The Multi-GNSS Experiment (MGEX) of the International GNSS Service (IGS) - Achievements, prospects and challenges

In this contribution, we present a GPS+GLONASS+BeiDou+Galileo four-system model to fully exploit the observations of all these four navigation satellite systems for real-time precise orbit determination, clock estimation and positioning. A rigorous multi-GNSS analysis is performed to achieve the best possible consistency by processing the observations from different GNSS together in one common parameter estimation procedure. Meanwhile, an efficient multi-GNSS real-time precise positioning service system is designed and demonstrated by using the multi-GNSS Experiment, BeiDou Experimental Tracking Network, and International GNSS Service networks including stations all over the world. The statistical analysis of the 6-h predicted orbits show that the radial and cross root mean square (RMS) values are smaller than 10 cm for BeiDou and Galileo, and smaller than 5 cm for both GLONASS and GPS satellites, respectively. The RMS values of the clock differences between real-time and batch-processed solutions for GPS satellites are about 0.10 ns, while the RMS values for BeiDou, Galileo and GLONASS are 0.13, 0.13 and 0.14 ns, respectively. The addition of the BeiDou, Galileo and GLONASS systems to the standard GPS-only processing, reduces the convergence time almost by 70 %, while the positioning accuracy is improved by about 25 %. Some outliers in the GPS-only solutions vanish when multi-GNSS observations are processed simultaneous. The availability and reliability of GPS precise positioning decrease dramatically as the elevation cutoff increases. However, the accuracy of multi-GNSS precise point positioning (PPP) is hardly decreased and few centimeter are still achievable in the horizontal components even with 40
 $$^{\circ }$$
 elevation cutoff. At 30
 $$^{\circ }$$
 and 40
 $$^{\circ }$$
 elevation cutoffs, the availability rates of GPS-only solution drop significantly to only around 70 and 40 %, respectively. However, multi-GNSS PPP can provide precise position estimates continuously (availability rate is more than 99.5 %) even up to 40
 $$^{\circ }$$
 elevation cutoff (e.g., in urban canyons).

/pdf/accuracy-and-reliability-of-multi-gnss-real-time-precise-4m191yhy3t.pdf

Accuracy and reliability of multi-GNSS real-time precise positioning: GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, and Galileo

An initial characterization and performance assessment of the COMPASS/BeiDou-2 regional navigation system is presented. Code and carrier phase measurements on up to three frequencies have been collected in March 2012 with a small regional network of monitoring stations. The signal and measurement quality are analyzed and compared with the Japanese Quasi Zenith Satellite System. A high level of stability is demonstrated for the inter-frequency carrier phase biases, which will facilitate the application of triple-frequency undifferenced ambiguity resolution techniques in future precise point positioning applications. The performance of the onboard Rubidium frequency standards is evaluated in comparison to ground-based hydrogen masers and shown to be well competitive with other GNSS satellite clocks. Precise orbit and clock solutions obtained in post-processing are used to study the presently achievable point positioning accuracy in COMPASS/BeiDou-2-only navigation. Finally, the benefit of triple-frequency measurements and extra-wide-lane ambiguity resolution is illustrated for relative positioning on a short baseline.

Initial assessment of the COMPASS/BeiDou-2 regional navigation satellite system

The world of satellite navigation is undergoing dramatic changes with the rapid development of multi-constellation Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSSs). At the moment more than 70 satellites are already in view, and about 120 satellites will be available once all four systems (BeiDou + Galileo + GLONASS + GPS) are fully deployed in the next few years. This will bring great opportunities and challenges for both scientific and engineering applications. In this paper we develop a four-system positioning model to make full use of all available observations from different GNSSs. The significant improvement of satellite visibility, spatial geometry, dilution of precision, convergence, accuracy, continuity and reliability that a combining utilization of multi-GNSS brings to precise positioning are carefully analyzed and evaluated, especially in constrained environments.

