7

CONTENTS
7.1

Introducing the Global Positioning System

Chris Rizos

Background .....................................................................................................96 7.1.1 Space Segment .................................................................................... 98 7.1.2 Control Segment ............................................................................... 100 7.1.3 User Segment .................................................................................... 102 7.1.3.1 Absolute Positioning .......................................................... 103 7.1.3.2 Relative Positioning ........................................................... 104 7.2 Issue of GPS Datums .................................................................................... 104 7.2.1 WGS84 Datum .................................................................................. 104 7.2.2 The International Terrestrial Reference Frame ................................ 105 7.3 The Performance of GPS .............................................................................. 106 7.3.1 Factors Influencing GPS Accuracy ................................................... 106 7.3.1.1 Biases and Errors ............................................................... 106 7.3.1.2 Absolute and Relative Positioning ..................................... 107 7.3.1.3 Other Factors Influencing Accuracy .................................. 107 7.3.2 Accuracy versus Positioning Mode .................................................. 108 7.4 High-Precision GPS Positioning................................................................... 110 7.4.1 GPS in Support of Geospatial Applications ..................................... 110 7.4.2 Using GPS in the Field ..................................................................... 111 7.4.3 GPS Competitiveness........................................................................ 112 References .............................................................................................................. 113 The NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) system designed, financed, deployed, and operated by the U.S. Department of Defense (PNT 2009), and for which applications have burgeoned since the system was declared fully operational in 1995. The attractions of GPS as a PNT technology include: High positioning accuracy, ranging from meters down to the millimeter level. The capability of determining velocity and time, to an accuracy commensurate with position. No intervisibility of GPS ground stations is required for high-accuracy positioning.
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Results are obtained with reference to a single, global datum. Position information is provided in three dimensions. Signals are available to users anywhere on or above the earthin the air, in space, on the ground, or at sea. There are no user charges. Relatively low-cost user hardware. An all-weather system, available 24 h a day. GPS has also revolutionized the fields of geodesy, surveying, and mapping, commencing with its introduction to the civilian community in the early 1980s. Indeed, among the first users were geodetic surveyors who applied GPS to the task of surveying primary control networks that form the basis of all map data and digital databases. Today, around the world, GPS is unchallenged as the quintessential technology for such geodetic applications. However, as a result of user equipment and algorithmic innovations over the last two decades, GPS technology is increasingly addressing the precise positioning needs of cadastral, engineering, environmental, planning, and geographic information system (GIS) surveys, as well a range of precise land, air, and marine navigation applications. Over the next 510 years, several other satellite-based navigation systems will be deployed. These will augment the current (and upgraded) GPS, providing users with access to significantly more satellite signals than is currently the case. Nowadays the phrase Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is used as an umbrella term for all current and future global, satellite-based, radio-navigation systems. Although GPS is currently the only fully operational GNSS, the Russian Federations GLONASS is undergoing replenishment and will be fully operational by 2010, it is planned that the European Unions GALILEO will be deployed and be operational by 2013, and Chinas COMPASS is also likely to join the GNSS Club by the middle of the next decade. The focus of Part II of this book, however, is on the current GPS, with occasional reference to the incomplete GLONASS constellation and how it is used in combination with GPS in specialist GPS + GLONASS receivers. The acronym GNSS will therefore be mostly used in Chapter 15, where the future of GPS/GNSS will be discussed.

7.1

BACKGROUND

The development work on GPS commenced within the U.S. Department of Defense in 1973, and full operational capability was declared on July 17, 1995 the milestone reached when 24 satellites were transmitting navigation signals. The objective was to design and deploy an all-weather, 24 h, global, satellitebased navigation system to support the positioning requirements of the U.S. armed forces and its allies. For a background to the development of the GPS, the reader is referred to Parkinson (1994). GPS was intended to replace the large number of navigational systems already in use, and great importance was placed on the systems reliability and survivability. Therefore, a number of stringent conditions had to be met:

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Suitable for all military platforms: aircraft (jet to helicopter to Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)), ships (of all sizes), land (vehicle-mounted to handheld), and space-based vehicles (missiles and satellites). Able to handle a wide range of platform dynamics. A real-time positioning, velocity, and time (PVT) determination capability to an appropriate level of accuracy. The positioning results were to be available on a single, global, geodetic datum. The highest accuracy was to be restricted to the military user. Resistant to jamming, whether intentional and unintentional. Incorporating redundancy mechanisms to ensure the survivability of the system. A passive positioning system that did not require transmission of signals by the user. Able to provide the positioning service to an unlimited number of users. Use low-cost, low-power user hardware. A replacement for the transit satellite system, as well as other terrestrial navigation systems. What was unforeseen by the system designers was the power of commercial product innovation, which has added significantly to the versatility of the GPS, but in particular as a system for precise positioning. For example, GPS is able to support a variety of positioning and measurement modes in order to simultaneously address the requirements of a wide range of users; from those satisfied with navigational accuracies (of the order of 10 m or sodekameters), to those demanding very high (even sub-centimeter) positioning accuracies. GPS has now so penetrated certain application areas that it is difficult to imagine life without it! Part II of this book is not intended to be a comprehensive textbook on the GPS technology and its applications. Excellent general references to the engineering aspects of GPS are Kaplan and Hegarty (2006) and Parkinson and Spilker (1996). Texts dealing extensively with the high-precision GPS surveying techniques include Leick (2004) and Hofmann-Wellenhof et al. (2008). At about the same time GPS was declared fully operational, the then Soviet Union deployed 24 GLONASS satellites. The abbreviation GLONASS is derived from the Russian Globalnaya Navigatsion-naya Sputnikovaya Sistema (HofmannWellenhof et al. 2008). Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation initially struggled to find sufficient funds to maintain GLONASS, and the number of functioning satellites steadily decreased to less than 10. However, the Russian Federation is rebuilding GLONASS (Section 15.5.1). Any discussion of the GPS technology and its applications starts with the identification of the three components (Figure 7.1): The space segment: satellites and transmitted signals The control segment: ground facilities carrying out the task of satellite tracking, orbit computation, satellite clock behavior and system monitoring, telemetry, and supervision necessary for routine operations The user segment: the applications, equipment, and computational techniques that are available to users

