1-88 Veripos Book Complete

FIRST EDITION
AN INTRODUCTION TO
GNSS
AND BEYOND
GPS, GLONASS,
BeiDou, Galileo and
the Increased
Accuracy of
Correction Services
An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond
GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo and the
Increased Accuracy of Correction Services
FIRST EDITION
An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond
GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo and
the Increased Accuracy of Correction Services
First Edition
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ISBN: 978-0-9813754-0-3
4 An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond

Table of Contents
FOREWORD....................................................................2 Step 4–Computation..........................................26
CHAPTER 1 GNSS Error Sources.......................................28
Dilution of Precision (DOP)........................28
GNSS OVERVIEW................................................... 13
DOP Basics.............................................................29
GNSS Basics............................................................... 14 GNSS Measurements—Code and
GNSS Architecture................................................ 14 Carrier Phase Precision...............................30
Space Segment.................................................. 14
Step 5–Application...............................................31
Control Segment............................................... 14
User Segment...................................................... 15 CHAPTER 3
GNSS Signals............................................................. 15 GLOBAL NAVIGATION SATELLITE

SYSTEMS (GNSS) ................................. 32
GNSS Positioning................................................... 15
GPS.......................................................... 33
GNSS Applications................................................ 15
Space Segment.................................. 33
GNSS User Equipment....................................... 16
Signals................................................ 33
GNSS Antennas.................................................. 16
Control Segment...............................................33
GNSS Receivers ................................................ 16
Modernization.................................................... 34
GNSS Augmentation............................................ 16
GLONASS.......................................................................35
CHAPTER 2 System Design....................................................35
BASIC GNSS CONCEPTS................................. 17 Space Segment..................................................35
Step 1–Satellites.................................................... 17 Control Segment...............................................36
Satellite Orbits.................................................... 19 Signals........................................................................36
Satellite Signals................................................. 19 Modernization.....................................................37
Satellite Errors....................................................21 Galileo...............................................................................37
Satellite Lifetimes............................................21 System Design....................................................38
Satellite Corrections......................................21 Galileo Signals.....................................................39
Step 2–Propagation.............................................21 Galileo Services.................................................39
Ionosphere..............................................................22 BeiDou............................................................................. 40
Troposphere..........................................................22 BeiDou Signals.................................................... 41
Multipath.................................................................22 QZSS.................................................................................. 41
Step 3–Reception..................................................22 NAVIC.................................................................................42
Antenna Selection...........................................23 GNSS Signal Summary......................................42
Antenna Location.............................................25
Antenna Cables..................................................25
In-Band Interference.....................................26
An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond 5

CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5
GNSS ERRORS AND RESOLUTIONS.... 43 INERTIAL BASICS
Satellite Clocks........................................................ 43 To Couple or Not to Couple ........................... 56
Orbit Errors.................................................................. 44 Loosely Coupled................................................57
Ionospheric Delay.................................................. 44 Tightly Coupled...................................................57
Tropospheric Delay.............................................. 44 Deeply or Ultra-Tightly Coupled...........59
Receiver Noise......................................................... 44 The Data Sheet Dilemma ............................... 60
Multipath...................................................................... 45 Data Update Rates......................................... 60
Resolving Errors..................................................... 45 Gyro/Accelerometer Performance......61
Multi-Constellation, Accuracy vs Precision...................................61
Multi-Frequency..................................................... 46
The Benefits of GNSS/IMU
Multi-Frequency............................................... 46 in Marine Application......................................... 64
Multi-Constellation....................................... 46
CHAPTER 6
Differential GNSS...................................................47
GNSS DENIAL........................................................... 65
Satellite-Based Augmentation
Interference................................................................ 65
Systems (SBAS) ..................................................... 48
Anti-Jam Antennas........................................ 65
WAAS.......................................................................... 48
Multiple Navigation Sensors................. 66
EGNOS....................................................................... 49
MSAS.......................................................................... 49 Spoofing......................................................................... 66
GAGAN...................................................................... 49 Signal Blockage........................................................67
SDCM.......................................................................... 49 Constellation Failure...........................................67
Other SBAS Systems.................................... 49 CHAPTER 7

Ground-Based Augmentation PRECISION AT SEA.............................................. 68
Systems......................................................................... 49
Inside the Redundancy..................................... 68
Real-Time Kinematic (RTK)........................... 50 Corrections and Connections......................70
Network RTK........................................................ 50 Putting It All Together.........................................73
Precise Point Positioning (PPP).................. 51
PPP Receiver.........................................................52 APPENDICES..............................................................76
PPP Service Providers..................................52 Acronyms.................................................................76
Reference Stations.........................................52 GNSS Glossary....................................................78
Network Control Centers.......................... 53 Standards and References......................85
Space Segment................................................. 53
High-Latitude Operations........................ 53
GNSS Data Post-Processing....................... 53
The Choice of Correction Servicers....... 54
DGNSS vs RTK.................................................... 54
SBAS vs PPP......................................................... 54
DGNSS vs SBAS................................................ 55
RTK vs PPP............................................................. 55

