scholarly journals Georeferencing experiments with UAS imagery

2014 ◽  
Vol II-1 ◽  
pp. 25-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Jóźków ◽  
C. Toth
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Single Frequency ◽  
Gps Data ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
Quality Of Data ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Ground Control Points ◽  
Active Imaging ◽  
Application Potential

Comparing typical airborne mapping systems with Unmanned Airborne Systems (UAS) developed for mapping purposes, there are several advantages and disadvantages of both systems. The unquestionable benefits of UAS are the much lower costs of equipment and the simple operation; though, the regulations to fly UAS greatly vary by country. Low cost, however, means small sensor size and low weight, thus, sensors usually lack the quality, negatively impacting the accuracy of UAS data and, consequently, any derived mapping products. This work compares the performance of three different positioning approaches used for UAS image geolocation. The first one is based on using dual-frequency GPS data, post-processed in kinematic mode. The second approach uses the single frequency, code only GPS data that was acquired and processed by a geotagger, attached to mapping camera. Finally, the third one employs indirect image georeferencing, based on aerial triangulation using ground controls. As expected, the quality of data provided by the inexpensive GPS receiver (geotagger) is not suitable for mapping purposes. The two other approaches provided similar and reliable results, confirming that commonly used indirect georeferencing, which usually assures good solution, can be replaced by direct georeferencing. The latter technique results not only in reduction of field work, e.g. Ground Control Points (GCPs) surveying, but is appropriate for use with other sensors, such as active imaging technology, LiDAR, further extending UAS application potential.

scholarly journals LOW-COST DGPS ASSISTED AERIAL TRIANGULATION FOR SUB-DECIMETRIC ACCURACY WITH NON-RTK UAVS

2021 ◽  
Vol XLIII-B2-2021 ◽  
pp. 25-32
Author(s):  
F. Ioli ◽  
L. Pinto ◽  
F. Ferrario
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Single Frequency ◽  
Gnss Receiver ◽  
Emergency Situations ◽  
Aerial Triangulation ◽  
Ground Control Points ◽  
Bundle Block Adjustment ◽  
Gnss Receivers ◽  
Camera Position

Abstract. The possibility of equipping UAVs with lightweight GNSS receivers in order to estimate the camera position within a photogrammetric block allows for a reduction of the number of Ground Control Points (GCP), saving time during the field work and decreasing operational costs. Additionally, this makes it possible to build photogrammetric models even in morphologically complex areas or in emergency situations. This work is proposing a non-intrusive and low-cost procedure to retrieve the coordinates of the camera projection centre with decimetric accuracy. The method was designed and tested with the quadcopter DJI Matrice 210 V2 drone equipped with a DJI ZENMUSE X5S camera and an Emlid reach M, a low-cost, single-frequency (L1) GNSS receiver. GNSS observations are post-processed in PPK in order to obtain the UAV trajectory. Synchronization between the camera and the GNSS receiver is achieved by looking at the camera triggering timestamps in flight telemetry data, without requiring an electronic connection between camera and the GNSS that may be troublesome with commercial UAVs. Two surveys were carried out, respectively to calibrate and validate the procedure. The validation test evidenced the possibility of obtaining the coordinates of the camera projection centres with decimetric accuracy. The centre of projections can then be employed for GNSS-assisted aerial triangulation as input of the bundle block adjustment. Provided that at least one GCP is used, it is possible to reach centimetric accuracy on the ground.

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 High Quality Zenith Tropospheric Delay Estimation Using a Low-Cost Dual-Frequency Receiver and Relative Antenna Calibration

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Krietemeyer ◽  
Hans van der Marel ◽  
Nick van de Giesen ◽  
Marie-Claire ten Veldhuis
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Ground Plane ◽  
Calibration Method ◽  
Single Frequency ◽  
Tropospheric Delay ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Mean Square Errors ◽  
Antenna Calibration

The recent release of consumer-grade dual-frequency receivers sparked scientific interest into use of these cost-efficient devices for high precision positioning and tropospheric delay estimations. Previous analyses with low-cost single-frequency receivers showed promising results for the estimation of Zenith Tropospheric Delays (ZTDs). However, their application is limited by the need to account for the ionospheric delay. In this paper we investigate the potential of a low-cost dual-frequency receiver (U-blox ZED-F9P) in combination with a range of different quality antennas. We show that the receiver itself is very well capable of achieving high-quality ZTD estimations. The limiting factor is the quality of the receiving antenna. To improve the applicability of mass-market antennas, a relative antenna calibration is performed, and new absolute Antenna Exchange Format (ANTEX) entries are created using a geodetic antenna as base. The performance of ZTD estimation with the tested antennas is evaluated, with and without antenna Phase Center Variation (PCV) corrections, using Precise Point Positioning (PPP). Without applying PCVs for the low-cost antennas, the Root Mean Square Errors (RMSE) of the estimated ZTDs are between 15 mm and 24 mm. Using the newly generated PCVs, the RMSE is reduced significantly to about 4 mm, a level that is excellent for meteorological applications. The standard U-blox ANN-MB-00 patch antenna, with a circular ground plane, after correcting the phase pattern yields comparable results (0.47 mm bias and 4.02 mm RMSE) to those from geodetic quality antennas, providing an all-round low-cost solution. The relative antenna calibration method presented in this paper opens the way for wide-spread application of low-cost receiver and antennas.