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Space segment

User segment

Control segment

FIGURE 7.1

GPS elements.

7.1.1

SPACE SEGMENT

The space segment consists of the constellation of spacecraftand the signals that are broadcast by themwhich allow users to determine PVT. The basic functions of the GPS satellites are to Receive and store data uploaded by the control segment Maintain accurate time by means of an onboard atomic clock Transmit information and signals to users on two microwave frequencies Several constellations of GPS satellites have already been deployed, and several more are planned. The first experimental satellite of the so-called Block I constellation was launched in February 1978. The last of this 11 satellite series was launched in 1985. The operational constellation of GPS satellites, the so-called Block II and Block IIA satellites, were launched from 1989 onward. The Block IIR satellites are the replenishment constellation, with the first launched in 1997. There are at present 12 orbiting Block IIR satellites. Under the GPS Modernization program (see Section 15.4), some of the original Block IIR series were modernized with new civilian and military signals, and these eight satellites are now known as the Block IIR-M series. The Block IIF follow-on satellite series are planned for launch from 2010 onward with similar enhancements as the Block IIR-M satellites, as well as transmitting a third civilian frequency. Note that all plans to date call for a 24 satellite constellation size. That is, there are 24 orbital slots, and extra satellites beyond the nominal 24 occupy the same slots as functioning satellites, and do not necessarily improve availability in challenging signal environments such as urban, mountainous, or forested areas. The status of the current GPS satellite constellation, and such details as the launch and official commissioning date of each GPS satellite, the orbital plane and position within the plane, the satellite

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FIGURE 7.2

The GPS constellation birdcage showing the nominal 24 orbiting satellites.

I.D. number(s), etc., can be obtained from the U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center (NavCen 2009). At an altitude of approximately 20,200 km, a nominal constellation of 24 GPS satellites, located in six orbital planes inclined at about 63 to the equator (Figure 7.2), is sufficient to ensure that there will be at least four satellites visible, at any unobstructed site on the earth, at any time of the day. (At the time of writing, the GPS constellation consists of 31 satellites transmitting navigation signals.) As GPS satellites are in nearly circular orbits: Their orbital period is approximately 11 h 58 min, so that each satellite makes two revolutions in one sidereal day (the period taken for the earth to complete one rotation about its axis with respect to the stars). At the end of a sidereal day, the satellites are again over the same location on the earth. Reckoned in terms of a solar day (24 h in length), the satellites are in the same position in the sky about 4 min earlier each day. The satellite visibility at any point on the earth, and for any time period, can be computed using mission planning tools provided with standard GPS surveying software as well as satellite visibility tools on the Internet. A GPS satellite may be above an observers horizon for many hours, perhaps 67 h or more in the one pass. At various times of the day, and at various locations on the surface of the earth, the number of satellites and the length of time they are

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above an observers horizon will vary. Although at certain times of the day there may be as many as 14 satellites visible simultaneously, there are nevertheless occasional periods of degraded satellite coverage, made worse if there are sky obstructions preventing the signals of some of the satellites above the horizon not being trackable though naturally their frequency and duration will increase if some of the satellites fail. Degraded satellite coverage is typically defined in terms of the magnitude of the Dilution of Precision (DOP) value, a measure of the quality of receiver-satellite geometry (see Section 9.3.3). The higher the DOP value, the poorer is the satellite geometry with respect to the user on the ground. Each orbiting GPS satelliteof the Block IIA/IIR/IIR-M generationstransmits unique navigational signals centered on two L-band frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum: L1 at 1575.42 MHz and L2 at 1227.60 MHz. (Two signals at different frequencies permit the ionospheric delay effect on the signal raypaths to be estimated see Section 9.2.1.1thus improving measurement accuracy.) At these two frequencies, the signals are highly directional and can be reflected or blocked by solid objects. Clouds are easily penetrated, but the signals may be blocked by foliage (the extent of this is dependent on a number of factors, such as the type and the density of leaves and branches, and whether they are wet or dry), or reflected by surfaces (causing multipath Section 8.5.2). The current GPS satellite signals have the following components: Two L-band carrier waves Ranging codes modulated on the carrier waves using a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) scheme Navigation message The primary function of the ranging codes is to permit the signal transit time (from the satellite to the receiver) to be determined. The transit time when multiplied by the speed of light then gives a measure of the receiver-satellite range or distance. In reality, the measurement process is more complex and the measurement is contaminated by a variety of biases and errors (Langley 1991b, 1993)see mathematical model in Section 8.6. The navigation message contains the satellite orbit (or ephemeris) information, satellite clock error parameters, and the pertinent general system information necessary for real-time navigation to be performed. Although for positioning and timing the function of the GPS signal is quite straightforward, the stringent performance requirements of GPS are responsible for the complicated nature of the GPS signal structure. Table 7.1 summarizes the GPS requirements and their corresponding implications on the signal characteristics.

