GPS World 200907

GPS World interviews key leaders
in the international GNSS community on

issues of top-level importance.
New Videos are posted every two weeks.
Launch videos at www.GPSWorld.com
Video Interviews
Recent footage comes from the Munich
Satellite Navigation Summit and the
European Navigation Conference.
Featuring
Mikel Miller,
President,
U.S. Institute
of Navigation
ADV037502160.pgs 06.30.2009 08:51 janinej
BLACK YELLOW MAGENTA CYAN
July 2009
The Business and Technology of Global Navigation and Positioning www.gpsworld.com
INNOVATION: GIOVE-A Precise Orbit Determination
EXPERT ADVICE
Len Jacobson,
Expert Witness
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
DAGR and GAO
Action
THE SYSTEM
GLONASS Help
for GPS Gaps
THE BUSINESS
PND on a Chip;
Location Ad
Platform
BUSINESS OUTLOOK
The Real Race
in GNSS
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Radio Antenna
Tilt Sensor
GPS Single Antennas
VOLUME 20 | NUMBER 7
GPS0709_cv1.pgs 06.22.2009 08:15 janinej
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www.gpsworld.com July 2009 | GPS World 3
July 2009
VOL. 20, NUMBER 7
gpsworld.com
THE SYSTEM 16
Can GLONASS Cure GPS Malaise?;
Survey/Construction Comments
on GAO
THE BUSINESS 27
Broadcom Introduces PND on a
Chip; SpotOn GPS Platform Enables
LBS Ad Delivery; SiRFatlasIV
Processor for Low-Cost Navigators;
more
BUSINESS
OUTLOOK 28
The Real Race in GNSS
By Andrew Sage
COVER STORY
OPINIONS &
DEPARTMENTS
INNOVATION
Where is GIOVE-A Exactly? 42
Using Microwaves and Laser Ranging for Precise Orbit Determination
Though Galileos GIOVE-A is a test
satellite not necessarily ready for
scientific use, orbit analyses with
a reduced accuracy can help to
identify weaknesses and suggest
improvements. This month, the
authors share work being carried out
to precisely determine the orbit of
GIOVE-A using SLR and microwave
observations. This preliminary
investigation will benefit the
procedures to be implemented for
the future Galileo constellation.
By Erik Schnemann, Tim A.
Springer, Michiel Otten, and Matthias Becker
Graphics courtesy of Topcon
Out in Front 6
Next Is the New Now
By Alan Cameron
Letters to the Editor 8
DAGR, GAO Furors
Expert Advice 12
All Rise, GPS Entering the Court
By Len Jacobson
GPS0709_003.pgs 06.22.2009 08:19 janinej
GPS World | July 2009 www.gpsworld.com 4
WHATS HOT AT GPSWORLD.COM
Online Interviews
From the European Navigation Conference
Watch now at www.gpsworld.com/videos
Mikel Miller
President, Institute of Navigation
(ION); chair of the Joint Service Data
Exchange; Technical Director of the
Advanced Guidance Division, Air
Force Research Laboratory
Peter Grognard
President and CEO,
Septentrio Navigation
Pascal Campagne
Coordinator, Organization of European
GNSS Equipment and Service
Industries (OREGIN), now merged
with Galileo Services
Hottest Pages @ GPSWorld.com
May 16, 2009 June 15, 2009
1
GPS at Risk: Doomsday 2010
2
GNSS Leaders to Watch (May issue)
3
Block IIF: Follow-on, or Failure?
4
Parkinson Prescribes Remedy
for GAO Report Alarm
5
New GPS Satellites Problems Indicated
6
Innovation: Precise Point Positioning
7
Taking up Indoor Positions: Qualcomm and
Skyhook (Utilities & Communications newsletter)
8
Broadcom Introduces PND on a Chip
9
Consumer-Grade GPS Receivers for GIS Data
Collection (Survey & Construction newsletter)
10
Air Force Space Command
Committed to GPS Health
Wide Awake
Staying Up Late
Editor and resident curmudgeon
Alan Cameron writes an after-hours
blog on all matters GNSS. It started
with jet lag in Naples while attending the European
Navigation Conference and proceeds from there.
Recent topics include:
virtually infected
GAO report, long form and short
IIF stands for two furies
long-term commitment
the real race in GNSS
software receivers
jamming: the Queen is not amused
hard work in the GNSS trenches
Galileos chamber of commerce
Peruse the blog at
www.gpsworld.com/wideawake
VIDEOS GNSS BLOG
Whoa, GAO!
Full Report Worth the Read
By Don Jewell
There is a 61-page version of the
GAO report and a 15-page version.
My assessment of the report has changed markedly
since I read the full report. Most of my objections
concerning the Testimony version delivered to Congress
were answered in the full-length report.
The full-length report is educational, even enlightening,
although the recommendations are woefully inade-
quate. I have hopes that the dialog as well as the intense
interest the report has created will continue for some
time, possibly for years. Thats because a GAO report,
by definition, should be much more than a conclusion or
recommendation. It serves as an excellent quick look at
a critical part of our national security infrastructure, the
Global Positioning System.
Read full column at www.gpsworld.com/whoa
MILITARY & GOVERNMENT NEWSLETTER
GPS0709_004.pgs 06.22.2009 08:19 janinej
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GPS0709_005.pgs 06.11.2009 13:39 janinej
OUT IN FRONT
Published monthly
www.gpsworld.com
W
ere in a hurry. We know
what we want, we have
developed the technology to
achieve it, but . . . we just cant get there
from here fast enough. Something stands
in the way.
The Atlantic Interoperability Initiative
to Reduce Emissions (AIRE), conducted
jointly by the U.S. Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), the European
Commission, and several airlines, plans
to demonstrate how GPS technology can
cut flight times and reduce fuel use by
thousands of pounds per longhaul flight.
A green ticket, some call it.
Test aircraft will fly GPS-assisted
routes that run straighter than the courses
they ordinarily follow. They will climb
continuously instead of in steps, and
approach destinations on tailored paths,
burning less fuel by running at idle for the
last 100 miles.
These new navigational tools go by the
name NextGen, for Next Generation Air
Transportation System, the coming wave
in air-traffic control. The FAA plans to
implement it by 2020 for planes flying in
controlled airspace in the United States.
Some say NextGen can happen today;
they want what they call NowGen. They
say whats holding it up is an outdated
air-traffic system and the FAA.
Advocates including the Air Transport
Association of America say NowGen
could produce more than $12 billion
in economic benefits through 2012.
They remind us that flight delays caused
by constraints in the current air-traffic
system may cost more than $9 billion a
year. We have the tools today and really
shouldnt be forced to wait until 2020.
J. Randolph Babbitt, in his first speech
as FAA administrator on June 10, quoth
NextGen is just flat out not moving fast
enough. I want more, and I want more
faster. However, industry critics see a
long history of the FAA not showing up
or simply not holding up its end of the
deal in implementing new procedures.
Much of this capability has been
around for some time, they maintain;
manufacturers started delivering
GPS-equipped passenger planes that
could have supported these kinds of
improvements as early as 1995.
Theres a lot more, but Ill stash the
materials on the Wide Awake blog while
hurrying to the next several points.
This issues Letters section flames with
passion over outdated specs by which the
soldiers GPS handheld was designed;
further, over a flawed award process
for Block IIF and prolonged Block III
contract exercise that together may
create gaps in the GPS constellation over
the next eight years. Business Outlook
warns of irrelevance-at-birth for Galileo
unless the European Union issues with
alacrity a signal-in-space interface control
document, so that manufacturers can
actually make GPS/Galileo chips.
Government moves exceedingly
and sometimes maddeningly slow,
except when invading the domains of
other governments. To govern means
to keep a steady hand on the helm.
The line between steady and heavy
sometimes eludes the rulers, er, that is,
the representatives of the people.
Letters to Editor invited: email to eic@gpsworld.com.
Next Is the New Now
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I want more, and I want more
faster, says J. Randolph Babbitt.
GPS0709_006r1.pgs 06.23.2009 09:32 janinej
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I
n the April edition, an article titled
DAGR Extended covered news
from the Space & Missiles Center
regarding the GPS Wing awarding a fol-
low-on contract to Rockwell Collins to
provide Defense Advanced GPS Receiv-
ers (DAGR).
At the end of the article appeared an
Unofficial Word, which made deroga-
tory and inac-
curate remarks
about the use of
the DAGR.
We are disap-
pointed that the
staff of GPS World
did not contact us
for a response to the
accusations made in
the article.
Had you con-
tacted us, our response would have been
the following:
The DAGR provides the only means
for dismounted soldiers or special opera-
tors to obtain location information of suf-
ficient accuracy, reliability, and integrity
for targeting purposes. Our warfighters
use the DAGR to call in close air support
missions, which the DAGR delivers GPS-
guided munitions with pinpoint accuracy
through its Advanced Laser Range Finder
and Fire Support functions. The DAGR
also provides unique Gun Laying Azimuth
Determination applications.
Use of a commercial GPS in these cir-
cumstances would entail significant risk
that would be totally unacceptable. No
other handheld GPS is authorized, nor
should it be authorized, for use in military
targeting operations.
In the combat theater, our soldiers and
special operators are working in extremely
difficult conditions environmental con-
ditions where the DAGR functions con-
sistently and provides warfighters with the
information they vitally need.
On April 30, we celebrated the deliv-
ery of the 300,000th DAGR, which is
proven testimony to the utility and reli-
ability of the product.
In the future, wed appreciate an oppor-
tunity to respond firsthand.
Robert Haag
Senior Director, Soldier Solutions
Rockwell Collins
Don Jewell, Military & Government
Editor, replies: I could not agree with you
more. At the same time, I totally disagree
with your comment that our remarks were
derogatory and inaccurate about the
use of the DAGR.
The conclusions drawn in that Unof-
ficial Word (not, by the way, written by
me) came directly from several industry
and government warfighter panels (many
of them attended by Rockwell Collins),
face-to-face interviews, letters, and a pleth-
ora of personal e-mails from warfighters
over the last 24 months. The results were
unanimous: the DAGR, according to our
warfighters who have opted not to use it, is
too big, too heavy, has limited battery life,
a black-and-white screen, is basically obso-
lete, and has a very difficult, definitely not
user-friendly interface. Our interviews and
correspondence show that the DAGR, as
a standalone device, has been replaced by
various GPS handheld or wrist-mounted
units, Garmin and Trimble primarily.
How can I then agree with your com-
ments? Because your letter very carefully
only defends the use of the DAGR as an
embedded device. Indeed it has been our
experience that the only warfighters that
consistently give the DAGR high marks are
the soldiers using the DAGR as an embed-
ded device: those responsible for directing
fire bombs or artillery on target. In a
recent interview session with more than 40
soldiers, only the soldier responsible for di-
recting fire said that he used the DAGR in
any capacity. He stated, For directing fire I
use my DAGR because it has the necessary
interface for laser designators and commu-
nications to direct fire. Other than that, I
depend on my Garmin, as does everyone
else I know, for a personal GPS unit. The
Captain uses the DAGR as an input to the
Blue Force Tracking (BFT) system that
stays in the Humvee or Stryker vehicle.
As I, and many others, in many articles,
have said all along, the DAGR as an em-
bedded piece of equipment, with dual
frequencies, encryption, and approved
government interfaces, serves a necessary
and critical function: supplying BFT in-
formation and directing fire. As you cor-
rectly point out, it is the only approved
government PNT source for directing fire.
That is a good thing; all information and
interfaces needed for the direct-fire mis-
sion have been worked out and do not
need to be duplicated. Warfighters direct-
ing fire use the DAGR because there is no
alternative, but for every other purpose
for which they rely upon handheld GPS
equipment, the DAGR is found seriously
wanting. Suffice it to say the design is
more than 14 years old, and the unit was
dated when first released.
I have spoken to several Rockwell Col-
lins representatives about my concerns and
those of the warfighters over the years, and
usually they do not dispute the DAGRs
shortcomings. However, recently I was
shown a picture, by a senior Rockwell Col-
lins representative, of a new Rockwell Col-
lins government GPS unit that impressed
me as much as a simple picture of a GPS
unit can. I asked for more information and
a unit to review and I am still waiting. My
problem, and I say this in all sincerity, is
not with Rockwell Collins, as I know you
built the DAGR to outdated government
specifications that were generated in the
early 1990s; by Moores law that is more
than seven generations old by todays stan-
dards. My primary concern is the safety and
welfare of our warfighters. I know you can
do much better, but the antiquated and
non-responsive government acquisition
system has prevented you from making
changes and updating the poorly designed
user interface. Rockwell Collins makes tre-
mendous radios and avionics, which I used
successfully throughout my 30-year military
career, except for PLGR and DAGR units,
which I consistently found to be inferior.
I consider myself a sophisticated GPS
user and have tested more than 80 individ-
ual GPS units from manufacturers around
DAGR, GAO Furors
GPS0709_008.pgs 06.22.2009 08:20 janinej
GPS0709_009.pgs 06.11.2009 10:02 janinej
the globe, yet I find your equipment and in-
terface totally confusing. So please help me.
Send me the new proposed government
equipment with the color screen, the new
interface, and hopefully new capabilities,
and I will gladly review it in the magazine.
Several of my articles have helped gain
waivers from the U.S. government for of-
ficial use of thousands of commercial and
civilian GPS handheld units in theater,
mostly military-hardened Trimble units.
If you have a great new handheld unit,
then please send me an example to review
and I will do that. Maybe we can get of-
ficial waivers to use it in theater. I sincerely
hope that is the case.
The soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the
U.S. military have voted by purchasing
their own units or by obtaining waivers.
Even the newest recruits, whose low sal-
ary qualifies them for state assistance and
food stamps, spend their money on com-
mercial GPS units. As a very distinguished
friend and world-renowned GPS expert
said recently in a public forum, You may
not know it, but there has been an unof-
ficial competition among military users for
GPS handheld units, and Garmin won.
You have delivered 300,000 DAGRs, but
how many of those units are actually in use
today as stand-alone devices?
I
n my opinion the GAO Questions
GPS Health article in the May is-
sue focuses too much on the IIF as
the potential problem. The May 1415
National Space-Based PNT Advisory
Board meeting heard a presentation from
the DoD on GPS issues and challenges
[http://pnt.gov/advisory/2009/05/hyten.ppt].
During the brieng, Brigadier General
Hyten acknowleged (as asserted in the
GAO report)
that there are
three somewhat
equally scary
risks: delay of IIF,
delay of OCX
contract award,
and delay of GPS
IIIA. In the GAO
report, the real
doomsday scenario
(in the 20152017 time frame) was from
a two-year slide on the GPS IIIA pro-
gram. You should also be aware that the
graphs in the GAO report dont account
for two mitigation tools the DoD has in
reserve: retired satellite still in space that
could be revived (there are three at the
moment), and power management as a
means to extend satellite life.
Im less worried about the first graph in
the report that shows a dip in the 2010 time
frame than I am about the catastrophic dip
in the second chart around the 2015 time
frame. I think we have a good chance of
having fired our silver bullets by that time
and will be much more constrained with re-
spect to available mitigations. It is good you
are writing about this as it raises awareness
of the issue which could aid in the develop-
ment of a more robust risk mitigation plan
before this becomes a crisis.
I have been somewhat troubled by the
anti-IIF program bias in the overall dialog
on the subject. I dont have full visibility or
historical knowledge of what all went wrong
there; what I do know indicates there was
plenty of culpability to go around between
the contractor and the government. I am
concerned that too much focus on publicly
spanking IIF will detract from fixing the
root causes of the dilemma we are in: the
requirements development processes and
acquisition programs applied to GPS are
broken. That is exacerbated by a lack of
stable policy with respect to the long-term
strategy for GPS development and sustain-
ment. There are definitely lessons to learn
from the IIF experience. But the difficulties
associated with that program should be seen
for what they are: symptoms rather than the
root cause.
Name Withheld
GAO, FIGURE 5 Probability of maintaining constellation of at least 18, 21, and 24 GPS
satellites based on reliability data as of March 2009 and a two-year GPS III launch delay
GAO REPORT, FIGURE 4 Probability of maintaining a constellation of at least 24 GPS

