GLONASS pseudorange inter-channel biases and their effects on combined GPS/GLONASS precise point positioning

Combined GPS/GLONASS precise point positioning (PPP) can obtain a more precise and reliable position than GPS PPP. However, because of frequency division multiple access, GLONASS carrier phase and pseudorange observations suffer from inter-channel biases (ICBs) which will influence the accuracy and convergence speed of combined GPS/GLONASS PPP. With clear understanding of the characteristics of carrier phase ICBs, we estimated undifferenced GLONASS pseudorange ICBs for 133 receivers from five manufacturers and analyzed their characteristics. In general, pseudorange ICBs corresponding to the same firmware have strong correlations. The ICB values of two receivers with the same firmware may be different because of different antenna types, and their differences are closely related to frequency. Pseudorange ICBs should be provided for each satellite to obtain more precise ICBs as the pseudorange ICBs may vary even on the same frequency. For the solutions of standard point positioning (SPP), after pseudorange ICB calibration, the mean root mean square (RMS) improvements of GLONASS SPP reach up to 57, 48, and 53 % for the East, North, and Up components, while combined GPS/GLONASS SPP reach up to 27, 17, and 23 %, respectively. The combined GPS/GLONASS PPP after pseudorange ICB calibration evidently improved the convergence speed, and the mean RMS of PPP improved by almost 50 % during the convergence period.     

顾及频率间偏差的GPS/GLONASS卫星钟差实时估计

GPS/GLONASS卫星钟差联合估计过程中,由于GLONASS系统采用频分多址技术区分卫星信号,因而会产生频率间偏差（IFB）^[1]。本文在GPS/GLONASS卫星定轨过程中的IFB参数特性分析的基础上,引入IFB参数,实现顾及频率间偏差的GPS/GLONASS卫星钟差实时估计。同时,为解决实时估计中待估参数过多导致的实时性较弱等问题,基于非差伪距观测值和历元间差分相位观测值改进实时估计数学模型,实现多系统卫星钟差的联合快速估计。结果表明：GPS/GLONASS联合估计时需引入IFB参数并优化其估计策略,采用MGEX和iGMAS跟踪站的实测数据进行实时钟差解算,快速估计方法可实现1.6 s逐历元快速、高精度估计,与GBM提供的最终精密卫星钟差相比,GPS卫星钟差实时精度约为0.210 ns,GLONASS卫星约为0.298 ns。     

GPS satellite clock determination in case of inter-frequency clock biases for triple-frequency precise point positioning

Significant time-varying inter-frequency clock biases (IFCBs) within GPS observations prevent the application of the legacy L1/L2 ionosphere-free clock products on L5 signals. Conventional approaches overcoming this problem are to estimate L1/L5 ionosphere-free clocks in addition to their L1/L2 counterparts or to compute IFCBs between the L1/L2 and L1/L5 clocks which are later modeled through a harmonic analysis. In contrast, we start from the undifferenced uncombined GNSS model and propose an alternative approach where a second satellite clock parameter dedicated to the L5 signals is estimated along with the legacy L1/L2 clock. In this manner, we do not need to rely on the correlated L1/L2 and L1/L5 ionosphere-free observables which complicates triple-frequency GPS stochastic models, or account for the unfavorable time-varying hardware biases in undifferenced GPS functional models since they can be absorbed by the L5 clocks. An extra advantage over the ionosphere-free model is that external ionosphere constraints can potentially be introduced to improve PPP. With 27 days of triple-frequency GPS data from globally distributed stations, we find that the RMS of the positioning differences between our GPS model and all conventional models is below 1 mm for all east, north and up components, demonstrating the effectiveness of our model in addressing triple-frequency observations and time-varying IFCBs. Moreover, we can combine the L1/L2 and L5 clocks derived from our model to calculate precisely the L1/L5 clocks which in practice only depart from their legacy counterparts by less than 0.006 ns in RMS. Our triple-frequency GPS model proves convenient and efficient in combating time-varying IFCBs and can be generalized to more than three frequency signals for satellite clock determination.     