List of Tables
Table 1 GPS Satellite Constellation.................................................................................................... 33
Table 2 GPS Signal Characteristics..................................................................................................... 34
Table 3 GLONASS Satellite Constellation........................................................................................ 35
Table 4 GLONASS Signal Characteristics.. ....................................................................................... 36
Table 5 Galileo Satellite Constellation. . ............................................................................................. 38
Table 6 Galileo Signal Characteristics............................................................................................... 38
Table 7 Galileo Services............................................................................................................................ 39
Table 8 Regional BeiDou Satellite Constellation.......................................................................... 40
Table 9 Planned Global BeiDou Satellite Constellation............................................................ 40
Table 10 BeiDou Signal Characteristics............................................................................................ 40
Table 11 NavIC Signal Characteristics............................................................................................... 42
Table 12 GNSS System Errors................................................................................................................ 43

foreword
They all laughed at Christopher Columbus
When he said the world was round.1
C
hristopher Columbus wasn’t the first person to propose that
the world is round. Far from it. By the fifth century BCE, many
Greek scholars had accepted a spherical Earth as fact. Around
240 BCE, Eratosthenes, a Greek mathematician, poet, athlete,
geographer and astronomer, ingeniously calculated the Earth’s
radius with surprising accuracy.
Although Columbus knew the Earth was round, he had obviously not read
or agreed with Eratosthenes, for he significantly underestimated its size. He
projected that heading west, the distance from the Canary Islands to Japan
was 3,700 km, not 19,600 km as we now know it to be. Had Columbus known
the true distance, he may have lost heart or had trouble getting funded to sail.
Columbus navigated to the New World using dead reckoning, the technique
of estimating one’s current position based on a previously determined one. For
example, if I head west from a known location at 10 km/hr, in two hours I will
be 20 km west of my starting point. The challenge in dead reckoning is the
accurate and regular estimation of speed and heading.
The Golden Age of Exploration took place at a time when positioning was not
an exact science, sometimes with dire consequences. In 1707, several ships of
the Royal Navy struck the rocks near the Isles of Scilly, southwest of Cornwall,
with a loss of four ships and 1,400 men. Navigational error was blamed. The
tragedy led to the Longitude Act of 1714; the British government offered prizes
for solving the problem of accurately determining longitude.
This led to many new navigation techniques and equipment, includ-
ing significant improvements in ship-borne chronometers (clocks),
critical to accurate longitude determination. With the advent of radio in
the early 1900s, time signals were sent to ships, which could use the sig-
nal to regularly adjust their chronometers. The introduction of LORAN
1 From “They All Laughed” by George and Ira Gershwin, a song popularized by, among
others, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, in the 1950s.

(LOng-R ANge navigation system) in the 1940s enabled ships to
triangulate their position using radio signals from known shore-based
locations. After Sputnik, the first satellite, was launched in 1957,
scientists contemplated working back from a known satellite orbit to
determine a position on Earth. Many problems faced by earlier navigators
quickly became historical footnotes.
The most significant change in navigation techniques was the advent of
Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), starting with the launch of
the U.S. Department of Defense Global Positioning System (GPS) in the
late 1970s. Early GNSS applications developed for the military and soon
expanded to the survey and mapping industries, driven by tremendous
advances in accuracy and efficiency as well as cost reductions. Now ve-
hicles on land, in the air and at sea routinely rely on the precise position-
ing information provided by GNSS technology. Its ready adoption across
many sectors, and the increasingly complex requirements for positioning
anywhere, anytime, led to the integration of GNSS with other sensors and
methodologies. This approach will continue to create benefit for years to
come—and it gets even better.
The ingenuity of many engineers has created ways of extracting even
more accuracy from GNSS signals, more than envisioned by the creators
of those signals. All in the service of very exacting industrial applications
that need positioning accuracies almost incredible to contemplate: down
to the centimeter level, and even below!
Prime among these ways are GNSS correction services: networks of
GNSS reference stations, associated infrastructure and advanced software
that produce extremely precise and accurate positioning.
The goal of this book is to present complex GNSS concepts in a man-
ner that informs without overwhelming, and to reach beyond GNSS to the
increased accuracy offered by correction services. By the end of the book,
you will understand the basics of GNSS as well as some advanced tech-
niques, and you’ll have a solid foundation for further study or application.
We hope you enjoy the read.

1
CHAPTER
GNSS Overview
A
great deal of exploration was carried out at a time when navigation
was not a very exact science, sometimes with dire consequences.
In 1707, several ships of the Royal Navy struck the rocks near the
Isles of Scilly, southwest of Cornwall, with a loss of four ships and 1,400 men.
Navigational error was blamed. Although it is not certain whether the er-
ror was in the determination of longitude or latitude, the tragedy led to the
Longitude Act of 1714. Through this act, the British government offered prizes
for people who could solve or advance the problem of accurately determin-
ing longitude, including one of £10,000 for a method that could determine
longitude to within 60 nautical miles, about 111 kilometers at the Equator.
Although none of the larger prizes offered by the Longitude Act were ever
awarded, the initiative led to the development of many navigation techniques
and equipment, including significant improvements in ship-borne chronom-
eters (clocks), then critical to the accurate determination of longitude. With the
advent of radio technology in the early 1900s, time signals were sent to ships,
which could use the signal to regularly adjust their chronometers. In the 1940s,
LORAN (LOng-RANge navigation system) was introduced. This allowed ships
to triangulate their position using radio signals from LORAN stations at known
shore-based locations. The first satellite, Sputnik, was launched by the Soviet
Union in 1957 and it was not long before scientists contemplated working back
from a known satellite orbit to determine a position on Earth.