/pdf/precise-positioning-with-current-multi-constellation-global-xmpkmzkhp8.pdf

Precise positioning with current multi-constellation Global Navigation Satellite Systems: GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou

China's BeiDou navigation system (BDS) has evolved from the demonstration navigation satellite system (BDS-1) to the regional navigation satellite system (BDS-2). Now, the global BeiDou navigation system (BDS-3) is in construction and is proceeding well. The design and functions of BDS-3 are quite different from those of both BDS-1 and BDS-2. In this paper, the general design, the coordinate reference system, and the system time basis of BDS-3 are introduced. Several new payloads designed to accomplish different objectives are described as well as the platforms on which they are hosted. Since BDS-3 consists of several different constellations, the general service capabilities and special service functions provided by these different constellations are described. The performances of the initial BDS-3 platforms are evaluated based on the available eight-medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellite configuration. The results of satellite orbit determination and prediction with and without the BDS-3 inter-satellite links (ISL) are compared and analyzed.

Introduction to BeiDou-3 navigation satellite system

As one of the four global satellite navigation systems, Compass not only enhances satellite visibility and availability for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) for users in China and the surrounding areas, but also improves PNT precision for global users. The improvements in satellite visibility and the dilution of precision are analyzed under GNSS compatibility and interoperation conditions. The contribution of the Compass satellite navigation system to global users, especially the benefits that users can acquire from the combination of Compass, GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo navigation systems, is analyzed using simulation data.

/pdf/contribution-of-the-compass-satellite-navigation-system-to-5etcnrokoq.pdf

Contribution of the Compass satellite navigation system to global PNT users

BeiDou regional navigation satellite system (BDS) also called BeiDou-2 has been in full operation since December 27, 2012. It consists of 14 satellites, including 5 satellites in Geostationary Orbit (GEO), 5 satellites in Inclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO), and 4 satellites in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO). In this paper, its basic navigation and positioning performance are evaluated preliminarily by the real data collected in Beijing, including satellite visibility, Position Dilution of Precision (PDOP) value, the precision of code and carrier phase measurements, the accuracy of single point positioning and differential positioning and ambiguity resolution (AR) performance, which are also compared with those of GPS. It is shown that the precision of BDS code and carrier phase measurements are about 33 cm and 2 mm, respectively, which are comparable to those of GPS, and the accuracy of BDS single point positioning has satisfied the design requirement. The real-time kinematic positioning is also feasible by BDS alone in the opening condition, since its fixed rate and reliability of single-epoch dual-frequency AR is comparable to those of GPS. The accuracy of BDS carrier phase differential positioning is better than 1 cm for a very short baseline of 4.2 m and 3 cm for a short baseline of 8.2 km, which is on the same level with that of GPS. For the combined BDS and GPS, the fixed rate and reliability of single-epoch AR and the positioning accuracy are improved significantly. The accuracy of BDS/GPS carrier phase differential positioning is about 35 and 20 % better than that of GPS for two short baseline tests in this study. The accuracy of BDS code differential positioning is better than 2.5 m. However it is worse than that of GPS, which may result from large code multipath errors of BDS GEO satellite measurements.

Preliminary assessment of the navigation and positioning performance of BeiDou regional navigation satellite system

The first results of the short baseline single-epoch kinematic positioning based on dual-frequency real BeiDou/GPS data are presented. The performance of the BeiDou/GPS single-epoch positioning is demonstrated in both static and kinematic modes and compared with corresponding GPS-only performance. It is shown that the availability and reliability of the single-frequency BeiDou/GPS and dual-frequency BeiDou single-epoch kinematic positioning are comparable to those of the dual-frequency GPS. The fixed rate and reliability of ambiguity resolution for the single- and dual-frequency BeiDou/GPS are remarkably improved as compared to that of GPS-only, especially in case of high cutoff elevations. For positioning accuracy with fixed ambiguities, the BeiDou/GPS single-epoch solutions are improved by 23 and 4 % relative to the GPS-only case for two short baseline tests of 8 km, respectively. These results reveal that dual-frequency BeiDou real-time kinematic (RTK) is already applicable in Asia–Pacific areas and that single-frequency BeiDou/GPS RTK is also achievable but only with initialization of several seconds. More promisingly, the dual-frequency BeiDou/GPS RTK can overcome the difficulties with GPS-only RTK under the challenging conditions assuming, of course, that the additional BeiDou satellites are visible.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs10291-013-0339-3.pdf

