Reliance Under-canopy Performance Evaluation

USDA Forest Service

Clackamas GPS Test Network

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 Table of Contents

BACKGROUND.............................................................................................................................3

CLACKAMAS TEST COURSE...................................................................................................3

RELIANCE TESTING AT CLACKAMAS..................................................................................4

ASHTECH RELIANCE TEST RESULTS...................................................................................5

U.S. FOREST SERVICE TEST RESULTS.................................................................................6

COMPARISON OF RESULTS....................................................................................................6

REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

CREDITS........................................................................................................................................7
Tree-Canopy Testing with Ashtech Reliance

Background
On May 29 and 30, 1997, Ashtech® and USDA Forest Service personnel conducted accuracy and
performance tests with the Ashtech Reliance™ GPS Field Asset Management system on a field test
course established by the USDA Forest Service. The test course is located in the Mt. Hood National
Forest, Clackamas Ranger
District, and was specifically
designed to test the capabilities of
GPS field data collection systems.
The course is built in forest
conditions typical of the Pacific
Northwest environment. The
image at left depicts a typical area
of tree canopy and stand density,
located at Pt. 7 along the course.
The Ashtech Reliance system
shown below uses an Ashtech
Super C/A™ single-frequency (L1)
12-channel receiver system,
which has been optimized for general GIS data collection, including
accurate, efficient operation under tree canopy, as well as 10 cm
capability in open areas (no overhead canopy). The photo displays
the compact backpack/antenna configuration, along with a Husky
FS/2 system controller at right, and the Ashtech Super C/A GPS
receiver at left.

Clackamas Test Course

According to the USDA Forest Service, the Clackamas GPS receiver
test network provides a site for testing GPS receiver performance
under moderate to heavy western Oregon timber canopy.

“The Clackamas GPS Test Network is located Ashtech Reliance System

approximately 70 road miles south east of Portland
Oregon, on the Clackamas Ranger District of the Mt. Hood National Forest. The
vegetation at the site consists of Douglas Fir and Western Hemlock overstory (approx.
24-40” DBH), with a Vine Maple and Red Alder understory. Terrain at the site is
nearly flat.”
“The Test Network consists of thirteen points with geographic positions established
by GPS and conventional geodetic survey. These thirteen points are used to define
five areas which range from 2.19 to 7.20 acres. Geographic positions for the
network points are accurate to 5 cm. Each point is monumented with 5/8” rebar
with plastic caps and a nearby orange carsonite fence post, with “survey
monument” sticker attached. All points are intervisible and the lines between the
survey points are brushed and flagged.”

August 1997 3
An illustration of the Clackamas GPS Test Network is shown below.

In a typical receiver test program, field data is acquired along the lines and at a series of known
points over various times of the day and under ambient weather conditions. Data is also recorded in a
“walk” or traversing mode in order to calculate the area of regions bounded by the path of the
operator.

Reliance Testing at Clackamas

Two Reliance receiver systems were used during the field collection process: one controlled by a
Husky FS/2; the other by a Psion Workabout. Both receiver systems were set to record L1 C/A code
and carrier phase data at 1-second epoch intervals. To ensure that data collection was not operator-
dependent, Ashtech personnel worked with the FS/2 system and the Forest Service with the Psion
configuration on May 29; on May 30, Ashtech personnel worked with the Psion system and the
Forest Service operator with the FS/2 system. Each of the 13 control points was occupied at least
once in a series of walking traverses, with point occupation times set at 180, 120, 60 and 30 seconds.
Data was collected with masks set at 8 for PDOP, 12 degrees for horizon. Only three-dimensional
data (requiring the tracking of 4 or more satellites) was recorded. The 180 and 30 second readings
were acquired twice (once by each receiver). Heavy overnight rainfall and periods of light rain during
the field testing produced wet canopy conditions.

August 1997 4
Ashtech Reliance Test Results
The data collected at each point was post-processed with two different reference stations t o
determine point accuracy in comparison with the known geographic positions for each network
point.
All data was processed twice; first using the USDA Forest Service Community Base Station™ in
Portland, Oregon (denoted PDX), and again with a National Geodetic Survey CORS station in
Appleton, Washington (GWEN). The PDX station is located approximately 84 km from the test
site, while GWEN is approximately 96 km to the North-Northeast. No network adjustment, least-
squares analysis, or adjustment was performed on the given data sets. The data was processed with
Ashtech Reliance Processor™ version 1.4 software, released November 14, 1996.
The following table summarizes the results.