7.1.2

CONTROL SEGMENT

The control segment consists of facilities necessary for satellite health monitoring, telemetry, tracking, command and control, and satellite orbit and clock error computations. The U.S. Air Force operates six ground facility stationsHawaii, Colorado Springs, Florida, Ascension Island, Diego Garcia, and Kwajaleinwhich perform the following functions:

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TABLE 7.1 GPS Requirements and the Nature of GPS Signal

System Requirements GPS has to be a multiuser system Implication on GPS Signals Signals can be simultaneously observed by unlimited numbers of users Accomplished by one-way measurement to passively listening users Signal has to have a relatively wide spatial coverage At a certain epoch, signals from several satellites have to be simultaneously observed by a single user Each signal has to have a unique code, so the receiver can differentiate different signals coming from different satellites Signal has to provide data for the user to estimate its range to the observed satellite in real time Signal has to enable time delay measurement by the user Signal has to provide the ephemeris data in real time to the user Ephemeris data is included in a broadcast message Signals have to provide two levels of accuracy for time delay measurements One code for the military and a different set of codes for civilian users Signal has to carry the two codes Signal has to support the AS policy, in which the military code has to be encrypted to prevent unauthorized use Requires a unique code structure Uses spread spectrum modulation technique Provide range measurements at two frequencies, allowing for the compensation of the ionospheric refraction effect Require carrier waves with centimeter wavelengths

GPS has to provide real-time positioning and navigation capability for the users

GPS has to serve both military and civilian users

GPS signal has to be impervious to jamming GPS can be used for precise positioning

All six stations are monitor stations, equipped with GPS receivers to track the satellites. The resultant tracking data is sent to the Master Control Station (MCS). An additional 10 globally distributed monitor stations operated by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) have recently been incorporated into an upgraded control segment. Colorado Springs (Shriever AFB) is the MCS, where the tracking data are processed in order to compute the satellite ephemerides (or coordinates) and satellite clock error parameters. It is also the station that initiates all operations of the space segment, such as spacecraft maneuvering, signal encryption, satellite clock-keeping, and so on. Four of the stations (Colorado Springs, Ascension Is., Diego Garcia, and Kwajalein) are Upload Stations through which data is telemetered to the satellites. There are an additional eight upload stations in the Air Force Space Command Network.

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Each of the upload stations views all of the satellites at least once per day. All satellites are therefore in contact with an upload station several times a day, and new navigation messages as well as command telemetry can be transmitted to GPS satellites on a regular basis. The computation of each satellites ephemeris (Section 8.3.1) and the determination of each satellites clock errors (Section 8.3.2) are the most important tasks of the control segment. The first is necessary because GPS satellites function as orbiting control stations and their coordinates must be known to a high accuracy, while the latter permits a significant distance measurement bias to be reduced. The product of the orbit computation process at the MCS is each satellites predicted ephemeris, expressed in the reference system most appropriate for positioning: an earth-centered-earth-fi xed (ECEF) reference system known as WGS84 (Chapter 3). The accuracy with which the orbit is predicted is typically at the few meters level. The behavior of each GPS satellite clock is monitored against GPS Time, as maintained by an ensemble of atomic clocks at the MCS, aligned in turn to the master clocks of the U.S. Naval Observatory. The satellite clock bias, drift, and drift-rate relative to GPS time are determined at the same time as the estimation of the satellite ephemeris. The measured satellite clock error is made available to all GPS users via clock error coefficients in a polynomial form broadcast in the navigation message. However, what is available to users is really a prediction of the clock behavior into the future. Due to random deviationseven cesium and rubidium oscillators are not entirely predictablethe deterministic models of satellite clock error are only accurate to about a few nanoseconds for the best-performing satellites, and this accuracy degrades with the age of the satellite clocks. This is not precise enough for range measurements that must satisfy the requirements of centimeterlevel accuracy GPS positioning. Operational and data processing techniques therefore have had to be developed to account for this residual range bias that remains after correction for the broadcast satellite clock error.