Performance assessment of single- and dual-frequency BeiDou/GPS single-epoch kinematic positioning

The regional constellation of BeiDou navigation satellite system (BDS) has been officially in operation since December 27, 2012, and real-time kinematic positioning using BDS and GPS multi-frequency observations is feasible. A heavy computational problem arises when resolving ambiguities in the case of multi-system with multi-frequency observations. A multi-carrier fast partial ambiguity resolution strategy is developed with the property that the extra-wide-lane and wide-lane ambiguities in the multi-frequency case can be resolved reliably in advance. Consequently, the technique resolves ambiguities sequentially instead of the usual batch ambiguity resolution (AR) mode so as to improve the computational efficiency of AR significantly. The strategy is demonstrated with real BDS/GPS dual- and triple-frequency observations. The results have shown that the probability of correct AR by the proposed method is comparable to that of the batch AR. Experimentally, the new method is about 2.5 times as fast as the batch AR in the dual-frequency case, 3 times in the mixed dual- and triple-frequency case and 3.5 times in the triple-frequency case.

GNSS multi-carrier fast partial ambiguity resolution strategy tested with real BDS/GPS dual- and triple-frequency observations

Integrated navigation using multiple Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) is beneficial to increase the number of observable satellites, alleviate the effects of systematic errors and improve the accuracy of positioning, navigation and timing (PNT). When multiple constellations and multiple frequency measurements are employed, the functional and stochastic models as well as the estimation principle for PNT may be different. Therefore, the commonly used definition of “dilution of precision (DOP)” based on the least squares (LS) estimation and unified functional and stochastic models will be not applicable anymore. In this paper, three types of generalised DOPs are defined. The first type of generalised DOP is based on the error influence function (IF) of pseudo-ranges that reflects the geometry strength of the measurements, error magnitude and the estimation risk criteria. When the least squares estimation is used, the first type of generalised DOP is identical to the one commonly used. In order to define the first type of generalised DOP, an IF of signal–in-space (SIS) errors on the parameter estimates of PNT is derived. The second type of generalised DOP is defined based on the functional model with additional systematic parameters induced by the compatibility and interoperability problems among different GNSS systems. The third type of generalised DOP is defined based on Bayesian estimation in which the a priori information of the model parameters is taken into account. This is suitable for evaluating the precision of kinematic positioning or navigation. Different types of generalised DOPs are suitable for different PNT scenarios and an example for the calculation of these DOPs for multi-GNSS systems including GPS, GLONASS, Compass and Galileo is given. New observation equations of Compass and GLONASS that may contain additional parameters for interoperability are specifically investigated. It shows that if the interoperability of multi-GNSS is not fulfilled, the increased number of satellites will not significantly reduce the generalised DOP value. Furthermore, the outlying measurements will not change the original DOP, but will change the first type of generalised DOP which includes a robust error IF. A priori information of the model parameters will also reduce the DOP.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0373463311000415

Jinlong Li

Papers

Contribution of the Compass satellite navigation system to global PNT users

Preliminary assessment of the navigation and positioning performance of BeiDou regional navigation satellite system

Performance assessment of single- and dual-frequency BeiDou/GPS single-epoch kinematic positioning

GNSS multi-carrier fast partial ambiguity resolution strategy tested with real BDS/GPS dual- and triple-frequency observations

Generalised DOPs with Consideration of the Influence Function of Signal-in-Space Errors