Carrier-phase inter-frequency biases of GLONASS receivers

The frequency division multiplexing of the GLONASS signals causes inter-frequency biases in the receiving equipment. These biases vary considerably for receivers from different manufacturers and thus complicate or prevent carrier-phase ambiguity fixing. Complete and reliable ambiguity fixing requires a priori information of the carrier-phase inter-frequency bias differences of the receivers involved. GLONASS carrier-phase inter-frequency biases were estimated for 133 individual receivers from 9 manufacturers. In general, receivers of the same type and even receivers from the same manufacturer show similar biases, whereas the differences among manufacturers can reach up to 0.2 ns (more than 5 cm) for adjacent frequencies and thus up to 2.4 ns (73 cm) for the complete L1 or L2 frequency bands. A few individual receivers were identified whose inter-frequency biases behave differently as compared to other receivers of the same type or whose biases vary with time.     

多系统实时精密单点定位及非差模糊度固定

正精密单点定位(precise point positioning,PPP)技术能够在全球区域获取用户在国际地球参考框架下的精确三维坐标,打破了以往只能够使用差分定位技术才能够实现高精度定位的局面,是继RTK/NRTK技术之后出现的又一次技术革命。论文旨在构建实时GNSS PPP服务系统,围绕GNSS卫星钟差估计、多系统融合PPP、卫星姿态、GPS未校准相位延迟(uncalibrated phase delays,UPD)估计、PPP模糊度固定等展开研究,为用户获取实时、高精度和高可靠性的GNSS PPP服务奠定理论和实践基础。本文的主要工作和贡献如下:     

Improving the estimation of fractional-cycle biases for ambiguity resolution in precise point positioning

Ambiguity resolution dedicated to a single global positioning system (GPS) station can improve the accuracy of precise point positioning. In this process, the estimation accuracy of the narrow-lane fractional-cycle biases (FCBs), which destroy the integer nature of undifferenced ambiguities, is crucial to the ambiguity-fixed positioning accuracy. In this study, we hence propose the improved narrow-lane FCBs derived from an ambiguity-fixed GPS network solution, rather than the original (i.e. previously proposed) FCBs derived from an ambiguity-float network solution. The improved FCBs outperform the original FCBs by ensuring that the resulting ambiguity-fixed daily positions coincide in nature with the state-of-the-art positions generated by the International GNSS Service (IGS). To verify this improvement, 1?year of GPS measurements from about 350 globally distributed stations were processed. We find that the original FCBs differ more from the improved FCBs when fewer stations are involved in the FCB estimation, especially when the number of stations is less than 20. Moreover, when comparing the ambiguity-fixed daily positions with the IGS weekly positions for 248 stations through a Helmert transformation, for the East component, we find that on 359 days of the year the daily RMS of the transformed residuals based on the improved FCBs is smaller by up to 0.8?mm than those based on the original FCBs, and the mean RMS over the year falls evidently from 2.6 to 2.2?mm. Meanwhile, when using the improved rather than the original FCBs, the RMS of the transformed residuals for the East component of 239 stations (i.e. 96.4% of all 248 stations) is clearly reduced by up to 1.6?mm, especially for stations located within a sparse GPS network. Therefore, we suggest that narrow-lane FCBs should be determined with ambiguity-fixed, rather than ambiguity-float, GPS network solutions.     

Method for real-time self-calibrating GLONASS code inter-frequency bias and improvements on single point positioning

