Astronomic Positioning and Orientation Method for Inhomogeneous Stellar Distributions
Publication: Journal of Surveying Engineering
Volume 149, Issue 4
Abstract
Astronomic positioning and orientation can be used to obtain the astronomic longitude and latitude of a station and the astronomic azimuth of a ground target by observing stars. The results of the positioning and orientation depend not only on the instrument, environment, and observed star, but also on the solution method. Due to atmospheric refraction and instrumentation, there is a systematic error in the zenith distance of observed starlight during astronomic measurements using theodolites. The existing methods either do not consider the systematic error of the zenith distance, or do not fully utilize all directional information of the star. Therefore, existing methods cannot simultaneously achieve high-accuracy astronomic positioning and orientation, particularly in the case of poor stellar distribution. To address this problem, an astronomic positioning and orientation method that considers the zenith distance system error is proposed. The experimental results showed that the proposed method had a higher positioning accuracy than the traditional astronomic positioning method. In addition, the new method showed significant advantages in instances of inhomogeneous distribution such as cloudy or daytime observation.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All models or codes supporting the results of this study can be obtained from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 42074013), the Natural Science Foundation of Henan Province (No. 212300410421), and the Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program of the Henan Association for Science and Technology (No. 2022HYTP008) for their financial support.
References
Albayrak, M., D. Willi, and S. Guillaume. 2023. “Field comparison of the total station-based QDaedalus and the zenith telescope-based CODIAC astrogeodetic systems for measurements of the deflection of the vertical.” Surv. Rev. 55 (390): 247–259. https://doi.org/10.1080/00396265.2022.2054108.
Barfoot, T. D. 2017. State estimation for robotics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Chang, C. C., and W. Y. Tsai. 2006. “Evaluation of a GPS-based approach for rapid and precise determination of geodetic/astronomical azimuth.” J. Surv. Eng. 132 (4): 149–154. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9453(2006)132:4(149).
Cheng, Y., and M. Shuster. 2014. “Improvement to the implementation of the QUEST algorithm.” J. Guid. Control Dyn. 37 (1): 301–305. https://doi.org/10/gnnkn9.
Hauk, M., C. Hirt, and C. Ackermann. 2017. “Experiences with the QDaedalus system for astrogeodetic determination of deflections of the vertical.” Surv. Rev. 49 (355): 294–301. https://doi.org/10.1080/00396265.2016.1171960.
Lambrou, E., and G. Pantazis. 2008. “Astronomical azimuth determination by the hour angle of Polaris using ordinary total stations.” Surv. Rev. 40 (308): 164–172. https://doi.org/10.1179/003962608X290951.
Li, C., J. Pu, Y. Zhan, Y. Zheng, C. Zhang, R. Wang, Y. Luo, and D. Wang. 2018. “Unified astronomical positioning and orientation model based on robust estimation.” J. Surv. Eng. 144 (2): 04017023. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)SU.1943-5428.0000248.
Li, C.-H., Y. Zheng, C. Zhang, Y.-L. Yuan, Y.-Y. Lian, and P.-Y. Zhou. 2014. “Astronomical vessel position determination utilizing the optical super wide angle lens camera.” J. Navig. 67 (4): 633–649. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0373463314000058.
Liu, X.-J., Y. Zheng, and C.-H. Li. 2020. “Precise determination of astronomical azimuth by the hour angle method of multiple meridian stars.” Chin. Astron. Astrophys. 44 (4): 536–548. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chinastron.2020.11.008.
Markley, F. L. 2013. “Equivalence of two solutions of Wahba’s problem.” J. Astronaut. Sci. 60 (3–4): 303–312. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40295-015-0049-x.
Ning, X., J. Zhang, M. Gui, and J. Fang. 2018. “A fast calibration method of the star sensor installation error based on observability analysis for the tightly coupled SINS/CNS-integrated navigation system.” IEEE Sens. J. 18 (16): 6794–6803. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2018.2850779.
Robbins, A. R. 1977. “Geodetic astronomy in the next decade.” Surv. Rev. 24 (185): 99–108. https://doi.org/10.1179/sre.1977.24.185.99.
Schack, P., C. Hirt, M. Hauk, W. E. Featherstone, T. J. Lyon, and S. Guillaume. 2018. “A high-precision digital astrogeodetic traverse in an area of steep geoid gradients close to the coast of Perth, Western Australia.” J. Geod. 92 (10): 1143–1153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00190-017-1107-x.
Shi, C., et al. 2020. “Automatic astronomical survey method based on video measurement robot.” J. Surv. Eng. 146 (2): 04020002. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)SU.1943-5428.0000300.
Stuelpnagel, J. 1964. “On the parametrization of the three-dimensional rotation group.” SIAM Rev. 6 (4): 422–430. https://doi.org/10.1137/1006093.
Torge, W., and J. Müller. 2012. Geodesy. Berlin: De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110250008.
Wahba, G. 1965. “A least squares estimate of satellite attitude.” SIAM Rev. 7 (3): 409. https://doi.org/10.1137/1007077.
Wang, Y. M., et al. 2017. “The Geoid Slope Validation Survey 2014 and GRAV-D airborne gravity enhanced geoid comparison results in Iowa.” J. Geod. 91 (Oct): 1261–1276. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00190-017-1022-1.
Yang, Y., L. Song, and T. Xu. 2002. “Robust estimator for correlated observations based on bifactor equivalent weights.” J. Geod. 76 (Jul): 353–358. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00190-002-0256-7.
Zhan, Y., C. Zhang, and C. Shi. 2018. “Absolute positioning based on the sun for mars rover.” In Proc., 2018 IEEE CSAA Guidance, Navigation and Control Conf. (CGNCC), 1–8. New York: IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/gncc42960.2018.9019054.
Zhan, Y., Y. Zheng, and C. Zhang. 2016. “Astronomical azimuth determination by lunar observations.” J. Surv. Eng. 142 (2): 04015009. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)SU.1943-5428.0000158.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Surveying Engineering
Volume 149 • Issue 4 • November 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 14, 2022
Accepted: Apr 20, 2023
Published online: Jun 27, 2023
Published in print: Nov 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Nov 27, 2023
Authors
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.