satellites based on reliability data and launch schedule as of March 2009
GPS0709_010.pgs 06.22.2009 08:20 janinej
GPS0709_011.pgs 06.23.2009 11:32 janinej
EXPERT ADVICE
I
n the litigious society that we have
become, it is not surprising to see
GPS as a regular fixture in many
civil and criminal proceedings in our
nations courts. A new and growing
outlet for the legal profession, it has
also engaged many of the older GPS
pioneers who, instead of just retiring,
have found a relatively lucrative way
to spend their free time. They now
form the cadre of GPS expert witness-
es, without whom many of the cases
involving positioning could not be
settled equitably.
These brave individuals must of
necessity remain nameless, because
all have signed non-disclosure orders
regarding the details of any case they may
be or have been working on. Even the
public record of adjudicated cases affords
but a small peek into the activities of these
unheralded witnesses. Most civil cases are
settled before trial, often with confidential
terms, and many criminal cases plead out,
so there is little to find in a search of public
records for cases involving significant
aspects of GPS.
Civil matters usually fall into one of the
following categories:
misuse or misappropriation of intel-
lectual property (IP), for example,
patent infringement;
liability for accidents; or
product liability for latent defects.
Criminal matters involve some sort
of tracking of suspects or felons, or
use of GPS for evidence of an alleged
perpetrators location at the time of the
crime. The use of GPS in these instances
comes smack up against the publics right
to privacy. In some states, many of these
cases are thrown out for lack of warrants
allowing use of GPS tracking, while in
other states warrants are not required.
In 2007, the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of
Appeals held that no warrant was required,
as did a court in Wisconsin. But the New
York State Court of Appeals found the
opposite on a 43 vote. It is likely that
the U.S. Supreme Court will have to
determine if such warrantless tracking of
suspects violates the Fourth Amendment
to the Constitution.
Patents. Most IP cases involve patent
disputes wherein the patent in question
in some way uses GPS or is itself a GPS
component. An application relating to
mapping in a car or the way differential
GPS is performed provide examples of
the former, while a method for improved
receiver signal-processing would be of
the latter type. These lawsuits are very
contentious because experts from each
side will disagree on what to others might
seem to be obvious. These experts must
opine on the meaning of the claims in
the patent, the validity of the patent, and
the likelihood that the device in question
actually infringes on the patent. The cases
are expensive to litigate and take a long
time to come to an end. Many are settled
just before going to trial.
During the pre-trial process, the expert
witness must conduct research, provide
reports, and testify in depositions. Early
on, the expert will testify before a federal
judge at proceeding called a Markman
hearing, wherein each side presents his
interpretation of the words in the patent
claims that are in dispute. It is up to the
judge to decide what the words mean.
Lawyers refer to this as claim construction
and how the claims are construed. If the
case does go to trial, the experts testify in
open court, usually before a jury.
Navy versus Air Force. A civil case
well known to me involved whether or not
GPS receivers would perform during and
after the week-number rollover (WNRO)
that occurred in the summer of 1999.
This case came about as an adjunct to the
hysteria involving Y2K. But it was a real
concern to the tracking company and its
customers, who had deployed thousands
of GPS receivers, some in high-risk areas.
They had valuable cargo and people at
risk if their GPS failed.
The tracking company asked the
receiver manufacturer if the units would
operate through and after WNRO. The
receiver company really didnt know
and delayed answering long enough
that the exasperated tracking company
commissioned a U.S. Navy test facility to
experiment with a GPS simulator and the
receivers in question to see what would
happen. In the meantime, the receiver
company told the tracking company
that the Air Force expected everything
to go ahead normally, that is the uploads
performed at the Master Control Station
in Colorado would continue on the same
routine during WNRO as it had in the
past, namely at least daily uploads. The Air
Force would not guarantee that it would
happen that way because its specification
allowed for uploads plus or minus three
days from the end of the week. As such,
the receiver company told the tracking
company it couldnt guarantee the upload
would be timely, but not to worry.
The tests by the Navy showed that if
the uploads was early or late, there would
be adverse consequences. One version
of the receiver would stop operating
for several days after the upload, and
another version would stop operating
All Rise, GPS Entering the Court
The use of GPS in some instances
comes smack up against the
publics right to privacy.
By Len Jacobson
GPS0709_012.pgs 06.22.2009 08:21 janinej
500SE GPS Camera
integrated 3-Axis Compass
www.ricoh-usa.com/geo
The new SE-3 GPS/Compass module for the Ricoh
500SE camera takes geo-imaging to a new dimension
by embedding azimuth information into images and
videos. f you are looking for map points to indicate
direction - look in our direction.
ReaItime cardinaI or degree direction dispIayed on LCD
3-Axis digitaI compass with +/- 3 degrees accuracy
Instant integration with ESRI ArcGIS or GoogIe Earth
On-board data-dictionary tags images with attributes
Rugged camera design ensures operationaI reIiabiIity
Captures geo-coded high-resoIution stiIIs and videos
WireIess transmission of images to mobiIe devices
Azimuth
On-board Data Dictionary
SE-3 GPS/Compass ModuIe
1)
Position
A New Direction
in Geo-Imaging
MEN K
1/3
END
City Name
Structure Type
Photographer
Camera ID No.
Department
DATA ENTRY SCREEN
SELECT
Denver
CapitaI BuiIding
WiIIiams
:104.59.1550"
N: 39.44.3520"
TM
Tel ephone
GPS0709_013.pgs 06.17.2009 13:32 janinej
EXPERT ADVICE
ADVISORS UPDATE
ALISON BROWN, president and
CEO of NAVSYS Corporation,
announced that NAVSYS received
the Talon Namath Phase III
Follow-on Contract from U.S.
Air Force Space Command 50th
Contracts with funding provided
by Air Combat Command. NAVSYS developed this GPS
enhancement, which transfers zero age of data GPS ephemeris
corrections over Link 16, a secure military communications
channel, to Air Force planes and GPS guided weapons.
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Vidal Ashkenazi Nottingham Scientific Ltd., United Kingdom
Sally Basker General Lighthouse Authorities, United Kingdom & Ireland
Alison K. Brown NAVSYS Corporation, United States
Pascal Campagne France Developpement Conseil, France
Ismael Colomina Institut de Geomtica, Spain
Jordi Corbera Spanish Institute of Navigation, Spain
Paul A. Cross University College London, United Kingdom
Nicolas de Chezelles Ministry of Defense, France
Clem Driscoll C.J. Driscoll & Associates, United States
Brje Forssell Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
Alain Geiger Institute of Geodesy and Photogrammetry, Switzerland
Art Gower Lockheed Martin, United States
Sergio Greco Alcatel Alenia Spazio, Italy
Jrg Hahn European Space Agency, The Netherlands
Michael Healy Astrium Limited, United Kingdom
Gnter Hein University of the Federal Armed Forces, Germany
Larry D. Hothem U.S. Geological Survey, United States
Len Jacobson Global Systems & Marketing, United States
William J. Klepczynski Institute for Defense Analyses, United States
Grard Lachapelle The University of Calgary, Canada
Wolfgang Lechner Telematica, Germany
Jingnan Liu National Research Center for Satellite Systems, China
Pietro Lo Galbo European Space Agency, The Netherlands
Keith D. McDonald NavtechGPS, United States
Terence J. McGurn Consultant, United States
Jules G. McNeff Overlook Systems Technologies, United States
James Miller NASA, United States
Terry Moore University of Nottingham, United Kingdom
Ruth Neilan Jet Propulsion Laboratory, United States
Bradford W. Parkinson Stanford University, United States
Ivan G. Petrovski iP Solutions, Japan
Mario Proietti TechnoCom Corporation, United States
Jayanta Ray Accord Software and Systems, India
Martin U. Ripple European Aeronautics Defense and Space, Germany
Michael E. Shaw National Space-based PNT Office, United States
Giorgio Solari Galileo Supervisory Authority, Belgium
Jac Spaans European Group of Institutes of Navigation, Netherlands
Thomas Stansell Jr. Stansell Consulting, United States
F. Michael Swiek U.S. GPS Industry Council, United States
David Turner Department of State, United States
A.J. Van Dierendonck AJ Systems, United States
Frantisek Vejrazka Czech Technical University, Czech Republic
Akio Yasuda Tokyo University of Marine Science & Technology, Japan
LEN JACOBSON is a consultant to the GPS industry and has participated as an expert witness
in many cases involving GPS. He is the author of the book GNSS Markets and Applications,
published in 2007.
Alison Brown
and never recover. As a result of these
tests, the tracking company purchased
replacements and then sued the receiver
company for the costs, claiming a latent
defect in their products. The jury ruled
for the tracking company and ordered
the receiver company to pay for the
replacement receivers.
Crash Course. Another case involved
a fatal accident caused by the crash of
an automobile companys test van into
an open-structured, desert racing car.
The test van had GPS onboard as it was
performing experiments. The data showed
the speed and location of the van up to the
time of the collision, and that was enough
to cause a settlement.
GPS has figured in countless cases of
property incursions where GPS survey
data has been used to prove exactly where
one property begins and another ends.
Probably the most celebrated and
precedent-setting cases occurred in 2001,
when a driver sued a rental-car company
because it levied a $450 surcharge when
a concealed GPS unit indicated he was
speeding while driving the rental car. The
judge threw out the case because the rental
company failed to disclose that it had
hidden GPS unit in the car, and that it
had no right to collect a fine for speeding
as only a government entity could do so.
Several ongoing cases involve patent
disputes about GPS applications and
receiver designs, but all are subject to non-
disclosure restrictions.
Suspect Tracking. In the criminal
arena, a large number of cases involve
GPS use to track suspects. That sort
of data was used to help convict Laci
Petersons husband of murder in a recent
and celebrated California trial. Today,
courts all over America are pondering
whether the covert use of GPS tracking is
an invasion of privacy and should require
a warrant before police can use it.
Authorities use GPS quite openly
to keep track of felons, child molesters,
parolees, indicted suspects out on bail,
people sentenced to home restraint, and so
on. Supposedly, in these cases the person
has already broken the law so their rights
are abrogated. Or, they may have signed
an agreement giving consent to such
tracking in exchange for their conditional
release.
In one instance, a paroled sex offender
in Florida was rearrested when the tracking
company informed the sheriff that he was
not where he was supposed to be. After
an examination of the data and with help
from Google maps, it was determined that
if the tracking companys data was correct,
the parolee had to be traveling at 90 miles
per hour across a field where there was no
road. He was released forthwith.
Law enforcement routinely uses GPS
to locate stolen cars equipped with services
such as OnStar.
In Malibu, California, two fishermen
were stopped by fish and game deputies
and charged with illegal taking of lobsters.
The officers had photos and onboard GPS
fixes to present in court. Unfortunately
for the district attorney, the wily defense
claimed that since magnetic north had
moved more than 100 meters since the
maps that Fish and Game relied on were
made, the maps were not accurate, and
therefore the GPS data was inaccurate. The
jury did not seem interested in science, the
law, or the facts, and it acquitted the lead
defendant. His partner chose to plead to a
lesser charge and was fined, while the boat
owner went free.
Market Outlook. It is highly likely that
litigation regarding IP will grow as more
companies profit from GPS technology,
in many instances not knowing that
someone holds a patent on which they
could possibly be infringing. Criminal
proceedings will increase as well, now that
GPS tracking is relatively inexpensive for
law enforcement to deploy. Meanwhile
legislatures and high courts ponder how
to deal with potential violations of privacy
and the need for warrants.
GPS0709_014.pgs 06.22.2009 08:21 janinej
GPS0709_015.pgs 06.11.2009 13:42 janinej
Policy and system news and developments | GPS | Galileo | GLONASS
SYSTEM
THE
By Grard Lachapelle and Richard Ong
The current GPS constellation of 30+ satellites provides a
high level of availability, reliability, and accuracy to users.
Centimeter-level accuracy requires the use of carrier-
phase measurements and the resolution of associated
integer ambiguities; success is a function of the number
of satellites and their geometry and duration of observa-
tions. Given that the use of additional satellites is always
preferable, the question arises as to the gain that might be
achieved using combined GPS-GLONASS. Recently, a
renewed commitment by the Russian government has
increased the GLONASS constellation to a 1520 range.
Under a worst-case replenishment scenario foreseen by
the recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report,
the number of operational GPS satellites might drop below
24 in the next two years due to procurement delays
giving this question added and urgent relevance. FIGURES 1
and 2 provide part of the answer: the horizontal dilution of
precision (HDOP) at the 95 percentile level for a depleted,
19-satellite GPS constellation and a 19+16 GPS-GLONASS
constellation. The figures were obtained by computing
HDOP values on a 20-degree grid at time intervals of one
minute for 24 hours and calculating the 95 percentile
values at these points, using an elevation mask of 5.
No constraints were applied. Although most GPS values
are below 2, which is excellent, regions of significant
size have values between 6 and 10, which is marginal.
The corresponding values for a 30-satellite constellation
would be consistently below 2. The corresponding HDOP
values for a combined GPS-GLONASS constellation are
consistently below 2.
More telling are the reliability parameters (FIGURES 3 and 4).
These are 95-percentile horizontal probable errors (HPE) that
would go undetected, were they to occur, due to the lack of
redundancy. They are also called external reliability numbers
and are closely related to RAIM values. Standard deviations
of 2 and 6 meters were assigned to GPS and GLONASS
code measurements, respectively. The higher GLONASS
value accounts for larger orbital errors. A 0.1-percent
significance level and 90-percent test power were used.
As expected, the reliability of the 19-satellite GPS
constellation is very poor, given that errors of up to 300
meters would go undetected. The corresponding values for
a 30-satellite constellation, not shown here, all fall below
20 meters. The corresponding HPE values for a combined
p FIGURE 2 HDOP for a combined 19-satellite GPS and
16-satellite GLONASS constellation
p FIGURE 3 Maximum horizontal error probable for a 19-satellite
GPS constellation
p FIGURE 1 HDOP for a 19-satellite GPS constellation
Can GLONASS Alleviate
GAO Malaise?
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THE SYSTEM
Survey/Construction
Comments on GAO
By Eric Gakstatter
The recent GAO report has alarmed
the GPS community. Is a high level
of concern justified? As with most
answers about GPS, it depends.
While most GPS users ponder the
effects of a potential drop below 24
satellites seemingly a long way
from 31 real-time, high-precision
users should worry about a drop of
only two or three satellites, unless
they can use GLONASS.
Surveyors, engineers, construc-
tion companies, and GIS users who
rely on real-time, high-precision posi-
tioning require a lot of observables,
from at least six satellites that
produce a low position dilution of
precision (PDOP) value. These real-
time kinematic (RTK) users will be
among the first affected by any
degradation in the GPS constellation.
If the constellation dropped five
satellites tomorrow, typical con-
sumer GPS users wouldnt feel the
pain. They would still be able to navi-
gate from Point A to Point B, to their
favorite fishing spot, and so on. Even
pilots wouldnt have any problems
using GPS for aviation navigating.
But professionals who have spent
tens of thousands of dollars on GPS
equipment to increase their produc-
tivity would feel the difference im-
mediately during certain parts of the
day, due to lack of satellites and an
increased PDOP. Their productivity
would drop significantly.
GPS-GLONASS constellation are much
better, below 50 meters for much of
the world, except specific regions.
Kinematic GPS-GLONASS
GLONASS satellites can also help in
resolving carrier-phase ambiguities
faster and more reliably, despite the
limitations of the GLONASS FDMA
signals, together with associated solu-
tions. We illustrate this through a series
of short kinematic test-runs conducted
in March at speeds of up to 50 kilo-
meters per hour, using two NovAtel
OEMV1-G receivers and GPS-702-GG
antennas. The OEMV1-G provides L1
GPS and GLONASS code and carrier-
phase measurements. The reference
unit was located within 1 kilometer
from the mobile unit, and the mask
angle due to surrounding mountainous
topography reached 25 degrees. The
number of GPS satellites ranged be-
tween 5 and 11 and that of GLONASS
satellites between 5 and 7. The data
was reduced using PLANSoft, a
proprietary carrier-phase ambiguity-
resolution software developed internally.
The combined effect of noise and
multipath double-difference mea-
surements was of the order of 60
centimeters for the code and 8 to 10
millimeters for the carrier phase, at
the one sigma level, for either GPS or
GLONASS, as shown in FIGURE 5. The
corresponding undifferenced 1-sigma
figures are therefore 30 centimeters
and 4 to 5 millimeters, respectively.
Seven test runs of 200 seconds were
completed. In GPS-only mode, the
L1 integer ambiguities were resolved
in four cases while in GLONASS-only
mode, the ambiguities were resolved
in three cases. For the combined
case, ambiguity resolution was suc-
cessful in all cases. These results are
obviously very limited, and one should
not extrapolate them automatically to
other applications. They nevertheless
indicate the advantages of a com-
bined GPS-GLONASS approach. This
is of course well known and is the
reason why high-end GNSS manufac-
turers have offered combined GPS-