CHAPTER 1
What has most significantly changed as the equipment in the satellites. We will
navigation techniques is the advent of provide a more detailed explanation of po-
Global Navigation Satellite Systems sition determination in Chapter 2.
(GNSS), which started with the launch of
the U.S. Department of Defense Global GNSS SYSTEMS
Positioning System (GPS) in the late 1970s. Although you may already be familiar
Early applications of GNSS were devel- with the term “GPS” (Global Positioning
oped for the military and soon expanded System), you may not have heard the
to the survey and mapping industries— term “GNSS” (Global Navigation Satellite
driven largely by the tremendous ad- System), which is used to describe, col-
vances in accuracy and efficiency, as well lectively, all different satellite positioning
as cost reductions. Now vehicles, whether systems.
on land, in the air or at sea, routinely rely In Chapter 3, we will provide additional
on the precise positioning information information about these systems.
provided by GNSS technology. In fact, the
ready adoption of the technology and the GNSS ARCHITECTURE
increasingly complex requirements for GNSS satellite systems consist of three
positioning, anywhere, anytime, is driv- major components or segments: space seg-
ing integration of GNSS technology with ment, control segment and user segment.
other sensors and methodologies. The goal These are illustrated in Figure 1.
of this book is to present complex GNSS
concepts and applications in a manner Space Segment
that informs without overwhelming. By The space segment consists of GNSS sat-
the end of the book, you will understand ellites, orbiting about 20,000 to 35,000
the basics of GNSS and inertial technol- km above the Earth. Each GNSS has its
ogy and will have a solid foundation for own “constellation” of satellites, arranged
further study or application. in orbits to provide the desired coverage.
Each satellite in a GNSS constellation
GNSS BASICS broadcasts a signal that identifies it and
The basic concepts of satellite positioning provides its time, orbit and status.
are easy to understand. In theory, if you
know the location of three satellites and Control Segment
your distance from them, you can deter- The control segment comprises a ground-
mine your position. The determination of based network of master control stations,
position is made quite a bit more complicat- data uploading stations and monitor
ed by several factors: the satellites are mov- stations.
ing, the signals from the satellites are very Monitor stations, usually installed over
weak by the time they reach the Earth, the a broad geographic area, monitor the sat-
atmosphere interferes with the transmis- ellites’ signals and status, and relay this
sion of radio signals and, for cost reasons, information to the master control station.
the user equipment is not as sophisticated The master control station analyzes the

GNSS Segment CHAPTER 1
GNSS Segment Space Segment
GNSS Satellites
Space Segment
GNSS Satellites
GNSS Broadcast Signals
GNSS Broadcast Signals
GNSS Control
Channel
GNSS Control
Channel
g Master Contol Monitor

Stations Stations
User Segment
Data Uploading Master Contol Monitor
Control Segment Stations Stations Stations
User Segment
Control Segment
Figure 1 GNSS Segments
signals and then transmits orbit and time time GNSS signals reach the ground, they
corrections to the satellites through data are very weak. We will provide more infor-
uploading stations. mation about how the user segment deals
with this in Chapter 2.
User Segment
The user segment consists of equipment GNSS POSITIONING
that processes the received signals from GNSS positioning is based on a technique
the GNSS satellites and uses them to called “trilateration.” Simply put, if you
derive and apply location and time in- don’t know your position, but do know
formation. The equipment ranges from your distance from three known points,
smartphones to sophisticated, specialized you can determine your location.
receivers used for high-end survey, marine In Chapter 2, we will describe the tech-
and mapping applications. nique of trilateration and how it is extend-
ed to GNSS.
GNSS SIGNALS
GNSS radio signals are quite complex. GNSS APPLICATIONS
Their frequencies are around 1.5 GHz, or The first non-military applications of
1,500,000,000 cycles per second. By the GNSS technology were in surveying and

CHAPTER 1
mapping. Today, GNSS is being used for GNSS Receivers

commercial applications in agriculture, Receivers process the satellite signals re-
transportation, unmanned vehicles, ma- covered by the antenna to calculate posi-
chine control, marine navigation, and tion and time. Receivers may be designed
other industries where efficiencies can to use signals from one GNSS constella-
be gained from the application of precise, tion or from more than one GNSS con-
continually available position and time stellation. Receivers are available in many
information. GNSS is also used in a broad form factors and configurations to meet
range of consumer applications, including the requirements of the varied applica-
vehicle navigation, mobile communications of GNSS.
tions, entertainment and athletics.
In addition to position, GNSS receivers GNSS AUGMENTATION
can provide users with very accurate time, Positioning based on a standalone GNSS
by “synchronizing” their local clock with service is accurate to within a few meters.
the high-precision clocks onboard the sat- The accuracy of standalone GNSS, and the
ellites. This has enabled technologies and number of available satellites, may not be
applications such as the synchronization adequate for the needs of some users.
of power grids, cellular systems, the inter- Techniques and equipment have been
net and financial networks. developed to improve the accuracy and
We’ll talk more about GNSS applica- availability of GNSS position and time in-
tions in Chapter 6. formation. We will discuss some of these
techniques in Chapter 4.
GNSS USER EQUIPMENT
The primary components of the GNSS CLOSING REMARKS
user segment are antennas and receivers. Chapter 1 provided an overview of the
Depending on the application, antennas main concepts and components of GNSS.
and receivers may be physically separate or This high-level summary will help your
they may be integrated into one assembly. understanding as we present GNSS in
greater detail, starting with a more thor-
GNSS Antennas ough look at basic GNSS concepts in
GNSS antennas receive the radio signals Chapter 2.
that are transmitted by the GNSS satellites
and send these signals to the receivers.
GNSS antennas are available in a range of
shapes, sizes and performances. The an-
tenna is selected based on the application.

