Conventional Real-time Kinematic Research Articles

A PPP-RTK APPROACH TO MASS-MARKET APPLICATIONS

Abstract. PPP-RTK has been widely investigated to take the advantages of both real-time kinematic (RTK) and precise point positioning (PPP) techniques. Prior to PPP-RTK, the conventional RTK based on the use of a single base station, on the one hand, has been extended to work within a regional network of multiple base stations, known as network RTK (NRTK). The RTK and NRTK enable fast ambiguity resolution over a short baseline or a local region. PPP, on the other hand, eliminates the need to establish any local network like NRTK, which is able to work in a single receiver mode but it suffers long convergence time in ambiguity resolution. PPP-RTK therefore can provide fast ambiguity resolution capability like RTK and NRTK. Current PPP-RTK techniques however still face challenges in supporting mass-market applications such as mobile devices and autonomous vehicles. Although PPP-RTK system (a combination of RTK and PPP technologies) can help expand the coverage of RTK and speed up the ambiguity resolution in PPP, the deployment and maintenance of a dense network of permanent base stations and a central data processing infrastructure for generation of SSR corrections increases not only the system cost but also the system complexity. This is particularly an obstacle for mass-market applications. In this paper, a new RTK approach is described. First it is based on a single base station state-space-representation (SSR) correction generation strategy to support fast ambiguity resolved PPP. Further it presents a new peer-to-peer propagation strategy to form a real-time dynamically generated network of base stations to support mass-market application users with unbounded coverage. As a result, the new approach eliminates the need to deploy and maintain a dense network of permanent base stations and central data processing infrastructure as required in a conventional PP-RTK system.

Global Navigation Satellite System Real-Time Kinematic Positioning Framework for Precise Operation of a Swarm of Moving Vehicles.

The global navigation satellite system (GNSS) real-time kinematic (RTK) technique is used to achieve relative positioning centimeter levels among multiple agents on the move. A typical GNSS RTK estimates the relative positions of multiple rover receivers with respect to a single-base receiver. In a fleet of rover GNSS receivers, this approach is inefficient because each rover receiver only uses GNSS measurements of its own and those sent from a single-base receiver. In this study, we propose a novel GNSS RTK framework that facilitates the precise positioning of a swarm of moving vehicles through the GNSS measurements of multiple receivers and broadcasts fixed-integer ambiguities of GNSS carrier phases. The proposed framework not only provides efficient RTK positioning but also reliable performance with a limited number of GNSS satellites in view. Our experimental flight tests with six GNSS receivers showed that the systematic procedure of the proposed framework could maintain lower than 6 cm of 3D RMS positioning errors, whereas the conventional RTK failed to resolve the correct integer ambiguities of double difference carrier phase measurements more than 13% in five out of nine total baselines.

Antenna Array-Aided Real-Time Kinematic Using Moving Base Stations

A global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) real-time kinematic (RTK) using multiple base stations is referred as an antenna array-aided RTK. This positioning method more reliably resolves carrier phase integer ambiguities by processing additional measurements provided from multiple GNSS reference stations whose antenna locations are accurately surveyed. In this study, a conventional antenna array-aided RTK is extended to improve RTK performance with multiple moving base stations. Because accurately surveyed antenna coordinates are not available, we propose an antenna array-aided Kalman filter approach to first check the sanity of the fixed integer ambiguities and baselines estimated by moving reference stations and use them as a-priori information in RTK measurement formulations. Our flight test results with three unmanned aerial vehicles confirmed that the proposed Kalman filter formulation outperformed the conventional RTK and a priori antenna array-aided RTK approaches in the aspects of positioning accuracy, time to first fix, and success probability of integer ambiguity fixes.

GNSS Precise Relative Positioning Using A Priori Relative Position in a GNSS Harsh Environment.