GLONASS equipment for a few years.
These results show that the
benefits of a combined approach are
indeed significant. While high-end
equipment is available for various
classes of users, location-based
services, which use low-cost chipsets,
do not have access to equivalent
equipment at this time. The question
then becomes: when will chipset
manufacturers come up with GPS-
GLONASS chipsets?
GRARD LACHAPELLE is a professor and RICHARD
ONG an MSc candidate in geomatics
engineering at the University of Calgary.
p FIGURE 4 Maximum horizontal error
probable for a combined 19-satellite GPS
and 16-satellite GLONASS constellation
p FIGURE 5 Combined effect of noise and multipath in double-difference kinematic mode
Continued on page 41
GLONASS Data
Innovation editor Richard
Langley and University of
New Brunswick colleagues
have also published satellite availability
studies: see www.gpsworld.com/glo.
MORE ONLINE
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2 different mounting
options:
female thread 1-14
3 holes M5 50
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2 different mounting
options:
female thread 1-14
3 holes M5 50
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BUSINESS
Industry news and developments | GPS | Galileo | GLONASS
THE
Broadcom Introduces PND on a Chip
MASS MARKET OEM
Broadcom has released what it calls
the first PND on a chip, a new
navigation processor and power man-
agement unit (PMU) designed for
personal navigation devices (PNDs).
The BCM4760 system-on-a-chip
(SoC) includes a GPS baseband, radio
frequency (RF) circuitry, low noise
amplifier (LNA), and high-powered
applications and graphics processors
to drive 3D user interfaces.
By integrating many of the nec-
essary, and costly, external com-
ponents required for a competitive
product, Broadcom aims to afford
PND manufacturers the ability to
create engaging 3D graphical user
interfaces (GUIs), accelerating map-
rendering and eliminating lags and
blocky renderings of many current
devices. Marketing Director Dave
Murray characterized it as a more
spectacular and interactive GUI, now
capable of 10 updates per second, as
opposed to one update per second
that has been the norm.
The BCM4760 is a low-power SoC
that combines a high-performance
GPS receiver and baseband, an
ARM11 processor, an OpenGL ES
1.1/OpenVG 1.0-compliant graphics
processor, and analog technology in a
built-in applications processor power-
ful enough to serve as the core for a
full range of devices beyond the PND
market, including personal media
players, gaming devices and other
mobile products. A 65-nanometer
chip carrying an audio codec, touch
screen controller, and USB 2.0 con-
troller with high-speed transceiver, all
on a single die, it provides integrated
support for Broadcoms other tech-
nologies including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi,
and combo-chip solutions.
A fabless semiconductor company
with 2008 revenue of $4.66 billion
headquartered in Irvine, California,
Broadcom acquired GPS chipmaker
Global Locate in June 2007. Broad-
com stated it planned to combine
Global Locates GPS technology with
its own Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cellular
technologies, and supply that combi-
nation to mobile handset makers.
PNDs and MIDs. Despite the rela-
tive slackening in the PND market
foreseen by some analysts, Broad-
com remains committed to it and
seeks to create new pricepoints in
the PND marketplace presum-
ably to stimulate demand. Murray
stated that while the 4760 could
potentially be used in a smartphone,
such products would probably prefer
combo chips that Broadcom also pro-
duces, rather than ones with applica-
tion processors.
He spoke of the rise of mobile
internet devices, or MIDs, which the
4760 suits. Hybrids between smart-
phones and small laptops, the MIDs
are a new category of mobile devices
for both business and consumer
users, also called touch tablets.
Video- as well as positioning-enabled,
these devices do not currently per-
form both functions simultaneously,
although they could. Only the con-
tent is lacking. But Murray sees that
as a soon-to-develop field.
According to the company, its
BCM4760 enables system manu-
facturers to create a platform meet-
ing the needs of the entry-level,
mid-level, and high-level GPS PND
market segments. The BCM4760 and
BCM59040 are now sampling.
Applanix Introduces Flight Management and Direct Georeferencing System
Applanix of Richmond Hill, Canada,
has introduced the POSTrack 410
flight management and direct geore-
ferencing system for medium-format
airborne digital photogrammetric
cameras to maximize the efficiency
and productivity of airborne mapping,
the company said.
POSTrack has a built-in POS AV
GNSS-Inertial Navigation System
(INS) for direct georeferencing of
airborne images. Flight management
features include mission planning,
pilot guidance, automatic stabilized
mount control, and automatic camera
triggering at pre-planned intervals.
The POS AV features include in-air
initialization, leveling of stabilized
mounts, automatic drift correction,
GNSS position translation using en-
coder data from stabilized mounts,
and generation of exterior orienta-
tion of each image for the mapping
process.
SURVEY & CONSTRUCTION
GPS0709_027.pgs 06.22.2009 08:23 janinej
THE BUSINESS
TechnoCom Corporation has launched a mobile advertis-
ing and marketing content-delivery platform, SpotOn
GPS, providing comprehensive turn-by-turn navigation,
search, and mapping. A white-branded mobile platform,
SpotOn GPS represents the first U.S. offering of advertis-
ing/marketing integrated with navigation. The sweet spot
is the added revenue stream it provides to affinity groups,
brands, and most important of all for the future of loca-
tion-based advertising (LBA) and location-based services
(LBS) wireless carriers.
A hosted solution, SpotOn GPS delivers ads to the
cell-phone handset as part of a navigation/local search
platform. It delivers customizable interactive and loca-
tion-aware advertising, offers, coupons, and loyalty-build-
ing promotional messages. According to TechnoCom,
it increases the effectiveness and reach of advertising
and promotional messaging by presenting it to consum-
ers at select times, in the right places, close to points of
sale enhancing the return on investment from mobile
advertising dollars.
SpotOn GPS has the potential to reach a wide range
of end-users with access to international local search da-
tabases, and text- and voice-prompted instructions in 13
languages, with more being added.
Early evidence suggests LBA yields significantly
higher conversion rates with direct response modes,
such as click-to-locate and click-to-navigate, compared to
nonlocation- based advertising, says ABI Research prac-
tice director Dominique Bonte. LBA and navigation are a
winning combination, mutually reinforcing each other. For
the end-user, ad-funded navigation represents a highly
valued balance between exposure to advertising and ac-
cess to reduced cost, or potentially free, navigation, thus
driving adoption of both.
According to TechnoCom, groups that are defined by
a membership or community are in excellent position to
brand their own navigation offering and participate in the
flexible revenue streams offered by SpotOn GPS. Affin-
ity groups often have partners that they want to cross-
promote so there is no need to go find ads. Affinity
groups such as airline mileage-rewards programs, shop-
ping clubs, or travel clubs can offer search listings of their
inventory, suppliers, and partners.
A turn-key solution, SpotOn GPS is designed for fast
deployment, with service launch within 60 days of con-
tract signing. Worldwide rich-mapping options include
street maps, 3-D map views, and satellite images. Loca-
tion-specific traffic and weather are also offered.
SpotOn GPS Platform Enables LBS Ad Delivery
LOCATION-BASED SERVICES
See all events at www.gpsworld.com/events.
UN ICG Seeks Presenters for Fourth Meeting
September 1418, 2009, St. Petersburg, Russia
The United Nations International Committee on GNSS
is looking for presenters on the interoperability of naviga-
tion satellite systems and augmentations from the user
perspective. Contact Rick Hamilton, cgsic@cgls.uscg.mil.
International Association of Institutes of Navigation (IAIN)
Tri-Annual Congress
October 2730, 2009, Stockholm, Sweden
www.congrex.com/nnf/iain2009/welcome.asp
GPS World Editor Alan Cameron will chair a session on
Human Technical Interaction and Useability.
IGNSS 2009 Conference & Exhibition
December 13, 2009, Queensland, Australia
www.ignss.org/?D=5
EVENTS
Targeting an emerging class
of location-centric devices for
budget-conscious consumers, SiRF
Technology Holdings has introduced
the SiRFatlasIV multifunction location
system processor for creating high-
volume, navigation, and location-aware
products. The SiRFatlasIV platform
available now in production quantities is designed to
minimize bill of materials (BOM) and overall system cost
while giving manufacturers the premium location and
multimedia performance they need to create innovative,
value-priced consumer products.
We believe multifunction, location-centric consumer
devices are best served by multifunction location silicon
and software platforms, said Kanwar Chadha, founder and
vice president of marketing for SiRF. The compelling cost/
performance benefits of our SiRFatlasIV solution enable
our customers to profitably address these high-volume
consumer markets without compromising the location
performance consumers have come to expect from SiRF.
Together, our SiRFatlas and premium SiRFprima multifunc-
tion system platforms enable SiRFs customers to offer a
complete range of location-centric products.
SiRFatlasIV Processor for Low-Cost Navigators
In-depth Coverage
Find more details on these stories at gpsworld.com.
For the latest GPS news, sign up for GPS World Alerts.
MORE ONLINE
GPS0709_028.pgs 06.22.2009 08:23 janinej
Let Topcon steer you
where you need to go.
topconsolutions.com
Its time.
Precise precision for your automation.
A
s dependence upon GPS grows,
so does the need for comple-
mentary or augmented solu-
tions. In commercial aviation, the lack of
integrity in GPS is addressed by systems
such as the European Geostationary Navi-
gation Overlay Service (EGNOS), while
mariners have developed their own dif-
ferential network for similar assurances.
The mobile market has developed net-
work-assisted techniques to counter the
slow time-to-first-fix, whilst on-board
solutions such as map-matching enable
seamless in-car navigation.
Experience shows that, regardless of
sector, users gravitate to free signals of
opportunity. Even the lack of a stable
operational system does not appear to
slow innovation of downstream indus-
try. Take the examples of EGNOS, not
yet fully operational, and GLONASS,
at reduced capacity for years. Yet both
systems have already become an essential
part of the mix for specific user segments
such as agriculture and land survey.
The future will be no different. The
presence of even more free-to-air signals
in space will effectively raise the bar for
commercial services wishing to offer ad-
ditional value at a price to end users.
Thus we establish our first ground
rule in the competition among other
GNSS Galileo, GLONASS, and
Compass to become the partner of
choice with GPS: Markets will not
wait for new solutions to existing
problems.
The lack of signal availability in the
urban environment remains one of the
biggest obstacles to expansion in GPS
use. Monetizing GPS for the mass mar-
ket depends upon the same level of ap-
plication continuity that we experience
today for voice or messaging, regardless
of whether we are indoors or under a
canopy.
Competition is fierce among GNSS
The Real Race in GNSS
To Be the Partner of Choice with GPS
By Andrew Sage
BUSINESSOUTLOOK
GPS0709_029.pgs 06.22.2009 08:58 janinej
BUSINESS OUTLOOK
chipset and platform manufacturers, with ever-decreasing
margins. The slightest performance advantage can make a big
difference to sales. Therefore these manufacturers are desper-
ate for a second constellation. Even though GLONASS has
been in use for many years in survey, GPS has not yet found its
natural partner for the mass market.
Despite cynicism regarding Galileos timelines, support for
the project remains very strong from the downstream supply
chain, for whom 50 or 60 satellites present ample opportuni-
ties for performance innovation. Hence, if anyone had any
doubt whether the race had started, our second rule is : The
market for multiple constellations is already here.
Perhaps not quite yet for the consumer market but for
longer lifetime platforms, todays procurements must future-
proof against potential upgrades. Car manufacturers now re-
quest flexible software receivers that can be readily upgraded to
multiple constellations, an obvious requirement given the typi-
cal six-year period for car design and manufacture, followed
by 10 years in service. Train rolling-stock procurement officers
are also asking manufacturers to indicate how they propose to
upgrade to multiple GNSS during the lifetime of the asset.
Because of all this stored-up demand, and in spite of the
uncertainty surrounding timescales for GNSS programs, a core
and very key handful of chipset and receiver manufacturers are
already investing substantial amounts of R&D.
Let us recall henceforth that an ever-decreasing number
of chipset suppliers control an ever-increasing portion of the
GNSS market. They do not care from which part of the globe
the second-place GNSS comes; this is completely irrelevant to
the bottom line. They are looking for the same thing that GPS
has provided for two decades: a continuous and, above all, pre-
dictable, thus bankable, signal and service.
From discussions with our customers, the key metric in
determining the GNSS second-place winner will not be who
launches the most satellites soonest but who publishes a firm
and manufacturer-friendly interface control document (ICD).
Enabling manufacturers to design, build, and sell chips and
receivers that are prepared to receive interoperable multi-GNSS
signals may be more important than the actual arrival of those
signals, or declared full operational capability of the GNSS
delivering them.
This then is the third rule governing the GNSS race: ICDs,
not satellites, constitute the key performance indicator.
Costs of R&D and product development have driven
consolidation amongst the major global players. Further, the
influence of companies once confined to mobile phones and
personal navigation devices has now spread to automotive
and leisure, formerly secured by professional receiver manu-
facturers.
In essence, high volumes and low margins characterize both
the consumer and telematics markets. The additional cost of
GNSS in an integrated chipset is expected to be less than $1 by
the end of 2010. Some predict that half of all new mobile sales
in the UK will be GPS-enabled in the same timeframe.
This means that while companies are desperate for new per-
formance differentiators, technical innovation is low on their
list of priorities. Instead, cost is the deciding factor in product
choice. But every feature has its price; Russias announce-
ment of implementing CDMA on a GLONASS open-service
frequencies has whet the appetites of many GPS developers.
Thus, the fourth ground rule: Innovation in technology
necessitates tangible performance benefit.
Such is the ferocity of price competition that any royalty fee,
however small, will have an immediate and detrimental effect
on Galileos uptake. Even an optimistic fee of $0.01 across 1
billion sales per annum would only scrape up $10 million.
Meanwhile, professional and safety-of-life (SoL) markets,
characterized by higher unit costs and lower volumes, dif-
fer greatly from the mass market. Receivers cannot easily be
developed without sufficient user-pull and backing from
international agreements and standards. EGNOS experience
provides some key lessons here. Certified commercial air-
transport receivers are only just becoming available in Europe
despite equipment standards being finalized many years ago.
In turn, receiver suppliers are unwilling to spend marketing
resource without a critical mass of user-pull, despite imminent
operational capability.
Uptake of new open services such as Galileos Open Service
(OS) in markets like aviation and maritime depends upon
many steps, and unfortunately they are sequential. They in-
clude equipment standards, international agreement and accep-
tance (ICAO, IMO), upgrade and re-capitalization of ground
infrastructure, and new procedures and training. Even replacing
existing equipment every 15 years is often optimistic, as users
instead opt to tie into other wider aircraft/vessel upgrades.
And thats just for open free-to-air services. The acceptance
of more specific Galileo services such as safety of life will re-
quire a new precedence in international acceptance, and may
ultimately have to wait until GPS is ready to provide the same
functionality and performance as part of a global integrity
concept. Therefore, the uptake of integrity services in
safety-critical markets will be slow.
Prospects are strong for a multiconstellation, single-
First GPS/Galileo receiver sales
Time
Penetration
GNSS %
Time of Galileo
Introduction
Determined by:
- Internal factors such as
programme timescales and
ICD release
- External factors such as
standards andinstitutional
approval
Rate of Galileo
Penetration Increase
Fundamentally driven by rate
of replacement (eg mobile
phones = 2 years; ships = 15
years)
What % of users choose to
upgrade from GPS to
GPS/Galileo?
Galileo%
GPS0709_030.pgs 06.22.2009 08:29 janinej
BUSINESS OUTLOOK
frequency, L1 open service, with rapid
take-up across virtually all markets. Gali-
leo has married itself to the GPS open
civil signal from its very beginnings,
and the EU-U.S. agreement means that
Galileo still holds onto second position
in the race. Despite the complexity in
decoding the Galileo signal, added soft-
ware and silicon should not mean that a
future GPS/Galileo L1 receiver is signifi-
cantly more expensive than GPS alone.
For the time being, it looks as though
a world of free-to-air multiple open
services will not only meet the needs of
most users, but enable a significant step
up in user experience and application
performance. The window for Galileo
remains open but its closing fast, as
Russian and Chinese counterparts jostle
for position alongside GPS. The case
for Galileos other services such as SoL
remains unanswered for the time being.
Clearly, however, even with strong user
demand, it is likely that the second gen-
eration of Galileo users will be the early
adopters of these added-value services.
Moral: Given the chance, users will
quickly turn to GPS/Galileo L1.
Three Tactics to Improve Odds
Examination of these sporting statistics
suggests three easy ways for Galileo to im-
prove its chances in the marketplace.
Of first and paramount importance is
the early release of the Open Service
signal-in-space (OS SIS) ICD with
immediate rights for commercializa-
tion and no royalty fees. The GPS