2
CHAPTER
Basic GNSS Concepts
T
he basic GNSS concepts, as shown in Figure 2, illustrate the steps
involved in using GNSS to determine time and position through to
the end user application.
STEP 1—SATELLITES: GNSS satellites orbit the Earth. The satellites know
their orbit ephemerides (the parameters that define their orbit) and the time
very accurately. When necessary, ground-based control stations adjust the
satellites’ ephemerides and time, and provide orbit adjustments.
STEP 2—PROPAGATION: GNSS satellites regularly broadcast their eph-
emerides and time, as well as their status. GNSS radio signals pass through
layers of the atmosphere to the user equipment.
STEP 3—RECEPTION: GNSS user equipment receives the signals from mul-
tiple GNSS satellites then, for each satellite, recovers the information that was
transmitted and determines the time of propagation: the time it takes the
signals to travel from the satellite to the receiver.
STEP 4—COMPUTATION: GNSS user equipment uses the recovered infor-
mation to compute its own time and position.
STEP 5—APPLICATION: GNSS user equipment provides the computed posi-
tion and time to the end user application, for example, navigation, surveying
or mapping. In the following sections, we will discuss each of the above steps
in more detail.
STEP 1–SATELLITES
There are multiple constellations of GNSS satellites orbiting the Earth. A con-
stellation is an orderly grouping of satellites, typically 20–30, in orbits that
have been designed to provide a desired coverage, for example, regional or
global. We will provide more details about GNSS constellations in Chapter 3.
GNSS satellites orbit well above the atmosphere, about 20,000 km above
the Earth’s surface. They are moving very fast, several kilometers per second.
In the relative vacuum of space, satellite trajectories are very stable and
predictable. As mentioned, GNSS satellites know their time and orbit eph-
emerides very accurately. If you ask a GPS satellite for the time, it won’t tell
you eight thirty. It will tell you 8:30:01.39875921.

CHAPTER 2
GNSS Constellations and Satellites

GNSS Constellations and Satellites
1 1 Satellites
Satellites
2 Propagation
2 Propagation
3 Reception Control Station
User Equipment
3 Reception Control Station
4 Computation 5 Application
User Equipment
Figure 2 Basic GNSS 4 Computation 5 Application
The latest generation of GPS satellites crosecond (a millionth of a second), light

use rubidium clocks that are accurate to travels 300 m. In a nanosecond (a billionth
within ±5 parts in 1011. These clocks are of a second), light travels 30 cm. Small er-
synchronized by more accurate ground- rors in time can result in large errors in
based cesium clocks. You would need to position.
watch one of these clocks for more than GPS was the first GNSS constellation
100,000 years to see it gain or lose a sec- to be launched. Several constellations are
ond. By comparison, if you have a quartz now operational. The benefit to end users
watch, it will likely have an accuracy of ±5 of having access to multiple constellations
parts in 106 and will lose about a second is redundancy and availability. If one sys-
every two days. tem fails, for any reason, GNSS receivers,
You may be wondering why time is such if they are equipped to do so, can receive
a big deal in GNSS systems. It is because and use signals from satellites in other
the time it takes a GNSS signal to travel systems. System failure does not happen
from satellites to receivers is used to de- often, but it is nice to know that if it did,
termine distances (ranges) to satellites. your receiver may still be able to operate.
Accuracy is required because radio waves Regardless, access to multiple constella-
travel at the speed of light. In one mi- tions is of particular benefit where line of

CHAPTER 2
sight to some of the satellites is obstructed, high-accuracy position information for

as is often the case when near structures, military applications, a lot of complexity
platforms or other vessels, or due to over- was designed into the system to make it
head crane movements. secure and resistant to jamming and in-
terference. Although military and civilian
Satellite Orbits components of GPS are separate, some of
GNSS satellites orbit well above the Earth’s the technologies used in the military com-
atmosphere. GPS and GLONASS satel- ponent have been applied to the civilian
lites orbit at altitudes close to 20,000 component.
km. BeiDou and Galileo satellites orbit a Since it achieved initial operational ca-
bit higher, around 21,500 km for BeiDou pability in December 1993, GPS has been
and 23,000 km for Galileo. GNSS orbits, available to civilian users, who have dif-
which are more or less circular, and highly ferent requirements for service availabil-
stable and predictable, fall into three cat- ity, positioning accuracy and cost. The
egories: Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), frequency plans (plans that describe the
Inclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO) frequency, amplitude and width of signals)
and Geostationary Orbit (GEO). for each GNSS system are a little different.
Satellites in a medium Earth orbit com-
plete an orbit in less than a day. Satellites Figure 3 Block IIR GPS Satellite
in a geostationary orbit are used by re-
gional GNSS systems and GNSS correc-
tions service providers. There is not much
drag at 20,000 km, but gravitational ef-
fects and the pressure of solar radiation
do affect GNSS orbits a bit and the orbits
have to be occasionally corrected. While
its orbit is being adjusted, a GNSS satel-
lite’s status is changed to “out of service”
so user equipment knows not to use the
affected signals.
Satellite Signals
GNSS satellite signals are complex.
Describing these signals requires equally
complex words like pseudorandom, corre-
lation and Code Division Multiple Access
(CDMA). To explain these GNSS concepts,
let’s first discuss GPS satellite signals.
First and foremost, GPS was de-
signed as a positioning system for the
U.S. Department of Defense. To provide
Lockheed Martin

GPS Frequency Plan
CHAPTER 2
Amplitude GPS Frequency Plan
L5 L2 L1
Amplitude
1176.45 MHz 1227.60 MHz