Utilization of frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) leads to GLONASS pseudorange and carrier phase observations suffering from variable levels inter-frequency bias (IFB). The bias related with carrier phase can be absorbed by ambiguities. However, the unequal code inter-frequency bias (cIFB) will degrade the accuracy of pseudorange observations, which will affect positioning accuracy and convergence of precise point positioning (PPP) when including GLONASS satellites. Based on observations made on un-differenced (UD) ionospheric-free combinations, GLONASS cIFB parameters are estimated as a constant to achieve GLONASS cIFB real-time self-calibration on a single station. A total of 23 stations, with different manufacturing backgrounds, are used to analyze the characteristics of GLONASS cIFB and its relationship with variable receiver hardware. The results show that there is an obvious common trend in cIFBs estimated using broadcast ephemeris for all of the different manufacturers, and there are unequal GLONASS inter-satellite cIFB that match brand manufacture. In addition, a particularly good consistency is found between self-calibrated receiver-dependent GLONASS cIFB and the IFB products of the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). Via a comparative experiment, it is also found that the algorithm of cIFB real-time self-calibration not only corrects receiver-dependent cIFB, but can moreover eliminate satellite-dependent cIFB, providing more stable results and further improving global navigation satellite system (GNSS) point positioning accuracy. The root mean square (RMS) improvements of single GLONASS standard point positioning (SPP) reach up to 54.18 and 53.80% in horizontal and vertical direction, respectively. The study’s GLONASS cIFB self-estimation can realize good self-consistency between cIFB and stations, working to further promote convergence efficiency relative to GPS?+?GLONASS PPP. An average improvement percentage of 19.03% is observed, realizing a near-consistent accuracy with GPS?+?GLONASS fusion PPP.     

单频GPS精密单点定位的逐次滤波法模型及其精度分析

单频GPS精密单点定位的逐次滤波法,将载波相位观测值在相邻历元间求差以消除电离层延迟误差的影响,并辅助伪距观测值进行高精度定位。本文详细分析该方法的随机模型和函数模型,讨论观测值先验方差的确定方法,包括指数函数经验模型、观测残差向量的开窗估计法等,并采用自编软件计算实测数据分析该模型的精度。     

GNSS非差非组合数据处理与PPP-RTK高精度定位

本文首先回顾了GNSS差分和组合数据处理的起源、特点和应用,并阐述了其在多频多模背景下的局限。然后,引出了非差非组合数据处理的诸多优势,介绍了构建满秩非差非组合函数模型的消秩亏方法。基于该方法,本文系统构建了系列非差非组合PPP-RTK模型,包括伪距加相位和仅用相位两大类。两类模型均考虑不同的大气约束而衍生出电离层加权、浮点和固定3种变体,且所有模型均顾及码分多址和频分多址两类系统。最后,本文测试分析了非差非组合PPP-RTK在无人船、无人机和农机应用中的动态定位性能。试验结果表明,3个场景下的模糊度首次固定时间均在10 s以内,模糊度固定成功率在96%以上,水平定位精度优于2 cm,高程定位精度优于5 cm。在Galileo+GPS+BDS三系统农机定位中,仅用相位PPP-RTK与伪距加相位PPP-RTK定位性能相当。与Galileo+GPS双系统定位相比,三系统PPP-RTK将模糊度首次固定时间从几百秒缩短至几秒,模糊度固定成功率从85%左右提升至99%以上,定位精度提升了30%左右。     

GPS inter-frequency clock bias modeling and prediction for real-time precise point positioning

To ensure the consistent use of the current GPS precise satellite clock products, the inter-frequency clock bias (IFCB) should be carefully considered for triple-frequency precise point positioning (PPP). It is beneficial to investigate the modeling of the IFCB for multi-frequency PPP, especially for real-time users suffering from difficulties in real-time IFCB estimations. Our analysis is based on datasets from 129 stations spanning a whole year. A harmonic analysis is performed for all single-day IFCB time series, and periodic IFCB variations with periods of 12, 8, 6, 4.8, 4 and 3 h are identified. An empirical model composed of a sixth-order harmonic function and a linear function is presented to describe daily variations in the IFCB, and the modeling accuracy is 4 mm. A least squares fit is adopted to estimate the single-day harmonic coefficients phase and amplitude. The prediction accuracy of the IFCB models degrades from 7.2 to 12.3 mm when the time span of prediction is increased from a day to a week. When using IFCB models of the previous day to obtain the IFCB correction values, the positioning accuracy of triple-frequency PPP is improved by 21, 11 and 16% over the triple-frequency PPP neglecting the IFCB in the post-processing mode in the east, north and up directions, respectively. As to the real-time triple-frequency PPP, the corresponding accuracy improvement is 24, 9 and 10% in the three directions, respectively.     

