Evaluating the Performance of the Static PPP-AR in a Forest Environment
Publication: Journal of Surveying Engineering
Volume 150, Issue 2
Abstract
Forest environment and topographic obstacles tend to reduce the positioning performance of precise point positioning (PPP) with ambiguity resolution (AR) and may even prevent radio signals from reaching the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) antenna. In this study, we investigated the positioning performance of PPP-AR in a forest environment in terms of the crown closure ratios, session duration (1-, 2-, 3-, and 6-h), and different satellite constellations [i.e., the global positioning system (GPS)-only and combined satellites]. For this purpose, three GNSS receivers were used to make measurements at three test points in areas with crown closure ratios of 0%, 38%, and 87%. The data were evaluated using the PRIDE PPP-AR software and Canadian Spatial Reference System-PPP (CSRS-PPP). The experiments revealed that the inclusion of the GLONASS observations in the GPS-only solutions did not obviously improve the positioning error and accuracy with closure ratios of 0% and 38%. However, the improvements became more dramatic when the closure ratio increased to 87%. Furthermore, in the horizontal components, an accuracy of 10 cm can be achieved with at least a 2-h session, whereas for the up component, this level of accuracy can only be achieved with a 3-h session. While the PRIDE PPP-AR was able to achieve a 3D positioning performance of 1 cm with the combined satellites, this accuracy level remained at 8 cm in CSRS-PPP.
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Data Availability Statement
No data, models, or code were generated or used during the study.
Acknowledgments
We would like to express our gratitude to CSRS-PPP (https://webapp.csrs-scrs.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/geod/tools-outils/ppp-info.php?locale=en), TUSAGA Active (https://www.tusaga-aktif.gov.tr/) and NASA Space Physics Data Facility (https://omniweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/) services. The static PPP-AR experiments were also conducted on the PPP PRIDE-AR (https://github.com/PrideLab/PRIDE-PPPAR). We express our appreciation to the Center for Orbit Determination in Europe (CODE) for providing all the necessary products. Additionally, we would like to acknowledge Topcon Paksoy Teknik Hizmetler in Türkiye for generously granting us unlimited use of the Magnet Tools, which greatly facilitated our research. Lastly, we would like to express our thanks to the editor and anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments, which significantly enhanced the quality of our manuscript.
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Published In
Journal of Surveying Engineering
Volume 150 • Issue 2 • May 2024
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 13, 2022
Accepted: Oct 13, 2023
Published online: Dec 30, 2023
Published in print: May 1, 2024
Discussion open until: May 30, 2024
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