To enable Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-based precise relative positioning, real-time kinematic (RTK) systems have been widely used. However, an RTK system often suffers from a wrong integer ambiguity fix in the GNSS carrier phase measurements and may take a long initialization time over several minutes, particularly when the number of satellites in view is small. To facilitate a reliable GNSS carrier phase-based relative positioning with a small number of satellites in view, this paper introduces a novel GNSS carrier phase-based precise relative positioning method that uses a fixed baseline length as well as heading measurements in the beginning of the operation, which allows the fixing of integer ambiguities with rounding schemes in a short time. The integer rounding scheme developed in this paper is an iterative process that sequentially resolves integer ambiguities, and the sequential order of the integer ambiguity resolution is based on the required averaging epochs that vary for each satellite depending on the geometry between the baseline and the double difference line-of-sight vectors. The required averaging epochs with respect to various baseline lengths and heading measurement uncertainties were analyzed through simulations. Static and dynamic field tests with low cost GNSS receivers confirmed that the positioning accuracy of the proposed method was better than 10 cm and significantly outperformed a conventional RTK solution in a GNSS harsh environment.

ASSESSMENT OF DIFFERENT UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE SYSTEM FOR PRODUCTION OF PHOTOGRAMMERTY PRODUCTS

Abstract. The demand of aerial photogrammetry has increased recently especially after the development of unmanned aerial vehicle system. This study explores the use of different UAV systems which comprised of conventional UAV, UAV RTK and UAV Lidar systems. This study also comprises of three experiments. The first experiment involved the mapping of Lingkaran Ilmu, UTM by using fixed wing Ebee UAV with 20megapixel digital camera. This first experiment used conventional UAV. The second experiment involved the fixed wing Ebee UAV equipped with real time kinematic (RTK) system on-board for mapping the study area. The last experiment is the used of octacopter UAV equipped with Riegl Lidar system for mapping the study area. The study area for all experiments is located in Lingkaran Ilmu of main campus Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. Ebee UAV and Ebee RTK UAV are flown in autonomous mode at 200 meters altitude. Both systems are used to capture high resolution aerial photo of the study area. Riegl UAV Lidar system is flown at 100 meter altitude for capture high resolution and point cloud data. GPS rapid static method was used for establishing ground control points (GCP) and check point (CP) in the study area. Three different GCP configuration was applied in geometry correction. Meanwhile, CPs is used for accuracy assessment where RMSE equation was employed. The 15CGP configuration produce more accurate result compared to another. Where, the planimetric RMSE values of Ebee UAV, Ebee RTK UAV and Riegl UAV Lidar are 0.21 m, 0.09 m and 0.15 m respectively. For height RMSE values for Ebbe, Ebee RTK and Octacopter Lidar are 0.34 m, 0.13 m and 0.07 m respectively. In conclusion, Ebee RTK UAV is identified as a system that can produce an accurate digital orthophoto compared to other systems while Riegl UAV Lidar system can produce highest accurate DEM and DTM compared to other systems in 15GCP configuration.

Precise and Robust RTK-GNSS Positioning in Urban Environments with Dual-Antenna Configuration.

Robust and centimeter-level Real-time Kinematic (RTK)-based Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning is of paramount importance for emerging GNSS applications, such as drones and automobile systems. However, the performance of conventional single-rover RTK degrades greatly in urban environments due to signal blockage and strong multipath. The increasing use of multiple-antenna/rover configurations for attitude determination in the above precise positioning applications, just as well, allows more information involved to improve RTK positioning performance in urban areas. This paper proposes a dual-antenna constraint RTK algorithm, which combines GNSS measurements of both antennas by making use of the geometric constraint between them. By doing this, the reception diversity between two antennas can be taken advantage of to improve the availability and geometric distribution of GNSS satellites, and what is more, the redundant measurements from a second antenna help to weaken the multipath effect on the first antenna. Particularly, an Ambiguity Dilution of Precision (ADOP)-based analysis is carried out to explore the intrinsic model strength for ambiguity resolution (AR) with different kinds of constraints. Based on the results, a Dual-Antenna with baseline VEctor Constraint algorithm (RTK) is developed. The primary advantages of the reported method include: (1) Improved availability and success rate of RTK, even if neither of the two single-antenna receivers can successfully solve the AR problem; and (2) reduced computational burden by adopting the concept of measurement projection. Simulated and real data experiments are performed to demonstrate robustness and precision of the algorithm in GNSS-challenged environments.