7.1.3

USER SEGMENT

This is the component of the GPS with which users are most concernedthe space and control segments are largely transparent. Of interest is the range of GPS user applications, equipment, positioning strategies, and data processing techniques that are now possible. The engine of commercial GPS product development is, without doubt, the user applications. New applications are being continually identified, each with its unique requirements in terms of accuracy, reliability, operational constraints, user hardware, form factor and power consumption, data processing algorithms, latency of GPS results, and so on. As a result, the GPS user equipment has undergone tremendous development, and continues to this day. In this context, the GPS equipment refers to the combination of hardware, software, and operational procedures or requirements. Chapter 9 discusses the various measurement models and data processing strategies; Chapter 10 introduces the hardware issues; Chapter 11 describes various GPS techniques; and Chapters 12 and 13 deal with the planning and field operations of relevance to precise GPS positioning.

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While military R&D has concentrated on achieving a high degree of miniaturization, modularization, and reliability, the commercial equipment manufacturers have, in addition, sought to bring down costs and to develop features that enhance the capabilities of the positioning system. Civilian users have, from the earliest days of GPS availability, demanded increasing levels of performance, in particular higher accuracy, improved reliability, and faster results. This is particularly true of the surveyor, seeking levels of accuracy several orders of magnitude higher than that of the navigator. In some respects, the GPS user equipment development is being driven by the precise positioning applicationsin much the same way that automotive technology often benefits from car racing. Another major influence on the development of the GPS equipment has been the increasing variety of civilian applications. Although it is possible to categorize positioning applications according to many criteria, the most important from the perspective of geospatial applications are: Accuracy, which leads to a differentiation of the GPS user equipment and techniques into several subclasses Timeliness, whether GPS results are required in real time, or may be derived from post-mission data processing Dynamics, distinguishing between static receiver positioning, and those applications in which the receiver is moving (or in the so-called kinematic mode) The different GPS positioning modes and data processing strategies are all essentially designed to account for biases (or systematic errors) in GPS measurements to different levels of accuracy (Sections 7.3, 8.6, 9.3, and 9.4). In this regard, there are two aspects of GPS that fundamentally influence the entire user segmentthe user equipment, data processing techniques, and operational (field) procedures. They are: 1. The type of measurement that is used for the positioning solution (Sections 8.2 and 8.4). There is, on the one hand, the basic satellite-to-receiver range measurement with a precision typically at the few meter level. However, for high-accuracy applications carrier phase measurements must be used. These have measurement noise at the millimeter level, but require more complex data processing in order to obtain centimeter-level positioning accuracy. 2. The mode of positioning, whether it is based on single-receiver techniques, or in terms of defining the position of one receiver relative to another that is located at a known position. Relative positioning is the standard mode of operation if accuracies higher than a few meters are required, although the actual accuracy depends on a number of other factors as well. 7.1.3.1 Absolute Positioning In this mode of positioning, the reference system must be rigorously defined and maintained, and total reliance is placed on the integrity of coordinated points that realize the datum. In general, the coordinate origin of the coordinate system is the geocenter, and the axes of the system are defined in a conventional manner as in ECEF systems such as WGS84 and International Terrestrial Reference System (ITRS)

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line B a se

Z Y X

FIGURE 7.3

The baseline linking two simultaneously observing GPS receivers.

(Chapter 3; and Section 7.2). Satellite single-point positioning (SPP) (Section 9.3) is the process by which given the position vector of the satellite (in the global system) and a set of measurements from one ground tracking station to the satellite (or satellites) being tracked, the position vector of the ground station is determined. Some space geodesy technologies can determine the absolute position of a ground station to a very high accuracy, as for example the Satellite Laser Ranging technique. However, the coordinates of a GPS receiver in an absolute sense are determined to a much lower accuracy than the precision of the measurements themselves, because it is not possible to fully account for the effects of measurement biases. Combining data from two GPS receivers is an effective way of eliminating or mitigating the effects of unmodeled measurement biases, as discussed in the following text. 7.1.3.2 Relative Positioning Conceptually, the relative position is the difference between the two position vectors (in the global system), expressed in a local reference system with origin at one of the ground stations. Most of the error in absolute position are common to both sets of coordinates (due to similar biases on all simultaneous GPS measurements), and hence largely cancel from the baseline components the vector linking the reference receiver to the user receiver. In this case, the positioning accuracy approaches that of the measurement precision itself. There are different ways in which such differential positioning can be implemented using GPS. Data processing techniques such as those implemented for GPS surveying are essentially concerned with the determination of the baseline vector (Figure 7.3) (Section 9.4).

7.2

ISSUE OF GPS DATUMS

Chapter 3, introduced the concept of datums and geodetic systems. In this section, the geodetic reference systems are discussed from the viewpoint of GPS positioning.

7.2.1

WGS84 DATUM

The World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84) is defined and maintained by the U.S. NGA as a global geodetic datum (WGS84 2000). It is the datum to which all GPS positioning information is referred by virtue of being the reference datum of the

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broadcast GPS satellite ephemerides (Langley 1991a). The realization of the WGS84 satellite datum is the set of coordinates of the monitor stations within the GPS control segment. They fulfill the same function as national control benchmarks; that is, they provide the means by which a position can be related to a datum. The relationships between WGS84 (as well as other global datums) and local geodetic datums have been determined empirically (WGS84 2000), and transformation models have been developed. Reference systems are periodically redefined, for various reasons, and the result is generally a small refinement in the datum definition, and a change in the numerical values of the coordinates of benchmarks. However, with dramatically improving tracking accuracies another phenomenon impacts on datum definition and its maintenance: the motion of the tectonic plates across the earths surface (or continental drift). This motion is measured in centimeters per year, with the fastest rates being over 10 cm/year. Nowadays this motion can be monitored and measured to sub-centimeter accuracy, on a global annual-average basis. In 1994, the GPS reference system underwent a subtle change to WGS84(G730) to bring it into alignment with the same system as used by the International GNSS Service (IGS) to generate its precise GPS ephemerides. Another small change was made in 1996, to WGS84(G873) (WGS84 2000).