scholarly journals Variation of Static-PPP Positioning Accuracy Using GPS-Single Frequency Observations (Aswan, Egypt)

2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashraf Farah
Keyword(s):  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Precise Point Positioning ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
High Accuracy ◽  
Single Frequency ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
Differential Gps ◽  
Positioning Accuracy ◽  
Comparable Accuracy ◽  
Positioning Technique

Abstract Precise Point Positioning (PPP) is a technique used for position computation with a high accuracy using only one GNSS receiver. It depends on highly accurate satellite position and clock data rather than broadcast ephemeries. PPP precision varies based on positioning technique (static or kinematic), observations type (single or dual frequency) and the duration of collected observations. PPP-(dual frequency receivers) offers comparable accuracy to differential GPS. PPP-single frequency receivers has many applications such as infrastructure, hydrography and precision agriculture. PPP using low cost GPS single-frequency receivers is an area of great interest for millions of users in developing countries such as Egypt. This research presents a study for the variability of single frequency static GPS-PPP precision based on different observation durations.

scholarly journals Feasibility of Using Low-Cost Dual-Frequency GNSS Receivers for Land Surveying

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 1956
Author(s):  
Natalia Wielgocka ◽  
Tomasz Hadas ◽  
Adrian Kaczmarek ◽  
Grzegorz Marut
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Base Station ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite Systems ◽  
Single Frequency ◽  
Signal Acquisition ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
Static Mode ◽  
Land Surveying

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) have revolutionized land surveying, by determining position coordinates with centimeter-level accuracy in real-time or up to sub-millimeter accuracy in post-processing solutions. Although low-cost single-frequency receivers do not meet the accuracy requirements of many surveying applications, multi-frequency hardware is expected to overcome the major issues. Therefore, this paper is aimed at investigating the performance of a u-blox ZED-F9P receiver, connected to a u-blox ANN-MB-00-00 antenna, during multiple field experiments. Satisfactory signal acquisition was noticed but it resulted as >7 dB Hz weaker than with a geodetic-grade receiver, especially for low-elevation mask signals. In the static mode, the ambiguity fixing rate reaches 80%, and a horizontal accuracy of few centimeters was achieved during an hour-long session. Similar accuracy was achieved with the Precise Point Positioning (PPP) if a session is extended to at least 2.5 h. Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) and Network RTK measurements achieved a horizontal accuracy better than 5 cm and a sub-decimeter vertical accuracy. If a base station constituted by a low-cost receiver is used, the horizontal accuracy degrades by a factor of two and such a setup may lead to an inaccurate height determination under dynamic surveying conditions, e.g., rotating antenna of the mobile receiver.

Assessment of single-frequency observations in GNSS Tropospheric Tomography

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Weber ◽  
Zohreh Adavi ◽  
Marcus Franz Glaner
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Temporal Structure ◽  
Single Frequency ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Gnss Network ◽  
Vapor Distribution ◽  
Reconstructed Model

<p>Water vapor is one of the most variable components in the Earth’s atmosphere, which has a significant role in the formation of clouds, rain and snow, air pollution and acid rain. Therefore, increasing the accuracy of estimated water vapor can lead to more accurate predictions of severe weather, upcoming storms, and reducing natural hazards. In recent years, GNSS has turned out to be a valuable tool for remotely sensing the atmosphere. GNSS tomography is one of the most valuable tools to reconstruct the Spatio-temporal structure of the troposphere. However, locating dual-frequency receivers with a sufficient spatial resolution for GNSS tomography of a few tens of kilometers is not economically feasible. Therefore, in this research, the feasibility of using single-frequency receivers in GNSS tomography as a possible alternative approach has been investigated. The accuracy of the reconstructed model of water-vapor distribution using low-cost receivers is verified using radiosonde measurements in the area of the EPOSA (Echtzeit Positionierung Austria) GNSS network, which is mostly located in the east part of Austria for the period DoYs 233-246 in 2019.</p>

scholarly journals DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF A UAV BASED MAPPING SYSTEM FOR REMOTE SENSING AND SURVEYING APPLICATIONS

2015 ◽  
Vol XL-1/W4 ◽  
pp. 233-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Eling ◽  
M. Wieland ◽  
C. Hess ◽  
L. Klingbeil ◽  
H. Kuhlmann
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Reference Point ◽  
Time Synchronization ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Single Point ◽  
Single Frequency ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
Lever Arm ◽  
Rtk Gps ◽  
Camera Synchronization