Long-range Single Baseline RTK GNSS Positioning for Land Cadastral Survey Mapping

In Indonesia, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) has become one of the important tool in survey mapping, especially for cadastral purposes like land registration by using Real Time Kinematic (RTK) GNSS positioning method. The conventional RTK GNSS positioning method ensure high accuracy GNSS position solution (within several centimeters) for baseline less than 20 kilometers. The problems of resolving high accuracy position for a greater distance (more than 50 kilometers) becomes greater challenge. In longer baseline, atmospheric delays is a critical factor that influenced the positioning accuracy. In order to reduce the error, a modified LAMBDA ambiguity resolution, atmospheric correction and modified kalman filter were used in this research. Thus, this research aims to investigate the accuracy of estimated position and area in respect with short baseline RTK and differential GNSS position solution by using NAVCOM SF-3040. The results indicate that the long-range single baseline RTK accuracy vary from several centimeters to decimeters due to unresolved biases.

A Tightly Coupled RTK/INS Algorithm with Ambiguity Resolution in the Position Domain for Ground Vehicles in Harsh Urban Environments.

Vehicles driving in urban canyons are always confronted with a degraded Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signal environment. The surrounding obstacles may cause signal reflections or blockages, which lead to large multipath noises and intermittent GNSS reception. Under these circumstances, it is not feasible to use conventional real-time kinematic (RTK) algorithms to maintain high-precision performance for positioning. In order to meet the special requirements of safety-critical applications under non-ideal observation conditions, a novel tightly coupled RTK/Inertial Navigation System (INS) algorithm is proposed in this paper, which can provide accurate and reliable positioning results continuously. Our integrated RTK/INS algorithm has three features. Firstly, INS measurements are used to help search for integer ambiguities in the position domain. INS solutions can provide a more accurate initial location and a more efficient search region. Secondly, the criterion for determining whether a candidate position is the correct solution is only related to the fractional value of the carrier-phase measurement. Thus, the new algorithm is immune to cycle slips as well as large pseudorange noises. Thirdly, our algorithm can provide more accurate ranging information than the pseudorange, even though it may not necessarily be fixed successfully, because it selects the weighted ambiguity solution as the result rather than the candidate point with maximum probability. The proposed algorithm is demonstrated on both simulated and real datasets. Compared with single epoch RTK and conventional tightly coupled RTK/INS integrations that search integer ambiguities in the ambiguity domain, our method attains better accuracy and stability in a simulated environment. Moreover, the real experimental results are presented to validate the performance of the new integrated navigation algorithm.

Measurement of Bridge Dynamic Responses Using Network-Based Real-Time Kinematic GNSS Technique

The network-based real-time kinematic (NRTK) global navigation satellite system (GNSS) technique was proposed for the first time to monitor the dynamic response of bridges. It could receive corrections from an established remote continuously operating reference station (CORS) network instead of a user-defined local reference station. To validate the feasibility of the NRTK-GNSS technique, laboratory and field experiments were both conducted at the University of Nottingham, U.K., and the Wilford suspension bridge, a footbridge close to the university’s campus. The conventional real-time kinematic (RTK)-GNSS and accelerometer techniques were synchronously considered for validating the accuracy of the NRTK-GNSS technique. A wavelet packet filtering scheme was designed to process full-scale experimental data according to the characteristics of NRTK-GNSS measurement noise. The dynamic displacements and vibration frequencies of the bridge were successfully identified from the NRTK-GNSS data with satisfactory accuracy. In conclusion, the study confirms that the proposed NRTK-GNSS can be a potential technique for the dynamic monitoring of bridges, with adequate performance and lower operational cost. It will be a powerful monitoring tool for structural health monitoring with continuous enhancement in the hardware and algorithm.