SIS ICD was published at least 10
years prior to GPS full operational
capability (FOC). Each competitor
in this race leaves the starting blocks
when its ICD is released not when
FOC is reached.
Promote development of multiple-
channel software receivers flexible to
all of this program uncertainty. These
can be exploited by long-lifetime
platforms such as aviation, maritime,
rail, and ground networks, and will
minimize through-life costs of infra-
structure over 1520 years. Galileo
has a real opportunity to put hooks
into the market at this early stage to
ensure its future.
Do nothing to risk delays in OS intro-
duction. From discussions with users
and manufacturers, 12 more satellites
will make sufficient difference to the
user experience to encourage receiver
development.
There is a real race to become the
partner of choice for GPS, but it is in
the chipset, not in the programs.
ANDREW SAGE is a director of Helios, a UK-
based management and technology consul-
tancy specializing in the field of navigation.
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GPS0709_031.pgs 06.22.2009 08:29 janinej
A
ccuracy improvements and cost reductions in the
surveying field have both accelerated rapidly in re-
cent years, driven by changes in work procedures
that combine different instruments and techniques. Sensor
integration for positioning and precise navigation is the prin-
cipal innovation responsible for these advances.
This evolution also affects construction, specifically earth-
moving machines assisted by GNSS receivers integrated with
attitude/tilt sensors. These recently introduced systems con-
tinue to undergo new developments, one such described here,
as well as study and testing to improve their affordability and
performance within the complexity and special circumstances
of construction projects.
Currently most companies producing positioning instru-
ments also distribute machine-control systems tailored to the
custom requirements and accuracies to be obtained. Such sys-
tems are based on satellite positioning and include one or more
dual-frequency GNSS receivers. Many of these systems can
receive GLONASS as well as GPS signals. Nearing comple-
tion as of May 2009, the GLONASS constellations availability
improves the positioning success rate in sites with natural or
artificial obstructions.
In bulldozer-type machines, the GNSS antenna is installed on
the frontal blade, protected by vibration-damping systems set up
|
Machine Control
Guido Fastellini, Fabio Radicioni, and Aurelio Stoppini
University of Perugia, Italy
Network-based real-time kinematic (NRTK) positioning reduces or eliminates the communication, integrity,
and affordability problems associated with semi-automated guidance of bulldozers, excavators, and other
equipment at centimeter-level accuracy. This new method addresses adequate height control, a crucial factor
for machine-control users.
Network Corrections
for Machine Control
Excavator
Tilt Sensors
GPS Receiver
Control Box
Radio Antenna
Tilt Sensor
GPS Single Antennas
GPS0709_032.pgs 06.22.2009 08:36 janinej
Machine Control
|
in different ways by the manufacturers.
These systems must also withstand the
high temperatures that can occur during
work. A second GNSS antenna measures
the blades transversal inclination.
Other devices such as micro-elec-
tromechanical systems (MEMS) and
similar sensors also contribute to
machi ne con-
trol. Such in-
struments have
many interesting
characteristics:
large numbers
of uni t s pro-
duced at l ow
cost, toughness,
smal l size, easy
installation and cus-
tomization, and possibil-
ity of integration with
other sensors. For ex-
ample, one company has
announced that their next
control system for dozers will
carry a three-axes MEMS capable of a
position and attitude estimation at rates
up to 100 Hz. Such a powerful sensor
system will further improve productiv-
ity of the system and augment the GNSS
receiver during poor satellite visibility.
Machines turning around a vertical
axis, such as excavators, also carry a sec-
ond GNSS antenna, as well as two- or
three-axes tilt sensors to estimate the in-
clination of the booms and the position
and attitude of the bucket.
Problems and Innovations
The current state of machine control
(see CURRENT BASELINE sidebar), while
representing great advances over tradi-
tional building practices, still presents
some drawbacks and limitations:
costs for a base station on each
building site (purchase, installation,
precise positioning, surveillance);
necessity of preliminary survey oper-
ations for the estimation of a datum
transformation between the local
datum of the computer-assisted
design (CAD) and WGS84, incor-
porating an adequate number of
ground-control points;
communication problems between
base station and the rovers, due to
the low radio-modem power per-
mitted by the law in some countries
(for example, 1 watt in Italy, lim-
iting the operating range to a few
kilometers);
sites spanning long distances, as in
the case of road construction, that
require placing and geo-referenc-
ing more base stations, or installing
radio-repeater devices; and
GPS0709_033r1.pgs 06.25.2009 15:10 janinej
|
Machine Control
affordability and integrity problems
for the correction data coming from
a single station that require frequent
control measures on known points.
To help solve some of these prob-
lems, the Department of Civil and En-
vironmental Engineering (DICA) at the
University of Perugia conducts research
on possible improvements to machine-
control systems.
The main avenue we have explored in-
volves permanent networks for the GNSS
corrections, which would eliminate the
need for one or more base stations in or
near the building site. The transmission
from the network to the rovers can be
effected in two different modes: direct,
through a GPRS or UMTS modem in-
stalled on each rover; or indirect, with
an intermediate pass on a radio repeater
redistributing the corrections all over
the building site. This second approach
has a consistent advantage over the first
one: only one GPRS/UMTS modem is
required for any number of machines op-
erating on the site, and it can be placed
where the GSM coverage is better.
FIGURE 1 shows the impact of a GNSS
permanent network on the organization
of the machine-control system. Under the
current system architecture, each build-
ing site operates with a connection to its
own local base station. Figure 1 shows
the future set-up utilizing a permanent
network, in this case the GNSS network
in Umbria, Italy: an unlimited number of
p FIGURE 1 Future proposed organization:
all building sites get RTCM corrections
from the network Ntrip caster
The use of real-time kinematic
(RTK) and network RTK (NRTK)
techniques enable such systems to
reach accuracies less than
5 centimeters, but some applica-
tions, for example road paving,
require even better performances,
on the order of a few millimeters. In
such cases, laser or ultrasonic levels
are installed at the building site, to
furnish height determinations with
a sub-centimetric accuracy for dis-
tances up to hundreds of meters, for
an unlimited number of receivers.
The main element of any machine-
control system consists of one or
more GNSS receivers installed on
the machine. A fixed GNSS station
installed in or near the building site
sends RTK corrections via radio
modem to all GNSS rovers operating
inside the transmission range. The
rovers are installed on machines or
carried by operators for tracking and
control purposes. A differential tech-
nique with code and phase correc-
tions estimates the rover position,
reaching accuracies equal or better
than 5 centimeters.
The system estimates in real time
the plano-altimetric position of the
rover. Other sensors, if present, can
improve the height accuracy and
enable determination of other com-
ponents of movement, position, and
attitude of the excavating blade or
bucket, after a brief one-time cali-
bration procedure.
An onboard computer, previously
loaded with a digital terrain model
(DTM) of the site, processes all data
acquired by the sensors. Thus, the
machine operator can visualize at
any moment the difference between
the actual ground surface and the
intended design.
In most cases, the system is also
connected to the machines hydrau-
lic control system, so that software
automatically commands the move-
ment of the booms or blade. The
driver only has to control the excava-
tion result and follow the design plot,
assisted by the displayed informa-
tion: machine position, excavation
or filling height, ground slope, cross
section, and so on.
Introduction of such machine con-
trol has considerably improved the
accuracy of earth movement, reduc-
ing times and costs. Advantages
include:
complete elimination of costs
for preliminary survey phase and
for the tracking during excava-
tion (more office work required
for design and DTM elaboration
and loading, but this is offset by a
more accurate data provision);
direct transition from the design
to execution phase, eliminating
intermediate passes, with a con-
sistent reduction of time, cost,
and potential errors;
better involvement and efficiency
of the machine operators, who
control project execution in real
time on their display;
consistent improvement in project
accuracy, reducing waste of mate-
rial, energy, and time;
on-site technicians controlling the
work in a very fast and affordable
way by means of the same RTK
corrections;
most machine-control systems,
even the newest releases, fully or
nearly turn-key, easy to learn and
understand by the operators after
a quick calibration phase;
damages to underground cables
and pipes avoided if the design
drawings includes their position
and depth.
Current Baseline
GPS0709_034.pgs 06.22.2009 08:37 janinej
Machine Control
|
operating machines in different building
sites work simultaneously and indepen-
dently, all connected to the permanent
network without local base stations.
Networks. The DICA operates two
permanent networks:
GPSUMBRIA, the official GNSS
network of the Umbria Region, cen-
tral Italy, offers both post-processing
and real-time positioning services. It
comprises 10 stations (two more are
scheduled in the next few months),
covering the region (FIGURE 2). More
information about the network
and its data (freely available at the
moment) is at www.gpsumbria.it.
LABTOPO, a regional network set
up for research purposes, is putting
together a bundle of GNSS perma-
nent stations of different operators
(universities, schools, public admin-
istrations, and private companies).
It includes 21 stations over a wide
area in central Italy from Rimini to
Rome (FIGURE 3), and offers only
post-processing services. See http://
labtopo.ing.unipg.it/labtopo/index.php.
The monumentation of the stations of
both networks is very stable: all GPSUM-
BRIA stations match the IAG Reference
Frame Sub-Commission for Europe
(EUREF) and International GNSS Ser-
vice prescriptions, and most LABTOPO
stations are set up with equivalent char-
acteristics. Two GPSUMBRIA stations
(UNPG Perugia and UNTR Terni) form
p FIGURE 2 GPSUMBRIA network
p FIGURE 3 LABTOPO network
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GPS0709_035.pgs 06.22.2009 08:38 janinej
|
Machine Control
part of the European Permanent Network
and the EUREF-IP real-time project.
All stations are equipped with GPS-
GLONASS geodetic receivers. Most have
choke-ring antennas; all GPSUMBRIA
antennas are individually calibrated.
All data of both networks are sub-
mitted to an automatic quality-control
procedure and then distributed to the sci-
entific and technical community through
the websites mentioned, in the form of
daily or hourly RINEX files at sampling
rates of 30, 5, and 1 seconds, to be used
for post-processing applications, enabling
users to achieve position accuracies down
to a few millimeters.
Post-processing data are currently
provided free in order to promote their
use, but such distribution policy might
change in the future, for example requir-
ing a fee for the 1-second files.
The GPSUMBRIA network also sup-
plies real-time positioning services (net-
work code corrections or NDGPS, and
network phase corrections or NRTK) to
registered users. Registration is currently
free because the real-time services are still
in a promotional phase; such policy will
likely change to a fully operational phase
in the future. FIGURE 4 shows the real-
time network.
Phase corrections are transmitted
to the users in virtual reference station
(VRS) or Flchen Korrektur Parameters
(FKP) modes, using the RTCM 2.3 for-
mat (correction types 18, 19 or 20, 21).
Code corrections are given in RTCM 2.0
format. Users can receive the corrections
through a direct connection to a stack of
GSM modems set up at the network con-
trol center or through our recommended
approach, the network Ntrip caster.
The real-time software performs a
continuous computation of the network,
which besides its primary function (am-
biguities and biases computation) consti-
tutes a powerful instrument for network
analysis and control.
Network Corrections Tests
Trovati S.n.c., a building and earth-
moving company of Perugia, recently
acquired two machine-control systems,
installed on a dozer and an excavator.
The dozer carries a system including
a dual-frequency GPS-GLONASS re-
ceiver, with antenna mounted on a
vibration-damping rod located at the
center of the excavating blade. A mono-
axial tilt sensor estimates the transversal
attitude of the blade. The equipment
also includes a control box, an onboard
computer with LCD screen, and a radio
modem receiving the RTCM correction
from the base station (see FIGURE 5).
The excavator has been fitted with a
system composed of two GNSS antennas
and five two-axes gravitational sensors
mounted on the three booms of the ex-
cavating machine, plus one on the bucket
and one on the machine body. The sys-
tem includes an onboard computer with
touch-screen control panel and a control
box including the GNSS receiver, con-
nected to a radio modem.
Both machines carry an oleo-dynamic
group actuating the blade movement and
p FIGURE 5 Dozer installation
p FIGURE 4 GPSUMBRIA real-time
network
GPS0709_036.pgs 06.22.2009 08:35 janinej
an electronic control system connected to
the control box.
Standard operating procedure requires
in a preliminary phase the selection of a
ground point to place the GNSS base
station. Its WGS84 position can be ob-
tained by means of a rapid-static or RTK
GNSS survey, using the post-processing
or real-time data of a permanent net-
work, or connecting the station to some
known points, such as vertexes of the Ital-
ian Geodetic Network IGM95.
To make the procedure easier for opera-
tors lacking knowledge on the reference
systems, the base station is often georefer-
enced in an approximate way (for exam-
ple, by a simple point-positioning through
pseudorange) with the condition that the
monumentation and the assigned coordi-
nates (we can call them pseudo-WGS84)
do not change from one day to another.
Using the phase corrections from the
base stations, the pseudo-WGS84 coordi-
nates of a series of ground control points
are determined by means of an RTK local
survey. This way, the control points have
a double set of coordinates: the pseudo-
WGS84 and the local ones extracted from
the design CAD drawings.
The system manufacturers software es-
timates a set of transformation parameters
between pseudo-WGS84 and the local
system. From then on, the operator works
in the local system, following the design
digital terrain model (DTM) and draw-
ings loaded on the PC and visible on the
screen. The machine position, computed
in RTK mode in the pseudo-WGS84
datum, is automatically converted by the
software into the local system.
With this operating mode, there is an
error due to the roughly approximate po-
sition of the base station. However, such
error has no influence on the work if the
base station position does not change in
time. If the base has to be moved for any
reason, the initialization procedure must
be repeated, including a new parameter
estimation.
We selected a test area and surveyed it
with the GNSS NRTK technique, using
VRS corrections from the GPSUMBRIA
permanent network and producing an ac-
curate local DTM. We set up a sample
design of a road track (FIGURE 6) for test-
ing purposes, including a straight part
and a 15-meter-radius curve, for a total
length of about 100 meters. We exag-
gerated the transversal slope of the test
road (10 percent, more than the values
p FIGURE 6 Test with NRTK corrections: left, the design plot; right, a planimetric
representation of the differences in meters measured between the designed and the
initial survey
Machine Control
|
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GPS0709_037.pgs 06.22.2009 08:59 janinej
|
Machine Control
normally allowed) for a better testing of the dozer blade-control
system.
To apply the innovative use of the GNSS permanent network,
it was necessary to partially modify the machine-control system,
which is a closed system, a limit due to its turnkey philosophy.
Following the indirect method described earlier, we supplemented
the system with a small hardware component capable of receiv-
ing NRTK corrections through an internal GPRS modem, and
redistributing them over the building site by means of a radio
modem. The adopted device also includes a basic GPS receiver
(code-only, 20 channels) that computes an approximate position
by means of the pseudoranges and sends a NMEA message to the
permanent network control center (necessary when operating in
the VRS mode). The supplementary device configuration is easily
done by sending it an SMS code (FIGURE 7).
We encountered some practical problems during the tests: a
poor GSM coverage over the test area, and some interference on
radio transmission. Both were easily solved, the first by changing
the supplementary devices location and the GSM operator, the
second by changing the frequency on the radio modem.
A further problem concerned the data stream (VRS or FKP
corrections in RTCM 2.3. format) transmitted by the GPSUM-
BRIA network caster. The bit-rate normally given by the technical
literature for VRS corrections is about 600 bits per second (bps)
for each satellite. During the test, the number of available satellite
increased to 14 (GPS + GLONASS), with a total bit rate of 8400
bps. Adding some other data exchanged between the caster and
the rover, the bandwidth available on the radio modem (9600
bps) was fully occupied.
A further increase in the number of satellites available once
GLONASS reaches its full operational phase would make things
even more difficult in the future. A possible solution is the adop-
tion of the Compact Measurement Record (CMR) format, a stan-
dard protocol for reducing the bit rate, usable with any brand of
receiver. A CMR bit rate can be estimated as follows:
Bytes/s = 6 + N [8 + (Freq - 1) 7]
where N is the number of available satellites (GPS + GLONASS)
and Freq the frequencies (1 for single, 2 for double). In the case
of our test (14 satellites), the result is 216 bytes per second,
thus 1728 bps. Even adding other message parts necessary to
