An improved ionosphere interpolation algorithm for network RTK in low-latitude regions

Abstract

A traditional interpolation algorithm with the linear interpolation method (LIM) using a fixed number of reference stations is widely used in network RTK to obtain the ionospheric delays for the users. In low-latitude regions, where the ionosphere is relatively active, however, large interpolation errors exist, especially for satellites at low elevation angles. Considering the characteristics of “coinciding ionospheric pierce points (CIPPs)” with a similar nature of ionospheric delays, an improved interpolation algorithm is proposed. In this algorithm, all stations with CIPPs are used to establish the interpolation model; thus, more precise interpolation model is achieved. To validate the performance of the proposed algorithm, data from some reference stations in Guangdong Province of China were used, and the results are compared with those with the traditional interpolation algorithm. Numerical analysis shows that the interpolation accuracy of the proposed algorithm increases by 10–30% compared with the traditional one. Since the number of reference stations is flexible, the proposed algorithm can also balance the model accuracy with the computation burdens. In addition, the proposed algorithm is less affected by the selection of master reference station. In terms of network RTK on-the-fly positioning, the time-to-first-fix is reduced when replacing the traditional interpolation algorithm with the proposed one.