자유 진동 실험을 통한 VRS-RTK 기법을 이용한 골조 구조물의 모니터링 적용성 검토

건물의 풍진동을 모니터링 하기 위해, 두 개 (이동국과 기준국)의 global positioning system (GPS)에 기반한 종래의 real-time kinematic (RTK) 기법이 널리 적용되고 있다. 그러나 이는 기준국을 위한 공간을 확보하거나 유지 관리하는데 어려움을 겪을 수 있다. 한편, 최근에 하나의 이동국 만을 이용하여 구조물의 움직임을 계측할 수 있는 새로운 virtual reference station (VRS)-RTK 기법이 개발되었으며, 측량 분야에서 널리 사용되고 있다. 본 연구에서는 골조 구조물의 횡방향 구조 응답을 모니터링하기 위한 VRS-RTK 기법의 적용성을 평가하기 위해 단층 골조 모형 (1차 고유진동수 : 1 Hz)과 3층 골조 모형 (1차 고유진동수 : 0.85 Hz)의 자유진동 실험을 수행하였다. GPS에 의해 계측된 변위 및 가속도 응답의 신뢰성을 평가하기 위해, 레이져 변위계와 가속도계가 설치되었으며, 이들로부터 얻은 계측값을 GPS의 계측값과 비교하였다. 또한, 건물의 지속적인 모니터링을 위한 적절한 계측 샘플링 수를 파악하기 위해, 변위 응답에서의 오차가 각기 다른 GPS 샘플링 수 (5, 10, 20 Hz)에서 평가되었다. 실험 결과, GPS으로부터 얻은 변위 및 가속도 응답은 레이져 변위계와 가속계로부터 얻은 응답과 좋은 유사 관계를 가지는 것을 확인하였다. 그리고, GPS 샘플링 수가 증가할수록 변위 오차는 감소하였으며, 3층 실험체에 대해서는 20 Hz의 GPS 샘플링 수로 구조물의 전 모드 성분 (1, 2, 3차 모드)을 검출할 수 있었다. To monitor the wind-induced responses of buildings, conventional real-time kinematic (RTK) methods based on two global positioning system (GPS) receivers (e.g., a reference and a rover) are widely applied. However, these methods can encounter problems such as difficulty in securing and maintaining a space for a reference station. With the recently developed virtual reference station (VRS)-RTK approach, the position of a structure can be measured using only a rover receiver. In this study, to evaluate the applicability of VRS-RTK methods in monitoring the lateral structural responses of frame structures, we performed free vibration tests on a one-story frame model (the first natural frequency of 1 Hz) and a three-story frame model (the first natural frequency of 0.85 Hz). To assess the reliability of the displacement and acceleration responses measured by the GPS, we performed a concurrent measurement using laser displacement sensors and an accelerometer. The accelerometer results were consistent with the GPS measurements in terms of the time history and frequency content. Furthermore, to derive an appropriate sampling rate for the continuous monitoring of buildings, the errors in the displacement responses were evaluated at different GPS sampling rates (5, 10, 20 Hz). The results indicate that as the sampling rate increased, the errors in the displacement responses decreased. In addition, in the three-story model, all modal components (first, second, and third modes) could be recorded at a sampling rate of 20 Hz.

Integrity monitoring of fixed ambiguity Precise Point Positioning (PPP) solutions

Traditional positioning methods, such as conventional Real Time Kinematic (cRTK) rely upon local reference networks to enable users to achieve high-accuracy positioning. The need for such relatively dense networks has significant cost implications. Precise Point Positioning (PPP) on the other hand is a positioning method capable of centimeter-level positioning without the need for such local networks, hence providing significant cost benefits especially in remote areas. This paper presents the state-of-the-art PPP method using both GPS and GLONASS measurements to estimate the float position solution before attempting to resolve GPS integer ambiguities. Integrity monitoring is carried out using the Imperial College Carrier-phase Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring method. A new method to detect and exclude GPS base-satellite failures is developed. A base-satellite is a satellite whose measurements are differenced from other satellite’s measurements when using between-satellite-differenced measurements to estimate position. The failure detection and exclusion methods are tested using static GNSS data recorded by International GNSS Service stations both in static and dynamic processing modes. The results show that failure detection can be achieved in all cases tested and failure exclusion can be achieved for static cases. In the kinematic processing cases, failure exclusion is more difficult because the higher noise in the measurement residuals increases the difficulty to distinguish between failures associated with the base-satellite and other satellites.

