scholarly journals Assessment of Static Positioning Accuracy Using Low-Cost Smartphone GPS Devices for Geodetic Survey Points’ Determination and Monitoring

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (15) ◽  
pp. 5308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcin Uradziński ◽  
Mieczysław Bakuła

Recent developments enable to access raw Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) measurements of mobile phones. Initially, researchers using signals gathered by mobile phones for high accuracy surveying were not successful in ambiguity fixing. Nowadays, GNSS chips, which are built in the latest smartphones, deliver code and primarily carrier phase observations available for detailed analysis in post-processing applications. Therefore, we decided to check the performance of carrier phase ambiguity fixing and positioning accuracy results of the latest Huawei P30 pro smartphone equipped with a dual-frequency GNSS receiver. We collected 3 h of raw static data in separate sessions at a known point location. For two sessions, the mobile phone was mounted vertically and for the third one—horizontally. At the same time, a high-class geodetic receiver was used for L1 and L5 signal comparison purposes. The carrier phase measurements were processed using commercial post-processing software with reference to the closest base station observations located 4 km away. Additionally, 1 h sessions were divided into 10, 15, 20 and 30 min separate sub-sessions to check the accuracy of the surveying results in fast static mode. According to the post-processing results, we were able to fix all L1 ambiguities based on Global Positioning System (GPS)-only satellite constellation. In comparison to the fixed reference point position, all three 1 h static session results were at centimeters level of accuracy (1–4 cm). For fast static surveying mode, the best results were obtained for 20 and 30 min sessions, where average accuracy was also at centimeters level.

GPS Solutions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Wang ◽  
Zishen Li ◽  
Ningbo Wang ◽  
Zhiyu Wang

AbstractGlobal Navigation Satellite System raw measurements from Android smart devices make accurate positioning possible with advanced techniques, e.g., precise point positioning (PPP). To achieve the sub-meter-level positioning accuracy with low-cost smart devices, the PPP algorithm developed for geodetic receivers is adapted and an approach named Smart-PPP is proposed in this contribution. In Smart-PPP, the uncombined PPP model is applied for the unified processing of single- and dual-frequency measurements from tracked satellites. The receiver clock terms are parameterized independently for the code and carrier phase measurements of each tracking signal for handling the inconsistency between the code and carrier phases measured by smart devices. The ionospheric pseudo-observations are adopted to provide absolute constraints on the estimation of slant ionospheric delays and to strengthen the uncombined PPP model. A modified stochastic model is employed to weight code and carrier phase measurements by considering the high correlation between the measurement errors and the signal strengths for smart devices. Additionally, an application software based on the Android platform is developed for realizing Smart-PPP in smart devices. The positioning performance of Smart-PPP is validated in both static and kinematic cases. Results show that the positioning errors of Smart-PPP solutions can converge to below 1.0 m within a few minutes in static mode and the converged solutions can achieve an accuracy of about 0.2 m of root mean square (RMS) both for the east, north and up components. For the kinematic test, the RMS values of Smart-PPP positioning errors are 0.65, 0.54 and 1.09 m in the east, north and up components, respectively. Static and kinematic tests both show that the Smart-PPP solutions outperform the internal results provided by the experimental smart devices.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 1956
Author(s):  
Natalia Wielgocka ◽  
Tomasz Hadas ◽  
Adrian Kaczmarek ◽  
Grzegorz Marut

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.


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 693
Author(s):  
Dorijan Radočaj ◽  
Ivan Plaščak ◽  
Goran Heffer ◽  
Mladen Jurišić

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.


Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 2593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdelsatar Elmezayen ◽  
Ahmed El-Rabbany

The release of the world’s first dual-frequency GPS/Galileo smartphone, Xiaomi mi 8, in 2018 provides an opportunity for high-precision positioning using ultra low-cost sensors. In this research, the GNSS precise point positioning (PPP) accuracy of the Xiaomi mi 8 smartphone is tested in post-processing and real-time modes. Raw dual-frequency observations are collected over two different time windows from both of the Xiaomi mi 8 smartphone and a Trimble R9 geodetic-quality GNSS receiver using a short baseline, due to the lack of a nearby reference station to the observation site. The data sets are first processed in differential modes using Trimble business center (TBC) software in order to provide the reference positioning solution for both of the geodetic receiver and the smartphone. An in-house PPP software is then used to process the collected data in both of post-processing and real-time modes. Precise ephemeris obtained from the multi-GNSS experiment (MGEX) is used for post-processing PPP, while the new NAVCAST real-time GNSS service, Germany, is used for real-time PPP. Additionally, the real-time PPP solution is assessed in both of static and kinematic modes. It is shown that the dual-frequency GNSS smartphone is capable of achieving decimeter-level positioning accuracy, in both of post-processing and real-time PPP modes, respectively. Meter-level positioning accuracy is achieved in the kinematic mode.