transfer supplementary information about the reference station
and its coordinates (about 500 bps every 10 seconds), the 9600
bps limit seems sufcient.
A further possibility is given by the definition of a data stream
in the RTCM 3.0 format. A data stream of about 200 bps is esti-
mated for each satellite in the type 1004 message, while the 1003
is about 50 bps smaller. The 1004 or 1003 types only contain
GPS observations, but similar evaluations can be made for the
1012 or 1011 types used for GLONASS. Referring once more
to the test situation (14 satellites), a stream data of about 2800
bps can be estimated, which is about one third of the RTCM 2.3
value. The manufacturers support documentation, where a baud
rate of 2742 bps is evaluated with 12 satellites for a RTCM 3.0
VRS correction, confirms this.
We carried out the first test using the classic RTCM 2.3 format
transmitting VRS and FKP corrections. The limited bandwidth
provoked a periodic bottleneck effect in radio data transmission,
thus the dozer partially operated without differential correc-
tions.
After the dozer had completed its earth-moving job, a new
GNSS survey (NRTK VRS) checked the correspondence between
the execution and the design DTM. The mean value of the dif-
ferences between the two DTMs (shown in FIGURE 8) is about 5
centimeters, with standard deviation of 8 centimeters.
Note that a survey performed after the skinning phase of
the ground is subject to a few centimeters uncertainty, because
p FIGURE 8 Distribution of the height differences between
design DTM and execution (meters)
p FIGURE 7 Supplementary equipment for the test
GPS0709_038.pgs 06.22.2009 08:36 janinej
Machine Control
|
the surface is irregular and the survey shaft tends to sink into the
ground. Adding to this the uncertainties of the NRTK survey
(about 5 centimeters), and considering the aforementioned diffi-
culties given by the radio bandwidth in relation to the data stream,
the test result can be considered successful.
Improvements. To fix the main problem concerning the radio
modem bandwidth encountered during the test, the GPSUM-
BRIA real-time positioning service was improved by introduction
of a new data stream in CMR format, accessible through Ntrip.
We subsequently performed a second test on a real building site,
relative to the realization of a new road track near Perugia, includ-
ing a traffic roundabout (FIGURE 9).
Besides a dozer (the same as the first test), an excavator and a
grader were also used. The equipment installed on the grader is
the same as that of the dozer: it can be easily transferred from one
machine to another by appropriately setting the pre-calculated
calibration parameters.
The second test, performed with CMR corrections received
from GPSUMBRIA through the supplementary device, shows a
regular and continuous operation of the system in NRTK mode.
The GSM coverage over the building site, in a suburban area,
is very good. In any event, the adoption of the CMR format
completely fixed the problem related to the limited bandwidth of
the radio modem, even with a great number of available satellites
(from 13 to 15 during the test).
To verify the accuracy of the GNSS-controlled machine work
(besides the earth movements, the creation of a lime-stabilized
ground), a control survey was performed with an handheld rover
on a sample of about 100 ground surface points, plus some mark-
ers set up for control purposes. A comparison between the design
DTM and the surveyed heights is summarized by FIGURE 10 and
TABLE 1. The results can be considered acceptable given the rough
surface of the ground at the present intermediate phase of the
work, before laying down the paving layers. A final check will be
performed on the finished asphalt paving. Referring to our earlier
research on network phase corrections, an accuracy of about 5
p FIGURE 9 Design DTM for the second test
p CONTROL SURVEY for the second test
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|
Machine Control
centimeters is to be expected as a routine
result.
During the roundabout test, we
performed a further test, shown in
FIGURE 11: we determined the 3D position
of some control points with the central
tooth of the excavator bucket, to test the
affordability of the cinematic chain going
from the two GPS antennas to the bucket
through the five tilt meters mounted re-
spectively on the machine body, the three
booms, and the bucket itself. The control-
point coordinates match at a few centime-
ters level, confirming once more the good
calibration of the system a rough but
effective test.
The Trovati company is complet-
ing the roundabout building with the
NRTK technique and has adopted the
technique as a routine method for their
future work.
Future Developments
The tests described here evaluate the
potential of using real-time positioning
services supplied by a GNSS permanent
network for machine-control applica-
tions. Use of the supplementary device
distributing the corrections over the
building area has shown some points
of weakness connected with the radio
transmission: interferences, limited
range, limited bandwidth. Most prob-
lems can be fixed, as we have shown,
and the experimented technique also has
demonstrated obvious benefits:
elimination of the local base station
(one for each building site), with a
sensible cost reduction;
possibility of using a theoretically
unlimited number of GNSS-con-
trolled machines in any building area
covered by the permanent network;
reduction of the costs connected
with preliminary survey operations;
improvement of the accuracy and
affordability of the machine position-
ing, in other words of the integrity of
the process, thanks to the better per-
formances of NRTK versus RTK;
use of a global reference system,
controlled and monitored by the
network, rather than a pseudo
WGS84 system;
availability of quality control proce-
dures more effective and simple than
those currently in use, with possibili-
ties of quality certification.
At present, the use of the supplementary
device appears to be a convenient solution
to send corrections to the machines op-
erating in a building site. The alternative
(installation of a GPRS or UMTS modem
on each machine and/or surveying rover)
is expensive due to the cost of the GSM
services, and can also represent a source
of problems if the GSM coverage is not
very good over the whole building area.
An advantage of the device-based solution
is the possibility of moving it to wherever
the GSM signal is best. Further tests are
still necessary to pass from the prototype
to the standard application of the method,
in order to satisfy the turnkey operability
request.
Precision farming practices can benefit
from the same advantages of the GNSS
control supported by a permanent net-
work listed earlier. This is particularly
true for the most accuracy-dependent ag-
ricultural applications, currently using the
base-rover approach with a fixed station,
which could be eliminated.
Other farming applications require a
lower accuracy and are based on code-dif-
ferential corrections transmitted by geo-
stationary satellites. An alternative could
be obtained receiving the code RTCM by
a permanent network, which would per-
mit the use of low-cost receivers. Other
testing that we have conducted shows that
submetric accuracies are possible to reach
with relatively low investments.
Acknowledgments
We thank the Trovati and Geotop com-
panies for collaboration on this research.
Manufacturers
All GPSUMBRIA and LABTOPO
stations are equipped with Topcon GPS-
GLONASS geodetic receivers (www.
topcon.com). Real-time functionality
of GPSUMBRIA is achieved through
GNSMART software by Geo++ (www.
geopp.de). The dozer (CAT D6M) carries
a Topcon 3DMC system, and the exca-
vator (CAT 320CS) a Topcon 3DXi sys-
tem. The system was supplemented with
the SmallTRIP produced by Smalltouch
Aps (www.smalltouch.com). The CMR
protocol was introduced by Trimble
(www.trimble.com).
p FIGURE 11 Excavator bucket test
p TABLE 1 Statistical data summary
referring to the histogram of Figure 10.
Values in meters.
Mean -0.006
Median -0.012
Max -0.140
Min -0.142
RMS -0.059
p FIGURE 10 Frequency distribution of
the height differences (meters) between
design DTM and control survey
GPS0709_040.pgs 06.22.2009 08:37 janinej
Acknowledgments
This article is based on the paper GIOVE-A Precise
Orbit Determination from Microwave and Satellite Laser
Ranging Data First Perspectives for the Galileo Constel-
lation and Its Scientific Use presented at the 1st Collo-
quium on the Scientific and Fundamental Aspects of the
Galileo Program, held in Toulouse, France, October 1-7,
2007.
ERIK SCHNEMANN studied geodesy at the Technische Universitt
Darmstadt (TUD), Germany, writing his diploma thesis at the
University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Since receiv-
ing his diploma from TUD in April 2005, he has been working
for the Institute of Physical Geodesy at TUD on GNSS station
calibration and validation and analyses of GIOVE-A and GIOVE-B
data.
Fortunately, Russia has been launching GLONASS
satellites at an aggressive pace, with 19 operational as
of June 18, and six more scheduled to launch by the end
of the year. Users with equipment that utilizes GPS and
GLONASS should not feel the effect of a slightly
degraded GPS constellation; they could still initialize with
as few as three GPS satellites as long as their receiver is
tracking at least four GLONASS satellites.
Hold the Phone. Is there anything really to worry
about? The U.S. Air Force says no because it main-
tains a ghost fleet of partially mission-capable satellites
as back-ups.
But remember that the Air Force is only committed
to a 24-satellite constellation. Real-time, high-precision
users have become accustomed to much more than
that over the last few years. More satellites generally
means increased productivity, which translates into
greater profit margins. The GPS constellation could drop
five satellites tomorrow (although highly unlikely) to a
26-satellite constellation, and while the Air Force would
certainly be alarmed, they would still be maintaining a
level of service above their commitment.
While the rest of the community worries about a
drop below 24 satellites, real-time, high-precision users
should really fret about a drop of two or three satellites
(unless they are using GLONASS), especially with the
machine-control segment expected to be one of the
fastest growing over the next five years.
Survey/Construction
continued from page 18
System Design & Test
|
INNOVATION
THE SYSTEM
GIOVE-A
continued from page 50
TIM SPRINGER received his Ph.D. in physics from the Astronomical
Institute of the University of Berne (AIUB) in 1999. He has
been a key person in the development of the Center for Orbit
Determination in Europe, one of the IGS analysis centers, located
at AIUB. Since 2004, he has been working for the Navigation
Support Office ( NSO) at the European Space Operations Centre
( ESOC) of the European Space Agency ( ESA) in Darmstadt. In
this group, he has led the development of the new ESOC GNSS
software, which is used for most GNSS activities at NSO includ-
ing GIOVE-A and -B analyses.
MICHIEL OTTEN obtained a degree in aerospace engineering from
Delft University of Technology in 2001. He has been working for
ESOCs NSO since 2002. His main role within NSO is the precise
orbit determination of low Earth-orbiting satellites equipped for
SLR, DORIS, and GPS tracking. He is also responsible for ESAs
International DORIS Service Analysis Centre activities.
MATTHIAS BECKER is a full professor of geodesy and director of the
Institute of Physical Geodesy, TUD. He received his diploma and
Ph.D. in geodesy from TUD in 1979 and 1984, respectively. He
is responsible for research and teaching in the fields of physical
geodesy and satellite geodesy.
Further Reading
For references related to this article, go to gpsworld.com and click on
Innovation under Resources in the left-hand navigation bar.
MORE ONLINE
GPS0709_041.pgs 06.22.2009 08:38 janinej
INNOVATION
|
WE USE THEM FOR LISTENING TO MUSIC, for routine surgeries, for making a
point in a presentation, and even for hanging pictures straight. Of course, Im
talking about lasers. Invented in 1960, the laser (an acronym for light amplifica-
tion by the stimulated emission of radiation) has become ubiquitous in modern
society. Every CD and DVD player has one. Many printers use them. But lasers
are also used in a wide range of industrial and scientific applications including
determining the orbits of satellites through satellite laser ranging (SLR).
In the SLR technique, pulses of laser light from a ground reference station
are directed at satellites equipped with an
array of corner-cube retroreflectors, which
direct the pulses back towards a collocated
receiving telescope. By accurately measuring
the two-way travel times of the pulses and
knowing the location of the station and other
operating parameters, the positions of the sat-
ellites can be determined. A network of SLR
reference stations around the globe is used to
monitor the orbits of satellites over time and
their variations have been used by scientists to
improve our knowledge of the Earths gravity
field; to study the long term dynamics of the
solid Earth, oceans, and atmosphere; and even
to verify predictions of the General Theory of Relativity.
The first SLR measurements were obtained from the Beacon Explorer-B
satellite, which was launched in October 1964. Since then, dozens of satel-
lites equipped with corner-cube retroreflectors have been launched including
a number of radio-navigation satellites. Every GLONASS satellite is equipped
with retroreflectors and two GPS satellites have been equippedSVN35/
PRN05 and SVN36/PRN06. The COMPASS-M1 satellite in medium Earth orbit
carries retroreflectors, as do both GIOVE-A and B, the Galileo test satellites.
Precise orbit determination of radio-navigation satellites using SLR has the
advantage of being unaffected by any onboard satellite electronics and associ-
ated signal biases. Radiometric observations of a satellites microwave signals,
on the other hand, are influenced by the satellites clock, for example, and its
effect must be estimated to obtain precise (and accurate) satellite orbits for
navigation and positioning. Therefore, a comparison of SLR- and microwave-
derived orbits can be very useful for studying the performance of the data
measurement and orbit-determination processes of both techniques.
In this months column, we take a look at some work being carried out to
precisely determine the orbit of the GIOVE-A test satellite using SLR and
microwave observations. This preliminary investigation will benefit the proce-
dures to be implemented for the future Galileo constellation.
SLR is unaffected by
satellite electronics.
INNOVATION INSIGHTS
with Richard Langley
Innovation is a regular column that features discussions about recent advances in GPS technology and
its applications as well as the fundamentals of GPS positioning. The column is coordinated by Richard
Langley of the Department of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering at the University of New Brunswick, who
welcomes your comments and topic i deas. To contact him, see the Contributing Editors section on page 6.
Erik Schnemann, Tim A. Springer, Michiel Otten, and Matthias Becker
Using Microwaves and Laser Ranging for Precise Orbit Determination
Where is GIOVE-A Exactly?
T
he navigation office of the Euro-
pean Space Operations Centre
(ESOC) is engaged in various ac-
tivities using observations of the Galileo test
satellite, GIOVE-A (Galileo In-Orbit Vali-
dation Element-A), recorded at the Galileo
Experimental Sensor Stations (GESS). The
work includes the assessment of the qual-
ity and performance of GIOVE satellite
observables and the testing and improve-
ment of orbit-determination software.
These activities support the long-term goal
of advancing the scientific applications of
the future Galileo constellation.
Since the launch of GIOVE-A on De-
cember 28, 2005, various tests have been
carried out to analyze the quality of the
new code (pseudorange) and carrier-phase
observables derived from tracking the sat-
ellites microwave signals. All of these tests
demonstrate the advantages of the new
signal structure compared to that of legacy
GPS signals. In general, the reduction of
the noise by factor of 4-5 as well as a re-
duction of the code multipath by approxi-
mately a factor of 1.2 (GPS C1C versus
GIOVE-A C1B/C1C) could be seen.
As the comparison of observations is
done indirectly (GPS and GIOVE-A have
different orbits) and the databases used
for most analyses published up to now
is sparse, a deeper analysis of the signal
quality parameters seems appropriate, es-
pecially as data quality has a direct impact
on the precision of orbit determination.
Our analyses, presented in the first half
of this article, are based on a broad base
of data from most of the stations in the
GESS network. Because of the difficulty
in accessing the phase multipath directly,
we first evaluated the signal strength and
the code multipath, which gave the first
hint of the multipath behavior. In order
to compare GPS and GIOVE-A data di-
rectly, only data received from the same
elevation angles and azimuths were used.
GPS0709_042r1.pgs 06.22.2009 08:46 janinej
|
INNOVATION
Subsequently, we present an analysis of the phase residuals de-
rived by precise point positioning.
The second part of this article focuses on the precise orbit de-
termination or POD of the GIOVE-A spacecraft. The Navigation
Package for Earth Observation Satellites (NAPEOS) software
used at the ESOC Navigation Support Office allows microwave
(radiometric) and satellite laser ranging (SLR) observations to be
used either separately or together. The two methods are different
due to different tracking networks and the different sensitivity of
the observables to atmospheric effects and in their noise levels. We
will present the orbit results focusing on internal orbit consistency
checks and SLR validation of the microwave-based orbits.
Data Analysis
We first describe the procedures used for analyzing the micro-
wave data followed by those used for the SLR data.
Microwave Analysis. For the GIOVE-A signal analysis and
precise orbit determination we used the RINEX data from all of
the GESS stations available from the GIOVE archiving facility
(see TABLE 1). All stations are equipped with GPS/Galileo anten-
nas, built by Space Engineering S.p.A. and Galileo Experimental
Test Receivers (GETRs), built by Septentrio. The data, contain-
ing tracking data of all GPS satellites and the GIOVE-A satellite,
is given in the RINEX 3.00 data format with a sampling interval
of 1 second. To save on storage space for the long-term analyses,
Station name Location Country
GIEN Turin Italy
GKIR Kiruna Sweden
GKOU Kourou French Guyana
GLPG La Plata Argentina
GMAL* Malindi Kenya
GMIZ Mizusawa Japan
GNNO New Norcia Australia
GNOR Noordwijk Netherlands
GOUS Dunedin New Zealand
GTHT Tahiti French Polynesia
GUSN Washington U.S.A.
GVES* Vesleskarvet Antarctica
GWUH* Wuhan China
TABLE 1 Galileo Experimental Sensor Stations. Data from

