Because Ordinary GPS is not enough.

GNSS?

Global Navigation Satellite

System

GNSS is a new world-wide term that has been

adopted to include all satellite navigation
systems.
GPS (US), Glonass (Russia), Galileo (EU)
GPS is United States System - NAVSTAR GPS
System
GLONASS is Russian Federation System
Short for GLObal Navigation And Surveying System
GPS is Topcons system, adopted because our
systems are designed to use more than GPS
alone.

GPS+ Signal Triangulation

How do we Compute a 3D GPS position?

Triangulate!
Distance from satellites to receiver
Measured by the receiver by tracking the satellite signals
and carrier frequency
X,Y,Z Location of satellite in space
A Special information file with this information is
received from each satellite.

How many satellites does

a system need to
operate?

4 or more satellites required for basic non-moving

3D positioning
Compute Latitude, Longitude, Elevation, & Time Offset
(X,Y, Z, Time)

Precision Real-Time (RTK) positioning requires a

minimum of 5 satellites

Satellite Availability & Precision

Minimum of 5 satellites are required,
but thats not all
The location of the satellites overhead,
and how many you have available
makes a big difference
Satellite triangulation strength of figure
Quality of satellite spacing overhead is
called DOP (Dilution of Precision)

Satellite Availability & Precision

Minimum Satellite
Coverage
Poor Satellite Distribution

Higher DOP
Lower Precision

Satellite Availability & Precision

Minimum Satellite Coverage

Good Satellite Distribution

Better DOP
Better Precision

Satellite Availability & Precision

Additional Satellite Coverage

Great Satellite Distribution

Lowest DOP
Best Precision

GPS Satellite Availability

Site in N. California No Obstructions

Satellite Obstructions

Not all sites are wide open

Obstructions to the signal
eliminate satellites

System falls below

minimum satellite level and
loses high accuracy

Why Topcon GPS not dependent on one

system only ? Its because: If one system is down the positions can still be
obtain from the other system.
This is one of the reasons why European union
setup their own system - GALILEO.
And we are ready to support it.

24
+
17
GPS GLONASS

24/7
hours

days

Minimum Required
Number of SVs

ALWAYS

Anywhere

Speed !

Quickly

Accuracy

Deviation

Accurately

Which is better ?
More satellites ?
More options from a single satellite ?
(L1, L2, L2C and L5).
Answer both

Why More is Better?

More satellites provide

lower DOP and higher
precision.
More satellites and varied
frequencies can provide
better vertical precision.

Helps to eliminate down

time during poor satellite
coverage.
Faster Initialization, no
wait time and more
productivity

- Different signals within the receiver require overcoming technical

hurdles. Topcon offer dual-frequency GPS+Glonass for complete
surveying applications
- Different frequencies allow for better atmospheric modeling
- Independent solutions between GPS & Glonass systems ensure
improved reliability an extra check (More is always better)
- All of this is transparent to the user - All said and done
You simply track more satellites!