7.2.2

THE INTERNATIONAL TERRESTRIAL REFERENCE FRAME

Since the mid-1980s geodesists have been using GPS to measure crustal motion, and to define more precise satellite datums. The latter were essentially by-products of the sophisticated data processing, which included the computation of the GPS satellite orbits. These surveys required coordinated tracking by GPS receivers spread over a wide region during the period of GPS survey campaigns. Little interest was shown in these alternative datums until the network of tracking stations evolved into a global one that was maintained on a permanent basis, and the scientific community initiated a project to define and maintain a datum at the highest level of accuracy. In 1991, the International Association of Geodesy established the first of its space geodesy services, the International GPS Service for Geodynamics (nowadays the acronym IGS stands for the International GNSS Service), to promote and support activities such as the maintenance of a permanent network of GPS tracking stations, and the continuous computation of the satellite ephemerides, satellite clock error, ground station coordinates, earth orientation parameters, and other quantities (IGS 2009). Routine operations commenced at the beginning of 1994 and the network now consists of several hundred GPS tracking stations located around the world. The precise orbits of the GPS satellites (and other products) are available from the IGS at no charge, via the Internet, with varying delaysthough some products are predicted into the future. The definition of the reference frame in which the coordinates of the IGS tracking stations are expressed and periodically redetermined is the responsibility of the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS 2009). The reference system is known as the ITRS, and its definition and maintenance is dependent on a suitable combination of Satellite Laser Ranging, Very Long Baseline Interferometry, and GPS coordinate results (although nowadays it is the GPS

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system that provides most of this data) see Section 3.2.1. Every so often a new combination of precise tracking results is performed, and the resulting new coordinates of SLR, VLBI, and GPS tracking stations constitute a new International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF) or ITRF datum, which is referred to as ITRFyy, where yy is the computation year identifier. A further characteristic that distinguishes the ITRS series of datums is that the definition consists of not only the station coordinates but also their velocities (due to the continental and regional tectonic motion). Hence, it is possible to determine station coordinates within the datum, say ITRF2005 (ITRF2005 2009), at some epoch such as the year 2010, by applying the velocity information and predicting the coordinates of the station at any time into the future (or the past). For example, the WGS84(G730) reference frame is identical to that of ITRF91 at epoch 1994.0.

7.3 THE PERFORMANCE OF GPS

As far as users are concerned, there are a number of measures of performance. For example, how many observations are required to assure a certain level of accuracy is one measure that is important for survey-type applications. The less time required to collect observations, the more productive is the GPS, because productivity is closely related to the number of points that can be surveyed per day. Another measure of performance might be the maximum distance between two GPS receivers that would still assure a certain level of accuracy. However, the most common measure of performance is the positioning accuracy.

7.3.1

FACTORS INFLUENCING GPS ACCURACY

Biases and errors affect all GPS measurements. GPS biases have one of the following characteristics: 1. Affect all measurements made by a receiver by an equal (or similar) amount 2. Affect all measurements made to a particular satellite by an equal (or similar) amount 3. Unique to a particular (receiver-satellite) range or carrier phase observation 7.3.1.1 Biases and Errors Their combined magnitude will affect the accuracy of the positioning results. Errors may be considered synonymous to internal instrument noise or random errors. Biases, on the other hand, may be defined as being those measurement errors that cause true ranges to be different from measured ranges by a systematic amount, such as, for example, all distances being measured either too short, or too long. In the case of GPS, a very significant bias was selective availability (SA), a policy of the U.S. government imposed on March 25, 1990 and finally revoked on May 1, 2000 (OoP 2000). SA was a bias that caused all distances from a particular satellite, at an instant in time, to be in error by up to several tens of meters. The magnitude of