stations marked with asterisks were not used for the analyses
reported in the article.
Signal
Compo-
nents
RINEX
identi er
Modulation
type
Carrier
(MHz)
RINEX
identi er
E5
E5a-I data C5I
BPSK(10)
1176.45
L5I
E5a-Q
pilot
C5Q L5Q
E5b-Q
pilot
C7Q 1207.14 L7Q
E5a+E5b C8Q AltBOC(15,10) 1191.795 L8Q
E1
E1-A C1A BOC(15,2.5)
1575.42
L1A
E1-B data C1B
BOC(1,1)
L1B
E1-C pilot C1C L1C
G1
C/A data C1C BPSK(1)
1575.42
L1C
P data C1P BPSK L1P
G2 P data C2P BPSK 1227.60 L2P
TABLE 2 GIOVE-A and GPS signals used in this study
GIOVE-A is equipped with 76 quartz corner-cube

retroreflectors in an array to one side of its nadir-facing surface
GPS0709_043r1.pgs 06.22.2009 08:44 janinej
INNOVATION
|
such as orbit determination, the RINEX
data is decimated to 30-second samples
and Hatanaka-compressed, using a test
version of the Hatanaka software for the
RINEX 3.00 format.
The signal analyses shown here were
carried out using GNU Octave, an open-
source program for performing numerical
computations similar to Matlab, and dif-
ferent scripts developed by the Institut fr
Physikalische Geodsie at the Technische
Universitt Darmstadt. These analyses
cover a selection of the designated Gali-
leo signals recorded by the GESS within
the time span from December 16 to 27,
2006. Within this time period, the cur-
rent GPS signals, as well as the GIOVE-
A signals E1 and E5, shown in TABLE 2,
were recorded. The table also shows the
signal components as well as the RINEX
observation-type identifiers, which we use
in this article.
The stations used for the analyses show
a quite similar level of performance in
general. There are stations with different
behaviors for single signals, as for example
GIEN with a stronger code multipath be-
havior on C1B and C1A, but no station
with a considerably different performance
level could be identified. The averaging
over the data from all sites reduces the sta-
tion-dependent effects such as multipath
and the atmosphere to a large extent, and
gives a good indication of the mean signal
performance.
The analyzed phase residuals were taken
from the processing carried out for the sec-
ond part of this article. Hence, they include
observation data over an extended period of
149 days and were limited to the GIOVE-
A C1C/L1C and C7Q/L7Q signals.
This extended data period is from De-
cember 12, 2006 (day of year 346), until
May 26, 2007 (day of year 146). Dur-
ing this interval, there is a period where
no GIOVE-A data was available due to
maintenance of the spacecraft. This gap
occurred from February 12 to 28, 2007.
So in total we have analyzed 149 days of
microwave data. Because there are some
differences between the results before and
after this gap in February, many of the
statistics are given for the first and sec-
ond part separately. The first part covers
December 12, 2006, until February 11,
2007; the second part covers March 1,
2007, until May 26, 2007.
We performed the precise orbit deter-
mination using the NAPEOS software,
a general-purpose software package for
orbit determination, prediction, and
control, supporting all phases of an Earth-
observation mission in terms of mission
preparation and operations.
For the GIOVE-A analysis, the three
main NAPEOS programs we used are Gns-
sObs, Bahn, and Multiarc. GnssObs reads,
cleans, and decimates the RINEX data and
converts the data into the NAPEOS inter-
nal tracking-data format. The NAPEOS
tracking-data format contains the iono-
sphere-free linear combination, for both
code and phase, of the RINEX observa-
tions. For GPS, the ionosphere-free linear
combination is based on the combination
of C1P and C2P code and L1P and L2P
phase measurements. GIOVE-A offers
several different observables allowing for
many different ionosphere-free observa-
tions. For most of the work presented in
this article, we have used the ionosphere-
05 510 1015 1520 2025 2530 3035 3540 4045 4550 5055 5560 6065 6570 7075 7580 8085 8590
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
Elevation angle (degrees)
S
i
g
n
a
l
-
t
o
-
n
o
i
s
e

