TECHNICAL NOTES
Mar 20, 2009

Clarifying the Relationship between Quality of Global Positioning System Data and Precision of Positioning

Publication: Journal of Surveying Engineering
Volume 136, Issue 1

Abstract

This study selected five indexes to determine the relationship between data quality and positioning precision. These indexes are multipath on L1, multipath on L2, observations by cycle slips, clock offset, and clock stability. To reduce the number of common errors, six types of global positioning system (GPS) receivers are selected and set up in an Ultra-Short Distance Network at the National Measurement Laboratory, Taiwan, for 3 days. The first three indicators are calculated with the Teqc software, and the last two indicators are computed using the Bernese software. Moreover, the observations from three GPS tracking stations, namely, short baseline (about 25 km), middle baseline (about 150 km), and long baseline (around 2000 km), were downloaded from the Internet and processed using Bernese software. Analytical results indicate that clock stability and observations divided by cycle slips are found to be very important positioning factors. Clock offset and multipath effects do not significantly affect the GPS results.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

Acknowledgments

The writers thank the National Science Council of the Republic of China, Taiwan, for financially supporting this research under Contract No. UNSPECIFIEDNSC94-2218-E-231-001.

References

Allan, D., and Weiss, M. (1980). “Accurate time and frequency transfer during common-view of a GPS satellite.” Proc., 1980 IEEE Frequency Control Symp., IEEE, Piscataway, N.J., 334–356.
Beavan, J. (2005). “Noise properties of continuous GPS data from concrete pillar geodetic monuments in New Zealand and comparison with data from U.S. deep drilled braced monuments.” J. Geophys. Res., 110(8), 1–13.
Beutler, G., et al. (2004). Bernese GPS software version 4.2, Astronomical Institute, University of Berne, Bern.
Christie, J. R. I., et al. (2004). “GPS signal quality monitoring system.” Proc., 17th Int. Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of the Institute of Navigation, Institute of Navigation, Manassas, 2239–2245.
Fernandes, R. M. S., et al. (2004). “Angular velocities of Nubia and Somalia from continuous GPS data: Implications on present-day relative kinematics.” Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 222(1), 197–208.
Johnson, H., and Agnew, D. C. (1995). “Monument motion and measurements of crustal velocities.” Geophys. Res. Lett., 22(21), 2905–2908.
Leick, A. (2004). GPS satellite survey, 3rd Ed., Wiley, New York.
Lesage, P., and Ayi, T. (1984). “Characterization of frequency stability: Analysis of the modified Allan Variance and properties of its estimate.” IEEE Trans. Instrum. Meas., 33(4), 332–336.
Petovello, M. G., and Lachapelle, G. (2000). “Estimation of clock stability using GPS.” GPS Solutions, 4(1), 21–33.
Prawirodirdjo, L., and Bock, Y. (2004). “Instantaneous global plate motion model from 12 years of continuous GPS observations.” J. Geophys. Res., 109(8), 1–15.
Rodríguez-Pérez, J. R., Álvarez, M. F., and Sanz, A. E. (2007). “Assessment of low-cost GPS receiver accuracy and precision in forest environments.” J. Surv. Eng., 133(4), 159–167.
Senior, K. L., Ray, J. R., and Beard, R. L. (2008). “Characterization of periodic variations in the GPS satellite clocks.” GPS Solutions, 12(3), 211–215.
University NAVSTAR Consortium (UNAVCO). (2006). Teqc software, University NAVSTAR Consortium, UCAR, UNAVCO Facility, Boulder, Colo., ⟨http://www.unavco.ucar.edu/⟩ (Nov. 1, 2006).
Wernicke, B., Friedrich, A. M., Niemi, N. A., Bennett, R. A., and Davis, J. L. (2000). “Dynamics of plate boundary fault systems from Basin and Range Geodetic Network (BARGEN) and geologic data.” GSA Today, 10, 1–7.
Xu, G. (2007). GPS—Theory, algorithms and applications, 2nd Ed., Springer, Berlin.
Yeh, T. K., Wang, C. S., Chao, B. F., Chen, C. S., and Lee, C. W. (2007). “Automatic data-quality monitoring for continuous GPS tracking stations in Taiwan.” Metrologia, 44(5), 393–401.
Yeh, T. K., Wang, C. S., Lee, C. W., and Liou, Y. A. (2006). “Construction and uncertainty evaluation of a calibration system for GPS receivers.” Metrologia, 43(5), 451–460.
Zurutuza, J., and Sevilla, M. J. (2007). “Influence of the cutoff angle and the bearing in high-precision GPS vector determination.” J. Surv. Eng., 133(2), 90–94.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Journal of Surveying Engineering
Journal of Surveying Engineering
Volume 136Issue 1February 2010
Pages: 41 - 45

History

Received: Jun 13, 2008
Accepted: Dec 10, 2008
Published online: Mar 20, 2009
Published in print: Feb 2010

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Authors

Affiliations

Ta-Kang Yeh [email protected]
Associate Professor, Institute of Geomatics and Disaster Prevention Technology, Ching Yun Univ., No. 229, Jiansing Rd., Jhongli 320, Taiwan (corresponding author). E-mail: [email protected]
Yi-Jao Chen
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Asset Management and Urban Planning, Leader Univ., Tainan 709, Taiwan.
Yi-Da Chung
Ph.D. Student, Dept. of Civil Engineering, National Chiao Tung Univ., Hsinchu 300, Taiwan.
Chung-Wei Feng
Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, National Cheng Kung Univ., Tainan 701, Taiwan.
Guochang Xu
Senior Scientist, Dept. of Geodesy and Remote Sensing, GeoForschungsZentrum Postdam, Postdam 14473, Germany.

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Download citation

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

Cited by

View Options

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Copy the content Link

Share with email

Email a colleague

Share