GLONASS Aided GPS Ambiguity Fixed Precise Point Positioning

The Precise Point Positioning (PPP) concept enables centimetre-level positioning accuracy by employing one Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver. The main advantage of PPP over conventional Real Time Kinematic (cRTK) methods is that a local reference network infrastructure is not required. Only a global reference network with approximately 50 stations is needed because reference GNSS data is required for generating precise error correction products for PPP. However, the current implementation of PPP is not suitable for some applications due to the long time period (i.e. convergence time of up to 60 minutes) required to obtain an accurate position solution. This paper presents a new method to reduce the time required for initial integer ambiguity resolution and to improve position accuracy. It is based on combining GPS and GLONASS measurements to calculate the float ambiguity positioning solution initially, followed by the resolution of GPS integer ambiguities.The results show that using the GPS/GLONASS float solution can, on average, reduce the time to initial GPS ambiguity resolution by approximately 5% compared to using the GPS float solution alone. In addition, average vertical and horizontal positioning errors at the initial ambiguity resolution epoch can be reduced by approximately 17% and 4%, respectively.

The Compact Network RTK Method: An Effective Solution to Reduce GNSS Temporal and Spatial Decorrelation Error

This paper proposes a method that combines compact real-time kinematic (RTK) and reference station (RS) networking techniques, and shows that this approach can reduce both the temporal and spatial decorrelation error. The compact RTK method compatibility with all the conventional network RTK systems, i.e., Master-Auxiliary Concept (MAC), Virtual Reference Stations (VRS), and Flächen-Korrektur Parameter (FKP), is examined theoretically in this paper. To prove that the compact RTK approach is not only valid, but also helpful to the network RTK system, a field test was held using one hour of Receiver Independent Exchange Format (RINEX) data logged every second from Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS). No matter which network RTK method is applied, the Compact Network RTK approach resolves the ambiguity of the carrier phase in 10–40 s and determines position with 6–7 cm horizontal and 7–8 cm vertical error (95%) in a 100 by 100 km region. Moreover, the Compact Network RTK approach enables network RTK service providers to reduce the data-link bandwidth for correction messages to 5–700 bps (bit/s) down from several thousand bps, currently 9600 bps of GPRS/GSM, without a severe degradation of accuracy.

Quality assessment of a network-based RTK GPS service in the UK

Network-based Real Time Kinematic (NRTK) GPS positioning is considered to be a superior solution compared to the conventional single reference station based Real Time Kinematic (RTK) GPS positioning technique whose accuracy is highly affected by the distance dependent errors such as satellite orbital and atmospheric biases. NRTK GPS positioning uses raw measurements gathered from a network of Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) in order to generate more reliable error models that can mitigate the distance dependent errors within the area covered by the CORS. This technique has been developed and tested considerably during recent years and the overall performance in terms of achievable accuracies, reliability and mobility is as good as or even better than can be achieved using the conventional RTK GPS positioning technique. Currently, there are several commercial NRTK services around the world. In the United Kingdom (UK), for instance, Leica Geosystems in partnership with Ordnance Survey has been offering a NRTK GPS service since 2006. This service is called SmartNet and it can provide continuous centimetric level of accuracy to its subscribers. However, NRTK GPS positioning is particularly constrained by wireless data link coverage, correction transmission delay and completeness, GPS signal availability, etc., which could downgrade the positioning quality of the NRTK results. The paper presents some preliminary testing results of an investigation of the SmartNet service from the end users' point of view. A snapshot of the service's performance was carried out as part of a recent PhD studentship jointly awarded by the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Leica Geosystems (UK) to conduct comprehensive research into NRTK GPS quality control measures at the Institute of Engineering Surveying and Space Geodesy (IESSG), the University of Nottingham. In order to evaluate the service's quality several static and kinematic tests were performed using the same type of equipment and in the same way that the SmartNet subscribers would have used it. Centimetric accuracy was generally attained during both static and kinematic tests. This high accuracy was only affected by some level of unavailability mainly caused by GPS signal blockage. Additionally, the influence of the number of satellites in view, dilution of precision (DOP) and age of corrections (AoC) over the accuracy and stability of the NRTK GPS solution was also investigated during this research and presented in the paper.