GPS/GLONASS组合精密单点定位性能分析

本文利用IGS 5个站的观测数据分7个时段进行了GPS/GLONASS组合精密单点定位计算,与单独GPS精密单点定位的结果在精度和收敛时间方面进行了性能比较。结果表明,在当前GPS卫星数量充足的情况下,增加少量的GLONASS卫星对定位精度的提高帮助不大,但能显著改善滤波收敛的时间。     

Multi-GNSS precise point positioning (MGPPP) using raw observations

A joint-processing model for multi-GNSS (GPS, GLONASS, BDS and GALILEO) precise point positioning (PPP) is proposed, in which raw code and phase observations are used. In the proposed model, inter-system biases (ISBs) and GLONASS code inter-frequency biases (IFBs) are carefully considered, among which GLONASS code IFBs are modeled as a linear function of frequency numbers. To get the full rank function model, the unknowns are re-parameterized and the estimable slant ionospheric delays and ISBs/IFBs are derived and estimated simultaneously. One month of data in April, 2015 from 32 stations of the International GNSS Service (IGS) Multi-GNSS Experiment (MGEX) tracking network have been used to validate the proposed model. Preliminary results show that RMS values of the positioning errors (with respect to external double-difference solutions) for static/kinematic solutions (four systems) are 6.2 mm/2.1 cm (north), 6.0 mm/2.2 cm (east) and 9.3 mm/4.9 cm (up). One-day stabilities of the estimated ISBs described by STD values are 0.36 and 0.38 ns, for GLONASS and BDS, respectively. Significant ISB jumps are identified between adjacent days for all stations, which are caused by the different satellite clock datums in different days and for different systems. Unlike ISBs, the estimated GLONASS code IFBs are quite stable for all stations, with an average STD of 0.04 ns over a month. Single-difference experiment of short baseline shows that PPP ionospheric delays are more precise than traditional leveling ionospheric delays.     

A review on the inter-frequency biases of GLONASS carrier-phase data

GLONASS ambiguity resolution (AR) between inhomogeneous stations requires correction of inter-frequency phase biases (IFPBs) (a “station” here is an integral ensemble of a receiver, an antenna, firmware, etc.). It has been elucidated that IFPBs as a linear function of channel numbers are not physical in nature, but actually originate in differential code-phase biases (DCPBs). Although IFPBs have been prevalently recognized, an unanswered question is whether IFPBs and DCPBs are equivalent in enabling GLONASS AR. Besides, general strategies for the DCPB estimation across a large network of heterogeneous stations are still under investigation within the GNSS community, such as whether one DCPB per receiver type (rather than individual stations) suffices, as tentatively suggested by the IGS (International GNSS Service), and what accuracy we are able to and ought to achieve for DCPB products. In this study, we review the concept of DCPBs and point out that IFPBs are only approximate derivations from DCPBs, and are potentially problematic if carrier-phase hardware biases differ by up to several millimeters across frequency channels. We further stress the station and observable specific properties of DCPBs which cannot be thoughtlessly ignored as conducted conventionally. With 212 days of data from 200 European stations, we estimated DCPBs per stations by resolving ionosphere-free ambiguities of \(\sim \)5.3 cm wavelengths, and compared them to the presumed truth benchmarks computed directly with L1 and L2 data on ultra-short baselines. On average, the accuracy of our DCPB products is around 0.7 ns in RMS. According to this uncertainty estimates, we could unambiguously confirm that DCPBs can typically differ substantially by up to 30 ns among receivers of identical types and over 10 ns across different observables. In contrast, a DCPB error of more than 6 ns will decrease the fixing rate of ionosphere-free ambiguities by over 20 %, due to their smallest frequency spacing and highest sensitivity to DCPB errors. Therefore, we suggest that (1) the rigorous DCPB model should be implemented instead of the classic, but inaccurate IFPB model; (2) DCPBs of sub-ns accuracy can be achieved over a large network by efficiently resolving ionosphere-free ambiguities; (3) DCPBs should be estimated and applied on account of their station and observable specific properties, especially for ambiguities of short wavelengths.     