r
a
t
i
o

(
R
I
N
E
X
)
E S1A E S1B E S1C E S5I E S5Q E S7Q E S8Q G S1C G S1P G S2P
FIGURE 1 Signal-to-noise ratio, GPS versus GIOVE-A

05 510 1015 1520 2025 2530 3035 3540 4045 4550 5055 5560 6065 6570 7075 7580 8085 8590
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
Elevation angle (degrees)
C
o
d
e

m
u
l
t
i
p
a
t
h

(
m
e
t
e
r
s
)
E C1A E C1B E C1C E C5I E C5Q E C7Q E C8Q G C1C G C1P G C2P
FIGURE 2 Code multipath, GPS versus GIOVE-A

GPS0709_044r1.pgs 06.22.2009 08:44 janinej
Copyright 2009 ESRI. All rights reserved. ESRI, the ESRI globe logo, and www.esri.com are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of ESRI
in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Other companies and products mentioned herein may be trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.
Enhance your business practices and expand your capabilities with the
technology that is shaping the future of geospatial data management and
analysis. Join other surveyors, engineers, and geographic information system
(GIS) users at the 2009 ESRI Survey & Engineering GIS Summit.
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Collaborate with your peers and ESRI staff and business partners.
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Building New Opportunities
Learn more and register at
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Survey & Engineering
GIS Summit
July 1114, 2009
San Diego Convention Center
San Diego, California
GPS0709_045.pgs 06.23.2009 08:44 janinej
INNOVATION
|
free linear combination of the C1C and
C7Q and L1C and L7Q observations for
code and phase respectively.
The next module, Bahn, performs the
parameter estimation. In this step, we
use the ionosphere-free code and phase
observations at a sampling interval of 5
minutes, and we have applied an eleva-
tion angle cut-off of 5 degrees. The data
is processed in batches of 24 hours, thus
resulting in 1-day-arc solutions. The esti-
mated parameters in these daily solutions
are the GIOVE-A state vector (position
and velocity), five dynamical orbit param-
eters from the extended Center for Orbit
Determination in Europe (CODE) orbit
model, a GIOVE-A clock offset for each
epoch, all receiver clock offsets for each
epoch, one GPS-GIOVE-A intersystem
bias parameter per day for each station
except for a selected reference station, and
the carrier-phase ambiguities (integers not
resolved). The station coordinates are esti-
mated but tightly constrained (1 millime-
ter) to their a priori value. We obtained the
a priori station coordinates by combining
the full set of daily solutions.
Despite the fact that the 13 GESS sta-
tions provide very good global coverage,
it is expected that 24-hour solutions will
not give the most precise GIOVE-A orbit
estimates. To generate longer arc solutions,
we have used the Multiarc program. This
is a tool that has recently been added to the
NAPEOS software package. It allows for
a rigorous combination of normal equa-
tions, also referred to as normal equation
stacking, which are generated by Bahn.
During the normal equation combina-
tion, the satellite orbit parameters may
also be rigorously combined, thus effec-
tively leading to multi-day orbital arcs. For
the work presented in this article, we have
used Multiarc to generate solutions with
arc lengths of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 days. We
also used Multiarc to compute accurate a
priori station coordinates by stacking all
available 1-day normal equations.
Satellite Laser Ranging
Besides the 13 GESS stations, GIOVE-
A is also tracked by more than 17 differ-
ent SLR stations around the world. For
most periods of the mission, the tracking
has been consistent enough to allow for
GIOVE-A POD using only the SLR data.
As the SLR data is completely independent
of the microwave data, the resulting orbit
solutions will be to a large extent indepen-
dent as well and thus can be used to give
an indication of the achieved precision of
the different microwave solutions.
The orbit determination strategy used
for the SLR solutions is very similar to
the one used for the microwave orbits
with the main difference being the in-
creased arc-length of 7 days. The same
satellite parameters are estimated as with
the microwave solutions: the GIOVE-A
state vector and five dynamical orbit pa-
rameters from the extended CODE orbit
model. No further parameters need to be
estimated and all corrections applied to
the SLR data are according to the Inter-
national Earth Rotation and Reference
Systems Service 2003 standards and, for
station coordinates, we used those from
the rescaled International Terrestrial
Reference Frame 2005 solution. As the
noise level of the SLR data is very low, the
measurements can also be directly used to
give an indication of the precision of the
radial position components of the differ-
ent microwave solutions by computing
the SLR residuals without using them in
the estimation process itself.
Combined Microwave and SLR
Analysis. In this step, the SLR data was
added to the microwave data in the 24-
hour solutions. For the data weighting,
we used 100 millimeters for SLR and
1000 millimeters and 10 millimeters for
GIOVE-A and GPS code and phase ob-
servables respectively. The only change in
the analysis strategy in this case was that
we now processed the SLR data in 24-
hour solutions and not in 7-day batches.
All the processing options remained as de-
scribed in the two previous sections. The
resulting 1-day solutions, or rather the as-
sociated normal equations, were used in
Multiarc to generate combined solutions
of different arc lengths.
Microwave Data Quality
We now take a detailed look at the quality
of the microwave data in terms of signal-
to-noise ratio (SNR), code-tracking noise
and multipath, carrier-phase-tracking
noise, and carrier-phase residuals.
Signal-to-Noise Ratio. The SNR (or
equivalently carrier-to-noise-density ratio,
C/N
0
) is strongly dependent on the satel-
lite transmitter, the signal path through
the atmosphere, and the receiver configu-
ration (ground station, antenna, receiver,
cable, etc.). Hence the SNR cannot be
seen as an absolute value. The SNR is spe-
Elevation
angle
(degrees)
L1B/L1C L5I/L5Q
cycles mm cycles mm
0 - 5 0.0095 1.81 0.0118 3.01
5 - 10 0.0073 1.39 0.0078 1.99
10 - 15 0.0060 1.14 0.0061 1.55
15 - 20 0.0052 0.99 0.0054 1.38
20 - 25 0.0044 0.84 0.0043 1.10
25 - 30 0.0040 0.76 0.0038 0.97
30 - 35 0.0035 0.67 0.0035 0.89
35 - 40 0.0030 0.57 0.0031 0.79
40 - 45 0.0027 0.51 0.0031 0.79
45 - 50 0.0024 0.46 0.0028 0.71
50 - 55 0.0022 0.42 0.0024 0.61
55 - 60 0.0022 0.42 0.0023 0.59
60 - 65 0.0023 0.44 0.0023 0.59
65 - 70 0.0022 0.42 0.0021 0.54
70 - 75 0.0023 0.44 0.0023 0.59
75 - 80 0.0023 0.44 0.0023 0.59
80 - 85 0.0024 0.46 0.0022 0.56
85 - 90 0.0024 0.46 0.0022 0.56
TABLE 4 GIOVE-A carrier-phase-track-

ing noise
Elevation
angle
(degrees)
C1B/C1C C5I/C5Q
0 - 5 0.62 0.35
5 - 10 0.42 0.27
10 - 15 0.33 0.21
15 - 20 0.26 0.17
20 - 25 0.22 0.14
25 - 30 0.19 0.12
30 - 35 0.16 0.10
35 - 40 0.14 0.09
40 - 45 0.13 0.08
45 - 50 0.12 0.08
50 - 55 0.11 0.08
55 - 60 0.11 0.08
60 - 65 0.11 0.08
65 - 70 0.12 0.07
70 - 75 0.12 0.07
75 - 80 0.13 0.07
80 - 85 0.14 0.07
85 - 90 0.14 0.06
TABLE 3 GIOVE-A code-tracking noise