L5 1575.42
L2 MHz L1
Frequency
Figure 4 GPS Frequency Plan

1176.45 MHz 1227.60 MHz 1575.42 MHz
We will describe these plans in more detail you are multilingual, you will be able to
in Chapter 3. To illustrate GNSS concepts, understand what other people are saying
however, we will briefly describe the fre- too. CDMA is a lot like this.
quency and signal scheme used by GPS. GPS operates in a frequency band re-
As shown in Figure 4, GPS satellites ferred to as the L-Band, a portion of the ra-
transmit information on the L1, L2 and dio spectrum between 1 and 2 GHz. L-Band
L5 frequencies. All GPS satellites can was chosen for several reasons, including:
transmit on the same frequencies because • Simplification of antenna design. If the
of the transmission scheme GPS uses, frequency had been much higher, user an-
which is called CDMA. CDMA is a form tennas may have had to be more complex.
of spread spectrum. GPS satellite signals, • Ionospheric delay is more significant at
although they are on the same frequency, lower frequencies. We’ll talk more about
are modulated by a unique pseudoran- ionospheric delay in Step 2–Propagation,
dom digital sequence, or code. Each satel- later in this chapter.
lite uses a different pseudorandom code. • Except through a vacuum, the speed
Pseudorandom means that the signal of light is lower at lower frequencies, as
only appears random; in fact, it actually evident by the separation of the colors in
repeats after a period of time. Receivers light by a prism. You may have thought the
know the pseudorandom code for each speed of light was a constant 299,792,458
satellite. This allows receivers to correlate meters per second. It is that speed in a
(synchronize) with the CDMA signal for a vacuum, but through air or any other me-
particular satellite. CDMA signals are at a dium, it is less.
very low level, but through this code cor- • The coding scheme requires a high
relation, the receiver is able to recover the bandwidth, which was not available in ev-
signals and the information they contain. ery frequency band.
To illustrate, consider listening to a per- • The frequency band was chosen to mini-
son in a noise-filled room. Many conver- mize the effect that weather has on GPS
sations are taking place, but each conver- signal propagation.
sation is in a different language. You are L1 carries a navigation message, the
able to understand the person because you coarse acquisition (C/A) code (freely avail-
know the language he/she is speaking. If able to the public) and an encrypted preci-

CHAPTER 2
sion code, called the P(Y) code (restricted • Multi-frequency operation allows for
access). The navigation message is a low ionospheric compensation, since iono-
bit rate message that includes the follow- spheric delays vary with frequency.
ing information: • The GPS system is resistant to jamming
• GPS date and time. and interference.
• Satellite status and health. If the satel- • Security. Signals accessed and used by
lite is having problems or its orbit is being military applications are not accessible by
adjusted, it will not be usable. When this civilians.
happens, the satellite will transmit the Other GNSS systems are conceptually
out-of-service message. similar to GPS, but there are differences.
• Satellite ephemeris, which allows the We will provide more information about
receiver to calculate the satellite’s posi- these differences in Chapter 3.
tion. This information is accurate to many
decimal places. Receivers can determine Satellite Errors
exactly where the satellite was when it Satellite errors include ephemeride and
transmitted its time. clock errors. These clock errors are very,
• Almanac, which contains information very small, but keep in mind that in one
and status for all GPS satellites, so receiv- nanosecond, light travels 30 centimeters.
ers know which satellites are available for
tracking. On start up, a receiver will re- Satellite Lifetimes
cover this almanac. The almanac consists GNSS satellites don’t last forever.
of coarse orbit and status information for Sometimes they are phased out with newer
each satellite in the constellation. models that have new signals or improved
The P(Y) code is for military use. It pro- time keeping. Sometimes GNSS satellites
vides better interference rejection than the do fail and, if they can’t be restored, are
C/A code, which makes military GPS more permanently removed from service.
robust than civilian GPS. The L2 frequency
transmits the P(Y) code and, on newer GPS Satellite Corrections
satellites, it also transmits the C/A code The control segment continuously monitors
(referred to as L2C), providing a second the satellites and regularly adjust their time
publicly available code to civilian users. and orbit information to keep the broad-
Although the information in the P(Y) code casted information highly accurate. If a
is not accessible to everyone, clever people satellite’s orbit drifts outside the operating
have figured out ways to use the L2 carrier limits, it may be taken out of service and its
and code, without knowing how it is coded. orbit adjusted using small rocket boosters.
While the GPS transmission scheme
is complex, it was chosen for many good STEP 2–PROPAGATION
reasons: GNSS signals pass through the near-vac-
• GPS receivers can recover very weak sig- uum of space, then through the various
nals using very small antennas. This keeps layers of the atmosphere to the Earth, as
the receiver cost low. illustrated in Figure 5.