GNSS多频融合精密单点定位频率间卫星钟偏差研究

全球导航卫星系统(GNSS)提供多频信号,多频融合已经成为一种趋势。在精密钟差估计(PCE)的过程中,卫星钟差参数会吸收卫星端稳定的伪距偏差和时变的相位偏差,这些偏差均与频率相关。因而使用不同的观测值进行PCE时,得到的卫星钟差估值是不同的,它们之间的差值被定义为频率间卫星钟偏差(IFCB)。按组成成分,IFCB可以分成伪距相关的IFCB(CIFCB)和相位相关的IFCB(PIFCB)两部分。国际GNSS服务(IGS)提供的精密卫星钟差产品是基于双频消电离层(IF)组合观测值生成的。由于IFCB的存在,导致IGS卫星钟差产品不能直接应用于多频精密单点定位(PPP)。IFCB的精确考虑已经成为多频PPP的一个关键问题。本研究旨在对IFCB特性和估计方法开展系统深入的研究,并评估其对多频PPP解的影响。     

Modeling and assessment of combined GPS/GLONASS precise point positioning

A combination of GPS and GLONASS observations can offer improved reliability, availability and accuracy for precise point positioning (PPP). We present and analyze a combined GPS/GLONASS PPP model, including both functional and stochastic components. Numerical comparison and analysis are conducted with respect to PPP based on only GPS or GLONASS observations to demonstrate the benefits of the combined GPS/GLONASS PPP. The observation residuals are analyzed for more appropriate stochastic modeling for observations from different navigation systems. An analysis is also made using different precise orbit and clock products. The performance of the combined GPS/GLONASS PPP is assessed using both static and kinematic data. The results indicate that the convergence time can be significantly reduced with the addition of GLONASS data. The positioning accuracy, however, is not significantly improved by adding GLONASS data if there is a sufficient number of GPS satellites with good geometry.     

GLONASS pseudorange inter-channel biases considerations when jointly estimating GPS and GLONASS clock offset

GLONASS clock offset estimation is affected by the inter-channel biases (ICBs) caused by frequency division multiple access technique. The effect of ICBs on joint GPS/GLONASS clock offset estimation is analyzed. An efficient approach for joint estimation of GPS/GLONASS satellite clock offset is applied to the generation of 30-s clock offset products. During the estimation, the following three ICB handling strategies were tested: calculating ICBs for each GLONASS signal channel, calculating ICBs for each GLONASS satellite and neglecting ICBs. The behavior of ICBs under different strategies was statistically stable. Subsequently, the clock offset products using different ICB strategies were evaluated. The evaluation shows that consideration of the ICB is important when estimating the clock offset. Furthermore, estimating one ICB for each GLONASS satellite is better than estimating one for each GLONASS signal channel because, with the former strategy, the clock offset products behave more smoothly and have higher accuracy compared with products from the International GNSS Service Analysis Center. In addition, precise point positioning, using clock offsets based on one ICB for each GLONASS satellite, has the highest positioning accuracy.     

Impact of GLONASS pseudorange inter-channel biases on satellite clock corrections

GLONASS carrier phase and pseudorange observations suffer from inter-channel biases (ICBs) because of frequency division multiple access (FDMA). Therefore, we analyze the effect of GLONASS pseudorange inter-channel biases on the GLONASS clock corrections. Different Analysis Centers (AC) eliminate the impact of GLONASS pseudorange ICBs in different ways. This leads to significant differences in the satellite and AC-specific offsets in the GLONASS clock corrections. Satellite and AC-specific offset differences are strongly correlated with frequency. Furthermore, the GLONASS pseudorange ICBs also leads to day-boundary jumps in the GLONASS clock corrections for the same analysis center between adjacent days. This in turn will influence the accuracy of the combined GPS/GLONASS precise point positioning (PPP) at the day-boundary. To solve these problems, a GNSS clock correction combination method based on the Kalman filter is proposed. During the combination, the AC-specific offsets and the satellite and AC-specific offsets can be estimated. The test results show the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed clock combination method. The combined clock corrections can effectively weaken the influence of clock day-boundary jumps on combined GPS/GLONASS kinematic PPP. Furthermore, these combined clock corrections can improve the accuracy of the combined GPS/GLONASS static PPP single-day solutions when compared to the accuracy of each analysis center alone.