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Improving the Performance of Time-Relative GNSS Precise Positioning in Remote Areas
Kaifei He1, Duojie Weng2, Shengyue Ji1
1College of Oceanography and Space Informatics, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|January 7, 2021
Summary
This study enhances time-relative positioning for Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), enabling centimeter-level accuracy over several hours without real-time corrections. The improved method is ideal for remote areas lacking wireless communication.
Area of Science:
- Geodesy and Geomatics
- Satellite Navigation Systems
- Geophysical Measurement Techniques
Background:
- Traditional Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) positioning methods like precise point positioning (PPP) and real-time kinematic (RTK) require external real-time corrections.
- Time-relative positioning offers an alternative by calculating position differences using phase observations, avoiding code observation noise and multipath, and not requiring ambiguity resolution or data links.
- A key limitation of time-relative positioning is accuracy degradation over time due to uncorrected error variations, restricting its use to short intervals (under 20 minutes).
Purpose of the Study:
- To extend the time interval and applicability of time-relative positioning for applications requiring longer duration.
- To address the needs of remote areas without wireless communication by developing a robust positioning method.
- To analyze and mitigate the primary error sources affecting time-relative positioning over extended periods.
Main Methods:
- Detailed analysis of error sources inherent in the time-relative positioning technique.
- Development and proposal of an improved accumulated time-relative positioning method.
- Validation of the proposed method using static and dynamic GNSS observations over several hours.
Main Results:
- The enhanced time-relative positioning method demonstrated improved performance with extended observation durations.
- Among tested satellite constellations, GPS/Galileo/BeiDou provided the best results, while GPS/Galileo/BeiDou/GLONASS performed the worst.
- Maximum horizontal positioning errors remained within 0.5 meters even after three hours of observation using GPS/Galileo/BeiDou.
Conclusions:
- The enhanced time-relative positioning method successfully extends the usable time interval for GNSS positioning without real-time corrections.
- The technique is suitable for long-duration positioning and navigation in remote areas lacking wireless data links.
- Decimeter-level horizontal accuracy is achievable for several hours using multi-constellation GNSS, particularly with GPS/Galileo/BeiDou.
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