in meters
GPS0709_046r1.pgs 06.22.2009 08:44 janinej
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INNOVATION
|
cific to the position, the equipment, and the time. Furthermore,
the determination of the SNR values depends on the receiver
and the firmware used. As a result, SNR values from different
receivers cannot be readily compared. Nevertheless, using only
one type of receiver, assuming similar effects on all the differ-
ent signals at the same epoch, and taking averages over a long
time span, we expect the relationships among the signals to be
constant. Based on this assumption, we can use the SNR values
given in the GESS RINEX files without adjustment.
To compare the GPS with the GIOVE-A SNR values, we or-
dered the corresponding SNR values of all stations on all days by
satellite position into a grid with widths of 5 degrees in azimuth
and 5 degrees in elevation angle. For the evaluation, we took
the grid cells occupied by both GPS and GIOVE-A values and
computed the median over all the cells of equal elevation angle.
The median per elevation-angle bin for each signal is shown in
FIGURE 1.
As can be seen from the figure, the signal strength of the
GIOVE-A C8Q observable ranks best, followed by the GPS
C1C, GIOVE-A C7Q, C5I/C5Q, C1A, and C1B/C1C. The
weakest signal is found for the GPS C1P/C2P observable, with a
maximum signal strength of 40 (receiver-dependent unit, approxi-
mately dB-Hz) at the zenith. Comparing the GPS open signals
versus GIOVE-A, GPS C1C is considerably stronger than the
GIOVE C1B/C1C. According to the GPS and Galileo interface
control documents, GIOVE-A C1B/C1A should show up with a
stronger signal strength than GPS C1C. The power levels guaran-
teed on the Earths surface are -160 dBW for GPS and -158 dBW
for the future Galileo satellite signals except for the BOC(10,5)
and BOC(n,m) modeled signals, for which a power level of even
-155dBW is guaranteed. But looking at the SNR values shown
in Figure 1, we see that the GIOVE-A C1B/C1C is worse by ap-
proximately 4 dB than the GPS C1C. But keeping in mind that
GIOVE-A is an experimental satellite, an increase of the signal
power for the future operational Galileo satellites should improve
the signal performance above that shown in this article.
Code-Tracking Noise. For signals containing data and pilot
components, as in the case of those from GIOVE-A, the code-
tracking noise can easily be computed as the difference between
the data and the pilot signal. The advantage of this computa-
tion scheme is that both signals are influenced by identical error
sources (atmospheric errors, multipath errors, receiver errors, etc.).
Based on the assumption of equal uncertainties in the two com-
ponents, we divided the resulting noise values by the square root
of two to specify the noise level of each part according to the laws
of error propagation. TABLE 3 shows the code-tracking noise for
the two analyzed GIOVE-A codes sorted by elevation angle. The
median code-tracking noise is 0.62 meters for C1B/C1C and
0.35 meters for C5I/C5Q, for observations below an elevation
angle of 5 degrees. For the C1B and C1C code measurements,
the noise median stays below 0.2 meters for an elevation angle
above 25 degrees, whereas the median for the C5I and C5Q code
measurements for elevation angles above 35 degrees even comes
down below 0.1 meters. The results discussed above are consistent
with the code-tracking noise values published previously.
Code Multipath. We computed the relative code multipath
effects as code minus phase differences assuming the amplitude
of phase multipath to be insignificant compared to the ampli-
tude of the code multipath. Ionospheric effects were taken into
account by using the phase measurements on two frequencies
in the usual way:
In this equation, CMP
x
is the estimate of the multipath error on
the code, P
x
and L
x
are the code and phase measurements of the
same frequency, while L
y
is the phase measurement used to cor-
rect the frequency-dependent ionospheric effect. The constant,
, describes the relationship of the ionospheric
behavior for the two frequencies.
In order to compare the code multipath level of GPS versus
GIOVE-A, we sorted the multipath values using a grid covering
the sky with widths of 5 degrees for both elevation angle and
azimuth as before. FIGURE 2 shows the median standard deviation
of the code multipath values, derived in each grid cell per day
and station, versus the elevation angle. No significant difference
between GPS C1C and GIOVE-A C1B and C1C, the open code
signals on G1/E1, could be found. The code multipath behavior
of the GPS precise codes are comparable with the GIOVE-A
C5I, C5Q, and C7Q, whereas the C8Q shows the least code
multipath effects closely followed by the GIOVE-A C1A, the
public regulated service signal.
Carrier-Phase-Tracking Noise Analyses. In the same man-
ner as that carried out with the code, we computed the GIOVE-A
carrier-phase-tracking noise as the difference of the two compo-
nents (pilot minus data). To accommodate the effect of error
propagation, the resulting errors were divided by the square root
of two. The resulting phase-tracking noise values were sorted by
elevation angle and can be found in TABLE 4.
In conformity with the theory that the phase-tracking noise is
independent of the modulation scheme, both signals (L1B/L1C
and L5I/L5Q) show the same results in units of cycles. Looking
at the results in units of distance, GIOVE-A L1B/L1C shows up
with a mean phase noise of 0.7 millimeters and L5I/L5Q with
0.9 millimeters. These values confirm those of previous studies.
Carrier-Phase Residuals. Phase residuals contain the phase
tracking noise, multipath, as well as all unmodeled remaining
errors such as antenna calibration inaccuracy and tropospheric
TABLE 5 Internal orbit consistency in millimeters

Microwave only Microwave and SLR
1d 2d 3d 4d 5d 1d 2d 3d 4d 5d
Part 1 662 254 146 131 127 505 172 110 81 84
Part 2 221 99 52 41 42 185 80 41 34 31
Total 395 162 90 78 76 316 117 69 53 52
GPS0709_048r1.pgs 06.22.2009 08:45 janinej
|
INNOVATION
effects. The magnitude of the residuals can be seen as an indicator
for the observation and model accuracy as well as for measure-
ment quality.
The following analyses are based on the ionosphere-free linear
combination (GPS L1C/L2P, GIOVE-A L1C/L7Q), computed
with NAPEOS. The analyses include data of the 13 GESS over
a period of 149 days.
To compare the GPS and GIOVE-A residuals, we sorted them
into a grid with a width of one degree in both satellite azimuth
and elevation angle. Only data in overlapping grid locations were
compared to make sure the data was affected in a similar way by
multipath or other disturbances.
To properly interpret the results, we should mention that for
GIOVE-A, 0.06 percent of the ambiguities (2501) were not fixed
correctly whereas for GPS all ambiguities were fixed correctly.
Looking at the GIOVE-A observations that were correctly fixed,
we find a significantly larger number of rejected observations.
The number of rejected observations is less by one third for GPS
(6 percent) as for the GIOVE-A (9 percent) data.
Due to the small number of GIOVE-A observations for eleva-
tion angles above 86 degrees, the outlier-cleaned mean as well
as the standard deviation at this elevation-angle range are not
meaningful. For all elevation angles, GIOVE-A residuals show
a lower standard deviation than GPS, indicating a superior per-
formance of GIOVE-A signals.
Phase and Code Validation in Processing. Looking at the
quality of the code and phase measurements on the different sig-
nals, it is conspicuous that GIOVE-A C1A/L1A and C8Q/L8Q
rank best, whereas for the current processing of GIOVE-A data,
usually the C1C and C7Q signals are used. This leads to the
question of which is the best signal combination for GIOVE-A.
Hence, we processed 10 days of GIOVE-A data, using different
signal combinations. Presently the processing of the C8Q/L8Q
signals is not yet implemented in NAPEOS. However, we were
able to process the GIOVE-A C1A/L1A - C7Q/L7Q combi-
nation. The root-mean-square (RMS) of the code results were
reduced by a factor of approximately 1.4 using L1A/C1A com-
pared to L1C/C1C, whereas the RMS of the phase observa-
tions showed only a minor improvement. Furthermore, there is a
higher number of rejected observations with L1A/C1A. Further
analyses have to be carried out to evaluate the potential benefits
of the different signal combinations.
Orbit Quality
In this section, we assess the quality of our precise orbit determi-
nation solutions. We have three sets of different orbit solutions.
Set 1 is made up of the 7-day solutions based solely on SLR ob-
servations. Set 2 consists of the solutions based on the microwave
observations using 1- to 5-day arcs. Set 3 consists of the solutions
based on a joint analysis of the microwave and SLR observations
also using 1- to 5-day arcs.
First, we assess the orbit quality by looking at the internal
consistency of the solutions. For the two sets using microwave
observations, the internal orbit consistency is done using an orbit
fit. This will not tell us much about the absolute quality of the
solutions but it will indicate the optimal arc length and whether
adding the SLR observations to the microwave data improves
the orbit estimates.
Secondly, we validate the orbits by determining the SLR resid-
uals. Of course, the solutions that used SLR observations should
perform better than the microwave-only solutions. However, the
validation of the microwave orbits against the SLR observations
will give us a good impression of the absolute accuracy of our
orbits.
As a third test, we compare the best orbit (best arc length) of
each of the three sets (set 1 only has one arc length) against each
other. This should give us another indication of the quality of
the orbits.
Internal Orbit Consistency. To determine the internal orbit
consistency of the different solutions we make an orbit fit. For
this orbit fit test, we used the middle 24 hours of two consecutive
solutions and fit one 48-hour arc through these two parts. The
satellite orbit was modeled by estimating the satellite state vector
and all nine parameters of the extended CODE orbit model. The
RMS of this fit gives us an indication of the internal consistency
of the orbit estimates. For longer arcs, the RMS of fit should go
down because the solutions are not fully independent of each
other. So a lower RMS for the longer arc solutions is expected.
On the other hand, this means that if the RMS does not go down
with increasing arc length that we have reached the limit of our
modeling capabilities. Furthermore, comparing the internal orbit
consistencies of equal length solutions will tell us which solution
has a better internal consistency. The results of this internal orbit
consistency check are given in TABLE 5. The table gives the mean
of the 2-day RMS over all processed days. The mean is given
separately for the first and second part of the observation interval
(see above) and also for the total observation interval.
Table 5 shows several interesting results. First of all, it shows
that the results of part 2 of the observation interval are significantly
better than the results from part 1. The reason for this is unclear
since the statistics from the 1-day solutions, such as the residual
RMS and number of observations, did not change significantly
after the observation gap. The improvement, however, is very sig-
nificant. The second observation is that the results including the
SLR data are significantly better compared to those using only the
microwave data. This is true for all arc lengths! As expected, we see
a significant improvement of the internal consistency when going
from 1-day arcs to 3-day arcs. The 4-day arcs show only a slight
TABLE 6 Two-way SLR residuals in millimeters

SLR
only
Microwave only Microwave and SLR
7d 1d 2d 3d 4d 5d 1d 2d 3d 4d 5d
Part 1 54 1046 448 280 316 333 91 120 124 168 167
Part 2 76 375 228 200 214 214 98 121 136 160 168
Total 72 597 293 221 241 246 96 120 133 162 167
GPS0709_049r1.pgs 06.22.2009 08:45 janinej
INNOVATION
|
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improvement compared to the 3-day arcs. The 5-day arcs do not
show a significant improvement. This indicates that with the current
observations and modeling techniques, the optimal arc length for
precise orbit determination seems to be around 3 to 4 days.
SLR Validation. In this section, we look at the SLR residuals
obtained from the different orbit solutions. We generated a clean
SLR dataset by using the SLR-only orbit to remove any outliers
in the SLR observations. The total number of valid SLR normal
points for the entire period is 3520 observations from 17 different
SLR stations. (A normal point is an average of a number of indi-
vidual laser returns.) The number of observations for the first part
of the observation period is 796 points from 12 stations and for the
second part, there were 2724 normal points from 17 stations. For
two of the three solutions, the SLR data has been used in the orbit
determination process so the residuals will give a too-optimistic
indication of the orbit quality.
As can be seen from TABLE 6, the 3-day solution based on the
microwave-only data has the lowest SLR residuals and indicates a
radial precision of around 100 millimeters. A similar behavior can
be seen in the microwave plus SLR solution with the exception of
the 1-day solution (and to a smaller extent also the 2-day solution)
where the orbit solution is mainly driven by the SLR data, but the
quality as can be seen from the internal consistency of the orbit is
poor. Interestingly, there is a large improvement in SLR residuals for
the microwave plus SLR solution, although the number of SLR data
points is only 2 percent of the total tracking data in the combined
solution. The values for the SLR-only solution are included in the
table to give an indication of the lowest possible SLR residuals one
could expect by combining the microwave and SLR data.
Orbit Comparison. To get an indication of the overall orbit
quality, the best solutions were compared against each other for
the second period of observation. TABLE 7 gives the RMS differ-
ences between the SLR only (SLR), 3-day microwave only (micro),
and the 3-day microwave and SLR solution (micro+SLR) for the
radial, along-track, and cross-track position components as well
as the norm (3D).
As expected, the largest difference is between the SLR-only and
microwave-only solutions giving a total (norm) orbit difference
of 652 millimeters. As a major part of the SLR tracking from
GIOVE-A comes from European stations, the quality of the SLR
solutions is directly correlated with the ability of the European
stations to track GIOVE-A. Bad weather over Europe can lead to
data gaps for more than 24 hours, affecting the orbit quality. It is
interesting to see the large impact the SLR data has on the com-
bined solution. As mentioned before, the SLR data is only around
2 percent of the total tracking data but has a significant impact
on the orbit solution as can be seen from the difference between
the microwave-only and microwave-plus-SLR solution.
Based on the analysis presented above, we conclude that the
3-day solution using both microwave and SLR observations has
provided the best orbit estimates.
Conclusion
The analyses of the observation data quality (signal quality) con-
firmed the good results from prior analyses for code multipath be-
havior and code noise. GPS C1C and the GIOVE-A C1B/C1C
show a comparable multipath behavior, whereas the GPS precise
codes C1P/C2P are comparable to the GIOVE-A C5I, C5Q,
and C7Q. The least code multipath behavior could be found for
GIOVE-A C8Q observable, closely followed by the GIOVE-A
C1A. Based on this, the combination C1A/L1A - C8Q/L8Q should
show the best noise behavior within the data processing scheme.
The results given in this article demonstrate that the 13-station
GESS network allows us to determine the orbit of the GIOVE-A
satellite quite accurately (~200 millimeters) using only microwave
observations. The SLR validation of the microwave orbits gives an
RMS of 100 millimeters (one-way range RMS). This result gives an
absolute value for the orbital error. Of course, the SLR observations
mainly tell us something about the radial orbit errors; the along-
and cross-track errors could be much higher. To obtain accurate
GIOVE-A orbit estimates, we need to keep the orbits and clocks of
the GPS satellites, tracked simultaneously with the GIOVE-A satel-
lite, fixed using the International GNSS Service (IGS) final orbit
and clock products. Furthermore, an arc length of 3 days should
be used. The microwave-based orbit estimates may be improved
by adding the available SLR observations into the orbit-estimation
process. Although there are relatively few SLR observations, they do
have a significant positive effect on the orbit estimates, improving
the internal consistency from 52 to 41 millimeters. Also, the valida-
tion of the orbits using the SLR observations shows a significant im-
provement. However, this is not an independent validation because
the same SLR observations were used in the orbit determination.
The results presented in this article, even though based on obser-
vations from the GIOVE-A test satellite, can be considered as a first
attempt towards establishing an optimal data processing approach
for the future Galileo satellite constellation.
Continued on page 41
TABLE 7 Comparison of orbit solutions in millimeters

Solution Radial Along Cross
3D
RMS
1D RMS
micro vs. SLR 93 510 396 652 377
micro+SLR vs. SLR 73 450 369 587 339
micro+SLR vs. micro 46 169 137 222 128
GPS0709_050r1.pgs 06.22.2009 08:45 janinej
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GAO REPORT, FIGURE 4 Probability of maintaining a constellation of at least 24 GPS

TABLE 1 Galileo Experimental Sensor Stations. Data from

TABLE 2 GIOVE-A and GPS signals used in this study

GIOVE-A is equipped with 76 quartz corner-cube

FIGURE 1 Signal-to-noise ratio, GPS versus GIOVE-A

FIGURE 2 Code multipath, GPS versus GIOVE-A

TABLE 4 GIOVE-A carrier-phase-track-

TABLE 3 GIOVE-A code-tracking noise

TABLE 5 Internal orbit consistency in millimeters

TABLE 6 Two-way SLR residuals in millimeters

TABLE 7 Comparison of orbit solutions in millimeters

. This unique expertise along with NavComs precise

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