CHAPTER 2
To obtain accurate position and time, Troposphere

we need to know the length of the direct The other layer of the atmosphere that
path from the satellite to the user equip- influences the transmission of GNSS sig-
ment (which we refer to as the “range” nals is the troposphere, the lowest layer
to the satellite). As shown in Figure 5, of the Earth’s atmosphere. The thickness
radio waves do not travel in a straight of the troposphere varies, about 17 km in
path. Light travels in a straight line only the middle latitudes, up to 20 km nearer
in a vacuum or through a perfectly ho- the Equator, and thinner at the poles.
mogeneous medium. Just as a straw is Tropospheric delay is a function of local
seemingly “bent” in a glass of water, radio temperature, pressure and relative hu-
signals from the satellite are bent as they midity. L1 and L2 are equally delayed, so
pass through the Earth’s atmosphere. This the effect of tropospheric delay cannot be
“bending” increases the amount of time eliminated the way ionospheric delay can
the signal takes to travel from the satellite be. It is possible, however, to model the
to the receiver. As we shall explain in Step troposphere and then predict and com-
4, the distance to the satellite is calculat- pensate for much of the delay.
ed by multiplying the time of propagation
(which, you recall, is the time it takes the Multipath
signals to travel from the satellite to the Some of the signal energy transmitted by
receiver) by the speed of light. Errors in the the satellite is reflected on the way to the
propagation time increase or decrease the receiver. This phenomenon is referred to
computed range to the satellite. as “multipath propagation.” These reflect-
Incidentally, since the computed range ed signals are delayed from the direct sig-
contains errors and is not exactly equal nal and, if they are strong enough, can in-
to the actual range, we refer to it as a terfere with the desired signal. Techniques
“pseudorange.” have been developed whereby the receiver
only considers the earliest-arriving signals
Ionosphere and ignores multipath signals, which ar-
The layer of the atmosphere that most rive later. In the early days of GPS, most
influences the transmission of GNSS sig- errors came from ionospheric and tropo-
nals is the ionosphere, the layer 75 to 1,000 spheric delays, but now more attention is
km above the Earth’s surface. Ultraviolet being made to multipath effects, in the
rays from the sun ionize gas molecules in interests of continually improving GNSS
this layer, releasing free electrons. These performance.
electrons influence electromagnetic wave
propagation, including GNSS satellite STEP 3–RECEPTION
signal broadcasts. Ionospheric delays are To determine a position and time, GNSS
frequency-dependent, so by calculating receivers need to be able to track at least
the range using two signals, such as L1 and four satellites. This means there needs to
L2, the effect of the ionosphere can be vir- be a line of sight between the receiver’s an-
tually eliminated by the receiver. tenna and the four satellites.

CHAPTER 2
Depending on the implementation, GNSS antenna. Gain can be defined as

user equipment can recover signals from the relative measure of an antenna’s abil-
multiple satellites in multiple GNSS ity to direct or concentrate radio frequency
constellations. energy in a particular direction or pattern.
Receivers vary in terms of which con- A minimum gain is required to achieve a
stellation or constellations they track, minimum carrier-to-noise density (C/N0)
and how many satellites they track to track GNSS satellites. The antenna gain
simultaneously. is directly related to the overall C/N0 of the
For each satellite being tracked, the re- GNSS receivers. Hence, antenna gain helps
ceiver determines the propagation time. It define the tracking ability of the system.
can do this because of the pseudorandom
nature of the signals. To illustrate, refer to 3. ELEMENT GAIN
Figure 6, which shows the transmission of The element gain defines how efficient
a pseudorandom code, a series of zeroes and the antenna element is at receiving the
ones. Since the receiver knows the pseudo- signals. Every signal chain is only as good
random code for each satellite, it can deter- as its weakest link. So an antenna element
mine the time it received the code from a with low element gain might be compen-
particular satellite. In this way, it can deter- sated by an increased low noise amplifier
mine the time of propagation. gain, however the carrier-to-noise density
or C/N0, is degraded.
Importance of Antenna Selection
An antenna behaves both as a spatial and GNSS Signal Propagation
frequency filter, therefore, selecting the GNSS Signal Propagation
right GNSS antenna is critical for opti-
mizing performance. An antenna must GNSS
GNSS Satellites Satellites
match the receiver’s capabilities and speci-
fications, as well as meet the size, weight,
environmental and mechanical specifica-
tions for the intended application. Reflected
Ionosphere
Factors to consider when choosing a Reflected
GNSS antenna include: Ionosphere
Obstructed
Troposphere Direct
Refracted
1. CONSTELLATION AND SIGNALS Obstructed
Each GNSS constellation has its own signal Troposphere Direct

Receiver
Refracted
frequencies and bandwidths. An antenna
must cover the signal frequencies trans-
mitted by the constellation and bandwidth
Receiver
supported by the GNSS receiver.
2. ANTENNA GAIN

Gain is a key performance indicator of a Figure 5 GNSS Signal Propagation

CHAPTER 2
Time
Time t1, signal transmitted by satellite Pseudorandom codes modulating the carrier
Time t2, signal received by user
Time of propagation = t2 – t1
Figure 6 Determining Time of Propagation
4. ANTENNA BEAMWIDTH AND GAIN 5. PHASE CENTER STABILITY

ROLL-OFF The phase center of the antenna is the
Gain roll-off is a factor of beamwidth, and point where the signals transmitted
specifies how much the gain changes over from satellites are collected. When a
the elevation angle of the antenna. From receiver reports a location fix, that loca-
the antenna’s point of view, the satellites tion is essentially the phase center of the
rise from the horizon towards zenith and antenna.
fall back to the horizon. The variation in The electrical phase center of any an-
gain between zenith (directly overhead) tenna will vary with the position of the
and the horizon is known as the gain roll- transmitting signal it is receiving by as
off. Different antenna technologies have much as a few millimeters. As GNSS sat-
different gain roll-off characteristics. ellites move across the sky, the electrical
Typically, GNSS antennas have lower phase center of the signal received will
antenna gain at low elevation angles. typically move with the satellite position
This reduced gain at low elevation helps unless the antenna has been carefully de-
with multipath interference rejection. For signed to minimize Phase Center Offset
GNSS receivers working at higher lati- (PCO) and Phase Center Variation (PCV).
tudes, geostationary satellites, which are The PCO, with respect to the Antenna
positioned over the Equator, are always Reference Point (ARP), is the difference
at low elevation angles. If the GNSS re- between the mechanical center of an-
ceiver uses a correction service transmit- tenna rotation and electrical phase center
ted over L-Band, it can be advantageous location. The PCO is also frequency-de-
to use a separate antenna designed for the pendent, which means that there can be a
L-Band reception for the L-Band correc- different offset for each signal frequency.
tion signal. The PCV identifies how much the phase