2021 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 37-56
Author(s):  
Abdelsatar Elmezayen ◽  
Ahmed El-Rabbany

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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 2680
Author(s):  
Søren Skaarup Larsen ◽  
Anna B. O. Jensen ◽  
Daniel H. Olesen

GNSS signals arriving at receivers at the surface of the Earth are weak and easily susceptible to interference and jamming. In this paper, the impact of jamming on the reference station in carrier phase-based relative baseline solutions is examined. Several scenarios are investigated in order to assess the robustness of carrier phase-based positioning towards jamming. Among others, these scenarios include a varying baseline length, the use of single- versus dual-frequency observations, and the inclusion of the Galileo and GLONASS constellations to a GPS only solution. The investigations are based on observations recorded at physical reference stations in the Danish TAPAS network during actual jamming incidents, in order to realistically evaluate the impact of real-world jamming on carrier phase-based positioning accuracy. The analyses performed show that, while there are benefits of using observations from several frequencies and constellations in positioning solutions, special care must be taken in solution processing. The selection of which GNSS constellations and observations to include, as well as when they are included, is essential, as blindly adding more jamming-affected observations may lead to worse positioning accuracy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 97-112
Author(s):  
Mostafa Hamed ◽  
Ashraf Abdallah ◽  
Ashraf Farah

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.


Author(s):  
C. Cortes ◽  
M. Shahbazi ◽  
P. Ménard

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> In the last decade, applications of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), as remote-sensing platforms, have extensively been investigated for fine-scale mapping, modeling and monitoring of the environment. In few recent years, integration of 3D laser scanners and cameras onboard UAVs has also received considerable attention as these two sensors provide complementary spatial/spectral information of the environment. Since lidar performs range and bearing measurements in its body-frame, precise GNSS/INS data are required to directly geo-reference the lidar measurements in an object-fixed coordinate system. However, such data comes at the price of tactical-grade inertial navigation sensors enabled with dual-frequency RTK-GNSS receivers, which also necessitates having access to a base station and proper post-processing software. Therefore, such UAV systems equipped with lidar and camera (UAV-LiCam Systems) are too expensive to be accessible to a wide range of users. Hence, new solutions must be developed to eliminate the need for costly navigation sensors. In this paper, a two-fold solution is proposed based on an in-house developed, low-cost system: 1) a multi-sensor self-calibration approach for calibrating the Li-Cam system based on planar and cylindrical multi-directional features; 2) an integrated sensor orientation method for georeferencing based on unscented particle filtering which compensates for time-variant IMU errors and eliminates the need for GNSS measurements.</p>


Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 2835 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Chen ◽  
Chengfa Gao ◽  
Yongsheng Liu ◽  
Puyu Sun

The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning technology using smartphones can be applied to many aspects of mass life, and the world’s first dual-frequency GNSS smartphone Xiaomi MI 8 represents a new trend in the development of GNSS positioning technology with mobile phones. The main purpose of this work is to explore the best real-time positioning performance that can be achieved on a smartphone without reference stations. By analyzing the GNSS raw measurements, it is found that all the three mobile phones tested have the phenomenon that the differences between pseudorange observations and carrier phase observations are not fixed, thus a PPP (precise point positioning) method is modified accordingly. Using a Xiaomi MI 8 smartphone, the modified real-time PPP positioning strategy which estimates two clock biases of smartphone was applied. The results show that using multi-GNSS systems data can effectively improve positioning performance; the average horizontal and vertical RMS positioning error are 0.81 and 1.65 m respectively (using GPS, BDS, and Galileo data); and the time required for each time period positioning errors in N and E directions to be under 1 m is less than 30s.


Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (15) ◽  
pp. 3376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Du ◽  
Guanwen Huang ◽  
Qin Zhang ◽  
Yang Gao ◽  
Yuting Gao

Real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning is a satellite navigation technique that is widely used to enhance the precision of position data obtained from global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). This technique can reduce or eliminate significant correlation errors via the enhancement of the base station observation data. However, observations received by the base station are often interrupted, delayed, and/or discontinuous, and in the absence of base station observation data the corresponding positioning accuracy of a rover declines rapidly. With the strategies proposed till date, the positioning accuracy can only be maintained at the centimeter-level for a short span of time, no more than three min. To address this, a novel asynchronous RTK method (that addresses asynchronous errors) that can bridge significant gaps in the observations at the base station is proposed. First, satellite clock and orbital errors are eliminated using the products of the final precise ephemeris during post-processing or the ultra-rapid precise ephemeris during real-time processing. Then the tropospheric error is corrected using the Saastamoinen model and the asynchronous ionospheric delay is corrected using the carrier phase measurements from the rover receiver. Finally, a straightforward first-degree polynomial function is used to predict the residual asynchronous error. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach can achieve centimeter-level accuracy for as long as 15 min during interruptions in both real-time and post-processing scenarios, and that the accuracy of the real-time scheme can be maintained for 15 min even when a large systematic error is projected in the U direction.


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