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the SA-induced bias varied from satellite-to-satellite, and over time, in an unpredictable manner. The policy Anti-Spoofing (AS), on the other hand, although not a signal bias, does affect positioning accuracy as it prevents civilian users access to the second GPS signal frequency (L2) on Block IIA and IIR satellites. Measurements on two frequencies simultaneously is the best means by which a significant measurement biasthe ionospheric refraction delaycan be accounted for (Section 9.2.1.1). Biases must be accounted for in the measurement model used for data processing if high accuracy is sought. There are several sources of bias with different characteristics of magnitude, periodicity, satellite or receiver dependency, and so on. Biases may have physical bases, such as the atmospheric effects on signal propagation, but may also enter at the data processing stage through imperfect knowledge of constants, for example, any fixed parameters such as the satellite orbit, station coordinates, etc. Residual biases may therefore arise from incorrect or incomplete observation modeling, and hence it is useful to assemble under the heading of errors all random measurement process effects, as well as any unmodeled biases that remain after any data reduction. 7.3.1.2 Absolute and Relative Positioning There are two GPS positioning modes that are fundamental to considerations of (a) bias propagation into (and hence the impact on the accuracy of) GPS results and (b) the datum to which GPS results refer. The fi rst is absolute or point positioning, with respect to a datum such as WGS84 or the ITRF, and is often referred to as SPP. As the satellite coordinates are essential for the computation of user position, any error in these values (as well as the presence of other biases) will directly affect the quality of the position determination. The satellite-receiver geometry will also influence the error propagation into the GPS positioning results (see Section 9.3). Higher accuracies are possible if the relative position of two GPS receivers, simultaneously tracking the same satellites, is computed (Section 9.4). Because many errors will affect the absolute position of two or more GPS users to almost the same extent, these errors largely cancel when the differential or relative positioning mode is used. There are different implementations of relative positioning procedures but all share the characteristic that the position of the GPS receiver of interest is derived relative to another fixed reference receiver whose absolute coordinates are assumed to be known. One of these implementations, based on differencing the carrier phase data from the two receivers, is the standard mode for precise GPS techniques (Section 8.6.2). 7.3.1.3 Other Factors Influencing Accuracy GPS accuracy is also dependent on a host of other operational and algorithmic factors: Whether the user is moving or stationary. Clearly repeat observations at a static benchmark permit an improvement in precision due to the effect of averaging over time. A moving GPS receiver does not offer this possibility and the accuracy is dependent on single-epoch processing.

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Whether the results are required in real-time, or if post-processing of the data is possible. The luxury of post-processing the data permits more sophisticated modeling of the GPS data in order to improve the accuracy and the reliability of the results. The level of measurement noise has a considerable influence on the quality of GPS results. Low measurement noise would be expected to result in comparatively high accuracy. Hence carrier phase measurements are the basis for high-accuracy techniques (Section 8.4), while pseudorange measurements are used for comparatively low-accuracy applications (Section 8.2). The degree of redundancy in the solution as provided by extra measurements, which may be a function of the number of tracked satellites as well as the number of observables (e.g., carrier phase and pseudorange measurements made on L1 and L2 signals). The algorithm type may also impact on GPS accuracy (although this is largely influenced by the observable being processed and the mode of positioning). In the case of carrier phase-based positioning, to ensure centimeter-level accuracy it is crucial that a so-called ambiguity-fixed solution be obtained (Section 9.4.3). Data enhancements and solution aiding techniques may be employed. For example, the use of carrier phase-smoothed pseudorange data, external data from Inertial Navigation Systems (and other such devices), additional constraints, etc.

7.3.2

ACCURACY VERSUS POSITIONING MODE

Figure 7.4 illustrates the positioning accuracies associated with the different GPS positioning modes (accuracies are quoted as two-sigma values, that is, 95% confidence level). The following comments may be made to this figure: The top half refers to SPP and the lower half to the relative positioning mode. The basic SPP services provided by the U.S. Department of Defense are the Standard Positioning Service (SPS) and the Precise Positioning Service (PPS), both intended for single-epoch positioning (NavCen 2009). There is a large range of horizontal SPS and PPS accuracy possible due to a variety of factors: 100 m level accuracy SPS positioning when SA was on during the 1990s, as a result of an artificial degradation of the system. 515 m level accuracy of SPS positioning without SA, representing the current natural accuracy ceiling when using basic navigation-type GPS receivers, because of the difficulty in accounting for the ionospheric bias in the single-frequency C/A-code measurements. 10%20% improvement is possible using dual-frequency GPS receivers. 210 m level accuracy PPS positioning, using dual-frequency P-code pseudorange measurements.

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Phase measurements
Point positions

Code measurements S PS (S A on) SP S (pre-SA) S PS (no S A , 2000+) PPP P PS

Relative positions

Differential Survey (kinematic)

Survey (static) (plus 1 to < 0.1 ppm) 5 10 20 cm cm cm 50 1 2 cm m m 5 m 10 20 m m 50 100 m m

1 2 5 1 2 mm mm mm cm cm

FIGURE 7.4

GPS accuracies and positioning modes.

Dual-frequency GPS, coupled with the high-accuracy satellite clock and ephemeris data provided by the IGS, can deliver at least a twofold improvement in basic SPS accuracy. Surprisingly, the averaging of SPS results for up to 60 min at a single benchmark does not significantly improve positioning accuracy, with studies typically indicating an improvement of the order of 10%15% compared to single-epoch solutions. The carrier phase-based procedures are typically only applied in the relative positioning mode for most engineering, surveying, and geodetic applications, and the relative position accuracy is usually expressed in terms of parts per million (ppme.g., 1 cm error in 10 km). Carrier phase-based positioning may be in the single-epoch mode (as is necessary for kinematic positioning), or takes advantage of the receiver being static in order to collect data over an observation session. Precise Point Positioning is possible using carrier phase data, with accuracies better than a decimeter currently possible if the observation session is long enough and the receiver is stationary. The accuracy of carrier phase-based positioning techniques is a function of baseline length, the number of observations, the length of observation session, whether ambiguities have been fixed to their integer values or not, and others. In all cases, the vertical accuracy is about two to three times worse than the horizontal positioning accuracy.