In recent years, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have increasingly been used in various application areas, such as in the remote sensing or surveying. For these applications the UAV has to be equipped with a mapping sensor, which is mostly a camera. Furthermore, a georeferencing of the UAV platform and/or the acquired mapping data is required. The most efficient way to realize this georeferencing is the direct georeferencing, which is based on an onboard multi-sensor system. In recent decades, direct georeferencing systems have been researched and used extensively in airborne, ship and land vehicle applications. However, these systems cannot easily be adapted to UAV platforms, which is mainly due to weight and size limitations. <br><br> In this paper a direct georeferencing system for micro- and mini-sized UAVs is presented, which consists of a dual-frequency geodetic grade OEM GPS board, a low-cost single-frequency GPS chip, a tactical grade IMU and a magnetometer. To allow for cm-level position and sub-degree attitude accuracies, RTK GPS (real-time kinematic) and GPS attitude (GPS compass) determination algorithms are running on this system, as well as a GPS/IMU integration. <br><br> Beside the direct georeferencing, also the precise time synchronization of the camera, which acts as the main sensor for mobile mapping applications, and the calibration of the lever arm between the camera reference point and the direct georeferencing reference point are explained in this paper. Especially the high accurate time synchronization of the camera is very important, to still allow for high surveying accuracies, when the images are taken during the motion of the UAV. <br><br> Results of flight tests demonstrate that the developed system, the camera synchronization and the lever arm calibration make directly georeferenced UAV based single point measurements possible, which have cm-level accuracies on the ground.

scholarly journals Potential of Cost-Efficient Single Frequency GNSS Receivers for Water Vapor Monitoring

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Krietemeyer ◽  
Marie-claire ten Veldhuis ◽  
Hans van der Marel ◽  
Eugenio Realini ◽  
Nick van de Giesen
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite Systems ◽  
Single Frequency ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Reference Network ◽  
Tropospheric Delay ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
Gnss Receivers ◽  
Cost Efficient

Dual-frequency Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSSs) enable the estimation of Zenith Tropospheric Delay (ZTD) which can be converted to Precipitable Water Vapor (PWV). The density of existing GNSS monitoring networks is insufficient to capture small-scale water vapor variations that are especially important for extreme weather forecasting. A densification with geodetic-grade dual-frequency receivers is not economically feasible. Cost-efficient single-frequency receivers offer a possible alternative. This paper studies the feasibility of using low-cost receivers to increase the density of GNSS networks for retrieval of PWV. We processed one year of GNSS data from an IGS station and two co-located single-frequency stations. Additionally, in another experiment, the Radio Frequency (RF) signal from a geodetic-grade dual-frequency antenna was split to a geodetic receiver and two low-cost receivers. To process the single-frequency observations in Precise Point Positioning (PPP) mode, we apply the Satellite-specific Epoch-differenced Ionospheric Delay (SEID) model using two different reference network configurations of 50–80 km and 200–300 km mean station distances, respectively. Our research setup can distinguish between the antenna, ionospheric interpolation, and software-related impacts on the quality of PWV retrievals. The study shows that single-frequency GNSS receivers can achieve a quality similar to that of geodetic receivers in terms of RMSE for ZTD estimations. We demonstrate that modeling of the ionosphere and the antenna type are the main sources influencing the ZTD precision.

scholarly journals Geological Mapping Using Drone-Based Photogrammetry: An Application for Exploration of Vein-Type Cu Mineralization

Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 585
Author(s):  
Mehdi Honarmand ◽  
Hadi Shahriari
Keyword(s):  
Mineral Exploration ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Geological Mapping ◽  
Visual Interpretation ◽  
Geological Structures ◽  
Ground Control Points ◽  
Digital Elevation ◽  
Vein Type ◽  
Elevation Model

In this research, drone-based photogrammetry was utilized for mapping geology with the objective of mineral exploration in the Shahzadeh Abbas Cu deposit, Kerman province, Iran. Cu mineralization is of vein-type and follows geological structures. A low-cost drone was used to collect geological data. A spatial resolution of 3.26 cm was achieved by considering a flight altitude of 70 m. To reach the accuracy of less than 5 cm, 70% lateral and 80% front image overlaps were applied and 220 temporary ground control points (TGCPs) were used in an area of 2.02 km2. TGCPs were accurately positioned using DGPS-RTK measurements. Agisoft PhotoScan software was used for photogrammetric processing. The orthophoto product was performed for outlining geological units through visual interpretation. The digital elevation model (DEM) was converted to a hill-shade model in ArcGIS software to extract the geological structures such as faults and dikes. A draft geology map was prepared using orthophoto and hill-shade images to minimize the time and cost of the subsequent field work. Rock sampling was carried out and Cu-bearing veins were specified through field investigations. The geology map was finalized based on field work data and petrology studies. The geological survey indicated that diabase dikes with a northwest–southeast strike often host Cu mineralization in the study area. The position of Cu-bearing dikes was delineated for the next stage of the exploration program. This research demonstrated the time- and cost-effectiveness of using drone-based photogrammetry for preparing base geology maps for the exploration of vein-type mineralization in far districts with rough topography.

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