An analysis of single point positioning with real-time internet-based precise GPS data

Abstract

Single Point Positioning (SPP) is currently capable of providing position accuracy of several meters. To obtain a better accuracy, the Differential GPS (DGPS) method must be applied. For large-scale applications such as aerial survey and mapping, however, the requirement of a base station(s) in conventional DGPS often become problematic in practice due to the increased operational cost and complexity. Recently a concept of Global Differential GPS (GDGPS) has attracted increasing interests among the GPS communities. GDGPS has the same user’s implementation as SPP, but its accuracy is augmented by the globally or regionally distributed precise GPS data currently including precise satellite orbit and clock corrections. The major advantage of GDGPS lies in two aspects: system simplicity at the user’s end, and globally consistent positioning accuracy. This paper presents GDGPS positioning results using the precise GPS data generated by the Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). NRCan’s precise data can be retrieved real-time from Internet base on Virtual Private Network (VPN) and Multicast technology. The packet delay and Packet Loss Rate (PLR) of multicasting over Internet will first be investigated. The total latency of precise GPS data as well as the position accuracy of GDGPS will then be analyzed. The numerical results have shown that a meter to half-meter level accuracy is obtainable based on epoch-by-epoch data processing. With phase-smoothed code observations, the positioning accuracy can be further improved.