Summary Point Feature Measurements

Point Accuracy Test Phase - All Results in Meters
Reference Station & Baseline 180 sec 120 sec 60 sec 30 sec
PDX - 84km 3.51 4.69 3.40 6.22
GWEN - 96km 3.74 5.12 4.46 5.85
Avg Radial Error 3.63 4.91 3.93 6.04

The increase in the average error for the 120-second occupations was due to higher PDOP values,
which occurred later in the day when less satellites were available. The increased error for the
30-second occupations was expected and due to limited number of recorded points for
processing/averaging in the shorter occupation.
The data was also analyzed to determine the total time required to walk the course. Both systems
provided similar results, as shown in the following table. The average time for walking around the
course was obtained from area (walk file) collection sessions, as well as sessions based on point feature
occupations. Course transit times were obtained from the Time View function in the Reliance
Processor software. The perimeter of the course is 875 meters, measured from the actual point-to-
point distance between known stations.

Average Walk Time Around Course

Psion 38.43 min
Husky 37.86 min

The data was also analyzed to evaluate receiver efficiency and area accuracy. Receiver efficiency is
measured by dividing the number of epochs recorded at the 1-second interval into a particular
occupation time requirement. For example, a receiver that recorded 180 epochs of data within a
three-minute point occupation (180 seconds) would be 100% efficient. The percentage of area
accuracy is determined by dividing the calculated area into the known area of 7.2 acres.

August 1997 5
Ashtech Reliance Test Results (continued)
The results for the 180-second occupation is summarized below.

Ashtech Reliance Test Results

(Note: Wet canopy test data) Ashtech
Point accuracy (180 epochs @ pt) 3.51
Area accuracy (% error) 1%
Efficiency rating (180/secs on pt) 95%

U.S. Forest Service Test Results

The U.S. Forest Service has published test results conducted in November 1995 with receivers
manufactured by Corvallis MicroTechology, Rockwell Collins and Trimble on the Clackamas GPS
test network2,3. The receivers tested were the CMT MC-GPS, Rockwell PLGR, and Trimble Pro XL.
The U.S. Forest Service collected approximately 180 seconds of data at each of the 13 stations on
the course under wet canopy conditions, and averaged the data to determine an average point
accuracy, area accuracy and efficiency rating.

The U.S. Forest Service results are shown in the following table.

USDA Forest Service - Receiver Comparison

(Note: Wet canopy test data only) Rockwell CMT Trimble
Point accuracy (180 epochs @ pt) 7.95 6.66 5.00
Area accuracy (% error) 11% n/a 3.4%
Efficiency rating (180/secs on pt) n/a 75% 63%

Comparison of Results
The reader should be advised that direct receiver performance comparisons may be difficult,
particularly when the receivers undergoing evaluation do not share the same antenna signal and
recording interval, as would be provided by a signal splitting device. Variations in satellite elevation,
signal strength, and satellite availability also significantly affect receiver accuracy and efficiency. In
particular, the U.S. Forest Service noted that its evaluation was based on limited data and further
testing was planned to verify the results. Standard off-the-shelf hardware and released software
products were tested by Ashtech and are presumed to have been used in other test programs.
Regardless of the differences as noted above, the results shown can be used as an aid in assessing a
particular receiver’s ability to perform under the weather conditions and heavy canopy presented by
the U.S. Forest Service Clackamas GPS Test Network.

August 1997 6
References

1. U.S. Forest Service, Clackamas GPS Test Network, Mt. Hood National Forest, NW Oregon
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/gps/clackdes.htm
2. U.S. Forest Service, GPS Evaluation: West Coast Test Site
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/gps/gps_eval/gpseval.htm
3. CMT Incorporated, Clackamas GPS Test, U.S. Forest Service, Clackamas Ranger District
http://www.cmtinc.com/hhs/gpstest.html

Credits
The picture of the forest at Pt. 7 is excerpted from reference 1 for illustrative purposes only.
Tabular results, showing the individual files used to compile this summary report, are available from Ashtech upon
request.
Copyright © 1997 Ashtech Inc. with the exception of material which is the property of the U.S. Forest Service. All Rights
Reserved.
Ashtech is a registered trademark of Ashtech Inc. Reliance, Reliance Processor, and Super C/A are trademarks of Ashtech
Inc. Other product names or trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

August 1997 7