CHAPTER 2
center moves with respect to the satellite

elevation angles (see Figure 7).
Many users can accept accuracies of less
than a meter, so these small phase center
variations cause a negligible amount of po-
sition error. However, if you require high-
precision such as Precise Point Positioning
(PPP)-capable receivers that can achieve
position accuracies of 4 cm, a few milli-
meters of phase center error can translate
to a 10–15% error in reported position.
For high-precision applications, geodetic-
grade antennas offer superior PCO/PCV
performance.
Figure 7 Plot of Good and Poor Antenna
Phase Center Variation over Elevation Angle
6. APPLICATION
An antenna has to meet the performance, errors. Objects blocking the satellite sig-
environmental, mechanical and opera- nal are of particular concern for antennas
tional requirements of the intended ap- receiving L-Band correction services. For
plication. For example, GNSS antennas correction services that supply the correc-
used for marine oil and gas applications tion signal from a single geostationary sat-
should be waterproof and rugged enough ellite, all correction services are lost when
to handle extreme weather and vibration that satellite is blocked. Correction ser-
profiles. In some cases the antenna may vices that supply correction signals from
need to be ATEX-certified. two or more satellites to all locations help
In a marine environment, the Inmarsat mitigate signal blockage.
Sat-C signal is a common GNSS interfer- The position calculated by the GNSS
ence signal. Selecting a GNSS antenna receiver is based on the location of the an-
designed to reject the Inmarsat Sat-C sig- tenna, not the location of the receiver.
nal improves GNSS signal reception and
simplifies antenna placement. Antenna Cables
As the GNSS signal is transmitted from
Antenna Location the antenna to the receiver, some of the
The GNSS antenna should be installed in signal is lost or attenuated in the antenna
a location that has clear view of the sky cable. The amount of attenuation is based
from horizon to horizon. Objects such as on the type of cable and the cable length.
platforms or overhead cranes that block If a long antenna cable is needed for the
the antenna’s view of the sky will block installation, select a low-loss cable and
GNSS signals from that direction. Also, keep the number of connectors to a mini-
the antenna should be placed away from mum. For very long cable runs, an inline
reflective surfaces to minimize multipath amplifier may be required.

CHAPTER 2
The impedance of the antenna cable eration, a method of geometrically de-

must match the impedance of the GNSS termining the position of an object using
antenna and receiver to prevent signal loss distances and positions of known points,
due to signal reflection. the receiver calculates its position.
To help us understand trilatera-
In-Band Interference tion, we’ll present the technique in two
Faulty GNSS antennas or antenna cables dimensions.
with bad terminations or faulty shielding The receiver calculates its range to
can cause interference in the GNSS band. Satellite A. As we mentioned, it does this
This in-band interference can cause GNSS by determining the amount of time it took
receivers within 100 meters to lose lock. for the signal from Satellite A to arrive at
On a marine vessel, which typically has the receiver, and multiplying this time by
several GNSS receivers, a single faulty the speed of light. Satellite A communi-
antenna or antenna cable can impact the cated its location (determined from the
operation of all of the GNSS receivers on satellite orbit ephemerides and time) to
the vessel. the receiver, so the receiver knows it is
somewhere on a circle with radius equal
STEP 4–COMPUTATION to the range and centered at the location
If we knew the exact position of three of Satellite A, as illustrated in Figure 8.
satellites and the exact range to each of In three dimensions, the ranges will form
them, we would geometrically be able to spheres, not circles.
determine our location. We have suggest- The receiver also determines its range
ed that we need ranges to four satellites to a second satellite, Satellite B. Now the
to determine position. In this section, we receiver knows it is at the intersection of
will explain why this is so, and how GNSS two circles, at either Position 1 or 2, as
positioning actually works. shown in Figure 9.
For each satellite being tracked, the You may be tempted to conclude that
receiver calculates how long the satellite ranging to a third satellite would be re-
signal took to reach it, as follows: quired to resolve your location to Position
1 or Position 2. But one of the positions
Propagation Time = Time Signal Reached
Receiver – Time Signal Left Satellite can most often be eliminated as not fea-
sible because, for example, it is in space
Multiplying this propagation time by or in the middle of the Earth. You might
the speed of light gives the distance to the also be tempted to extend our illustration
satellite. to three dimensions and suggest that only
For each satellite being tracked, the re- three ranges are needed for positioning.
ceiver now knows where the satellite was But as we discussed earlier, four ranges
at the time of transmission (because the are necessary. Why is this?
satellite broadcasts its orbit ephemerides) It turns out that receiver clocks are not
and it has determined the distance to the nearly as accurate as the clocks on board
satellite when it was there. Using trilat- the satellites. Most are based on quartz

