An Improved Model for Single-Frequency GPS/GALILEO Precise Point Positioning

Akram Afifi, Ahmed El-Rabbany

Department of Civil Engineering, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada.

DOI: 10.4236/pos.2015.62002                

Abstract

This paper introduces a new precise point positioning (PPP) model, which combines single-fre- quency GPS/Galileo observations in between-satellite single-difference (BSSD) mode. In the absence of multipath, all receiver-related errors and biases are cancelled out when forming BSSD for a specific constellation. This leaves the satellite originating errors and atmospheric delays un- modelled. Combining GPS and Galileo observables introduces additional biases that have to be modelled, including the GPS to Galileo time offset (GGTO) and the inter-system bias. This paper models all PPP errors rigorously to improve the single-frequency GPS/Galileo PPP solution. GPSPace PPP software of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is modified to enable a GPS/Galileo PPP solution and to handle the newly introduced biases. A total of 12 data sets representing the GPS/Galileo measurements of six IGS-MEGX stations are processed to verify the newly developed PPP model. Precise satellite orbit and clock corrections from IGS-MEGX networks are used for both GPS and Galileo measurements. It is shown that sub-decimeter level accuracy is possible with single-frequency GPS/Galileo PPP. In addition, the PPP solution convergence time is improved from approximately 100 minutes for the un-differenced single-frequency GPS/Galileo solution to approximately 65 minutes for the BSSD counterpart when a single reference satellite is used. Moreover, an improvement in the PPP solution convergence time of 35% and 15% is obtained when one and two reference satellites are used, respectively.

Keywords

PPP, GPS, Galileo, BSSD

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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