the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES) can provide dual-frequency observations for both GPS and BDS-2 satellites. In this study, the data quality and orbit determination performance of the CSES are assessed. Severe data loss of about 30% is observed in GPS P2/L2 data, resulting in only 11% of epochs possessing six to eight useful GPS satellites. Due to fewer channels being allocated for BDS signals, less than 5% of epochs have more than three useful BDS satellites. Precise orbit determination (POD) of CSES is firstly carried out using GPS data. The results indicate that the orbit overlap differences improved from 3.65 cm to 2.8 cm in 3D root mean square (RMS) by antenna phase center correction. CSES orbits are then derived from the BDS only, and combined GPS and BDS data. BDS-based POD indicates that adding BDS geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellites could dramatically degrade the orbit accuracy. When excluding BDS GEO satellites, the orbit overlap differences of BDS-based and combined POD are 23.68 cm and 2.73 cm in 3D, respectively, while the differences compared with GPS-based POD are 14.83 cm and 1.05 cm, respectively. The results suggest that the obtained orbit can satisfy centimeter-level requirements. Given that large GPS tracking losses occurred and few channels are allocated for BDS signals, it is expected that POD performance can be further improved by increasing the number of dual-frequency observations.

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