The resolution of the carrier phase ambiguities is central to precise carrier phasebased positioning in many surveying and engineering applications (Section 9.4.2),

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and requires the determination of the correct number of integer wavelengths in the carrier measurement of satellite-to-receiver distance (or linear combinations of the measurements from a pair of receivers to a pair of satellitessee Section 8.6.2). It should be emphasized that GPS was originally designed to provide accuracies of the order of a dekameter (10 m) or so in the SPP mode, and is optimized for realtime operations. All other innovations to improve this basic accuracy capability must be viewed in this context.

7.4 HIGH-PRECISION GPS POSITIONING

GPS is having a profound impact on society. It is estimated that the worldwide market for GPS products and services in 2008 was about US$30 billion. Market surveys suggest that the greatest growth is expected to be consumer markets such as in-vehicle applications, GPS-enabled cellular phones, and portable GPS for outdoor recreation and similar activities. These are expected to ultimately account for more than 80% of the GPS market in volume. The penetration of GPS into many applications (and in particular into consumer devices) helps make the processes and products of geospatial information technology more and more a part of the mainstream information society. However, in the following chapters, the focus will be on the surveying and mapping disciplines, and how GPS is now an indispensable tool for geospatial professionals.

7.4.1

GPS IN SUPPORT OF GEOSPATIAL APPLICATIONS

In this book, the authors have adopted a very broad definition of GPS surveying, encompassing all applications where coordinate information is sought in support of mapping or geospatial applications. In general, such applications: Are of comparatively high accuracy. This is, of course, a subjective judgement, but in general the phrase high accuracy implies a level of coordinate precision much higher than that originally intended of GPS. As GPS is a navigation system designed to deliver dekameter-level SPP accuracy, the accuracy threshold for surveying may be arbitrarily set at the submeter level, while mapping accuracies may be satisfied by differential GPS (DGPS) techniques that can deliver accuracies at the few meter level. In this book, GPS surveying will be considered synonymous with carrier phase-based positioning. Require the use of unique observation procedures, measurement technologies, and data analysis. In fact, the development of distinctive field procedures, specialized instrumentation, and sophisticated software is the hallmark of GPS surveying. Do not require positioning information urgently. Navigation, on the other hand, is concerned with the safe passage of vehicles, ships, and aircraft, and hence demands location information in real time. Permit post-processing of data to obtain the highest accuracy possible, although increasingly real-time GPS surveying is the norm.

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Have as their raison dtre the production of a digital map, or the establishment of a network of coordinated points, which support traditional tasks of the surveying discipline, as well as new applications such as GIS database generation and engineering machine guidance. In the case of land surveying applications, the characteristics of GPS satellite surveying are: 1. The points being coordinated are in general stationary. 2. Depending on the accuracy sought, GPS data are collected over some observation session, ranging in length from a few seconds to several hours, or more. 3. Restricted to the relative positioning mode of operation. 4. In general (depending on the accuracy sought), the measurements used for the data reduction are those made on the satellites L-band carrier waves. 5. Generally associated with the traditional surveying and mapping functions, but accomplished using GPS techniques in less time, to a higher accuracy (for little extra effort), and with greater efficiency. A convenient approach is to adopt a geospatial applications classification on the basis of accuracy requirements. For purposes of discussion, four classes can be identified on this basis: Scientific surveys (category A): better than 1 ppm Geodetic surveys (category B): 15 ppm General surveying (category C): lower than 5 ppm, centimeter-level Mapping/geolocation (category D): better than 1 m

Category A primarily consists of those surveys undertaken in support of precise engineering, deformation analysis, global geodesy, and geodynamic applications. Category B includes geodetic surveys undertaken for the establishment, the densification, and the maintenance of control networks. Category C encompasses lower accuracy surveys, primarily to support engineering and cadastral applications, sensor georeferencing, geophysical prospecting, etc., and increasingly for machine guidance applications. Category D includes all other general purpose geolocation surveys intended to coordinate objects or features for map production and GIS data capture (Chapter 25). Users in the latter two categories form the majority of the GPS user community. Categories A and B users may provide the technology-pull impetus for the development of new instrumentation and processing strategies, which may ultimately be adopted by the categories C and D users. Note, this classification scheme is entirely arbitrary, and does not relate to any specification of order or class of survey as may be defined by national or state survey agencies.

7.4.2

USING GPS IN THE FIELD

With respect to category D users (using the pseudorange-based techniques), the planning issues, as well as the field and office procedures, are not as stringent as for the GPS

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surveying users. Hence most of the attention will be focused on carrier phase-based techniques. Some comments to the operational aspects of GPS surveying (categories A, B, and C described earlier): Survey planning considerations are derived from The nature and the aim of the survey project as for conventional surveys The unique characteristics of GPS, and in particular no requirement for receiver intervisibility a simplification in survey design The number of points to be surveyed, the resources at the surveyors disposal, and the strategy to be used for propagating the survey a logistical challenge Prudent survey practice, requiring redundant and check measurements to be incorporated into the network design Field operations are characterized by requirements for Clear skyview Setup of antennas over ground marks Simultaneous operation of two or more GPS receivers Common data collection over some observation session (if in static mode) Deployment of GPS hardware to new stations Field validation of data collected, in order to Verify sufficient common data collected at all sites operating simultaneously Verify quality of data to ensure that acceptable results will be obtained Where data dropout is high, or a station has not collected sufficient data, reoccupation may be necessary Office calculations To obtain GPS solutions for single sessions or baselines To combine the baseline results into a network solution To incorporate external information (e.g., local control station coordinates), and hence modify the GPS-only network solution To transform the GPS results (if necessary) to the local geodetic datum, and to derive orthometric (or sea-level referenced) heights To verify the accuracy and the reliability of the GPS survey (including cases where real-time techniques are used) The GPS project planning and field operation issues are discussed in Chapters 12 and 13.

7.4.3

GPS COMPETITIVENESS

GPS needs to be competitive with other terrestrial techniques of surveying. Several criteria for judging the utility of GPS can be identified:

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1. Cost benefit: issues such as the capital cost of equipment, ongoing operational costs, data processing costs, development, training, and maintenance costs. This can be best measured according to productivity. The direct cost of a GPS survey (not including equipment and training costs) can be estimated during the planning phase. It needs to be established whether competing technologies offer lower costs. 2. Ease-of-use: issues such as servicing, the timeliness of results, and the expertise of users. Experience indicates that the primary factors affecting servicing are those of distance to the servicing agents, their technical expertise, and their customer service. To ensure high-quality results in a reasonable time (real-time operations may not be required), it is important that all personnel be adequately trained. 3. Accuracy: obviously related to the class of application. The level of accuracy sought will directly influence many other factors, such as the type of instrumentation, the technique to be used, the sophistication of the software, and the cost of survey, field operations, etc. 4. External factors such as the availability of satellite ephemerides and other performance constraints such as superior GPS networks to connect into, base station operation, etc. GPS complements the traditional electronic distance measurement (EDM)-theodolite (total station) techniques for routine surveying activities. Indeed traditional techniques are likely to continue playing the dominant role for some time to come, unless the conditions for survey are ideal from a GPS point of view. In that case, the real-time kinematic (RTK) technique will be favored. For mapping of features, for GIS-type applications, GPS is the ideal low-to-moderate accuracy point coordination tool. Finally, for high-precision (geodetic) positioning, particularly over long distances, GPS is without peer.

REFERENCES
Hofmann-Wellenhof, B., Lichtenegger, H., and Wasle, E., 2008, GNSS Global Navigation Satellite Systems: GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and More, Springer Verlag, Wien, Austria, New York, ISBN 978-3-211-73012-6, 516p. IERS, 2009, International earth rotation and reference systems service, Web page http://www. iers.org, accessed March 10, 2009. IGS, 2009, International GNSS service, Web page http://www.igs.org, accessed March 10, 2009. ITRF2005, 2009, International Terrestrial Reference Frame 2005, Web page http://itrf.ensg. ign.fr/ITRF_solutions/2005/ITRF2005.php, accessed March 10, 2009. Kaplan, E. and Hegarty, C.J. (eds.), 2006, Understanding GPS: Principles and Applications, 2nd edn, Artech House, Norwood, MA, ISBN 1-58053-894-0, 570p. Langley, R.B., 1991a, The orbits of GPS satellites, GPS World, 2(3), 5053. Langley, R.B., 1991b, Time, clocks, and GPS, GPS World, 2(10), 3842. Langley, R.B., 1993, The GPS observables, GPS World, 4(4), 5259.

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Leick, A., 2004, GPS Satellite Surveying, 3rd edn., John Wiley & Sons, New York, ISBN 0-471-05930-7, 435p. NavCen, 2009, U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center, Web page http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/ gps/, accessed March 10, 2009. Office of the U.S. Presidents Press Secretary (OoP), 2000, Statement by the president regarding the United States decision to stop degrading global positioning system accuracy, May 1, see Web page http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/FGCS/info/sans_SA. Parkinson, B.W., 1994, GPS eyewitness: The early years, GPS World, 5(9), 3245. Parkinson, B.W. and Spilker, J.J. (eds.), 1996, Global Positioning System: Theory and Applications, Vols. I and II, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., Washington, DC, ISBN 1-56347-106-X, 793p. PNT, 2009, National Space-Based PNT (Positioning, Navigation & Timing) Coordination Office, Web page http://pnt.gov, accessed March 10, 2009. Wells, D.E., Beck, N., Delikaragolou, D., Kleusberg, A., Krakiwsky, E.J., Lachapelle, G., Langley, R.B. et al., 1986, Guide to GPS Positioning, Canadian GPS Associates, Fredericton, NB, Canada, 600p. WGS84, 2000, Department of Defense World Geodetic System 1984: Its Definition and Relationships with Local Geodetic Systems, 3rd edn., NIMA Tech. Rept. TR8350.2, http://earth-info.nga.mil/GandG/publications/tr8350.2/wgs84fin.pdf, accessed March 10, 2009.