CHAPTER 2
crystals. Remember, we said these clocks two satellites, our computed position will
were accurate to only about 5 parts per be out by an amount proportional to the
million. If we multiply this by the speed of inaccuracy in our receiver clock, as illus-
light, it will result in an accuracy of ±1500 trated in Figure 10.
meters. When we determine the range to We want to determine our actual posi-
Ranging to First Satellite tion but, as shown in Figure 10, the re-
ceiver time inaccuracy causes range errors
Ranging to First Satellite
that result in position errors. The receiver
By knowing the location of Satellite A
and your distance to it, you know
By knowing the location of Satellite A
knows there is an error, it just does not
you are
andsomewhere
your distance toon this
it, you circle
know
you are somewhere on this circle know the size of the error. If we now com-
pute the range to a third satellite, it will
DA’ distance
not intersect the computed position, as
Dto distance
A’ Satellite A
shown in Figure 11.
to Satellite A
Now for one of the ingenious techniques
used in GNSS positioning.
GNSS Satellite A
The receiver knows that the reason the
pseudoranges to the three satellites are
GNSS Satellite A not intersecting is because its clock is not
very good. The receiver is programmed to
advance or delay its clock until the pseudo-
ranges to the three satellites converge at a
single point, as shown in Figure 12.
Ranging to Second Satellite

Figure 8 Ranging to First Satellite
Figure 9 Ranging to Second Satellite

Ranging to Second Satellite
By knowing the location of Satellites A and B,
and your distance to each of them, you know
you
By knowing the location are at Position
of Satellites A and B, 1 or Position 2
and your distance to each of them, you know
you are at Position 1 or Position 2
DB’ distance DB’ distance

Position 1 to Satellite B
Position 1 to Satellite B
DA’ distance
to Satellite A DA’ distance
to Satellite A
GNSS Satellite B
GNSS Satellite A Position 2 GNSS Satellite B
GNSS Satellite A Position 2

CHAPTER 2
Figure 10 Position Error GNSS Error Sources

Actual range to A GNSS receiver calculates posi-
Satellite B tion based on data received from
Pseudorange to satellites. However, there are many
Satellite B Actual range to sources of errors that, if left uncor-
Actual Satellite A
position
rected, cause the position calcula-
Pseudorange to
Satellite A
tion to be inaccurate.
The type of error and how it is
Error (caused
by receiver time mitigated is essential to calculating
inaccuracy) precise position, as the level of preci-
sion is only useful to the extent that
Computed
position
the measurement can be trusted.
Chapter 4 presents key sources of
GNSS error and discusses methods
The incredible accuracy of the satellite of error resolution and impact on accuracy
clock has now been “transferred” to the re- and other performance factors.
ceiver clock, eliminating the receiver clock
error in the position determination. The Dilution of Precision (DOP)
receiver now has both an accurate position The geometric arrangement of satellites,
and very accurate time. as they are presented to the receiver, af-
The above technique shows how re- fects the accuracy of position and time
ceiver time inaccuracy can be eliminated calculations. Receivers will ideally be de-
and position determined using ranges signed to use signals from available satel-
to three satellites. When we extend this lites in a manner that minimizes this so
technique to three dimensions, we need called “dilution of precision.”
to add a range to a fourth satellite. This is To illustrate DOP, consider the example
the reason why line-of-sight to a minimum shown in Figure 13, where the satellites
of four GNSS satellites is needed to deter- being tracked are clustered in a small re-
mine position. gion of the sky. As you can see, it is diffi-
The pseudoranges to Satellites A, B and C are not

Pseudorange to intersecting because of receiver time inaccuracy.
Satellite B If receivers were equipped with cesium clocks,
these pseudoranges would intersect.
Figure 11 Pseudorange to

Detecting Position Error Satellite A
Computed position
based on pseudoranges Pseudorange to
to Satellites A and B Satellite C

CHAPTER 2
cult to determine where the ranges Adjusted range to Figure 12 Convergence
Satellite B
intersect. Position is “spread” over
the area of range intersections, an
area which is enlarged by range in- Adjusted range to
Satellite A
accuracies (which can be viewed as
a “thickening” of the range lines).
As shown in Figure 14, the ad-
dition of a range measurement to a Adjusted range to
Satellite C
satellite that is angularly separated
Pseudoranges
from the cluster allows us to deter- converge by advancing
mine a fix more precisely. or delaying the receiver clock
DOP is defined as a numerical

representation of satellite geometry and satellite positions and the approximate
it is dependent on the locations of satel- receiver location.
lites that are visible to the receiver. DOP can be expressed as a number of
The smaller the value of DOP, the more separate elements that define the DOP
precise the result of the time or position for a particular type of measurement, for
calculation. The relationship is shown in example, HDOP (Horizontal Dilution of
the following formula: Precision), VDOP (Vertical Dilution of
Precision), and PDOP (Position Dilution of
Inaccuracy of Position Measurement =
DOP x Inaccuracy of Range Measurement Precision). These factors are mathemati-
cally related. In some cases, for example
So, if DOP is very high, the inaccuracy when satellites are low in the sky, HDOP
of the position measurement will be much is low and it will therefore be possible to
larger than the inaccuracy of the range get a good to excellent determination of
measurement. horizontal position (latitude and longi-
tude), but VDOP may only be adequate
DOP Basics for a moderate altitude determination.
• DOP can be used as the basis for select- Similarly, when satellites are clustered
ing the satellites on which the position so- high in the sky, VDOP is better than
lution will be based; specifically, selecting HDOP.
satellites to minimize DOP for a particular In countries at high latitudes such as
application. Canada, GNSS satellites are lower in the
• A DOP above 6 results in generally un- sky; thus, achieving optimal DOP for
acceptable accuracies for PPP operations. some applications, particularly where
• DOP varies with time of day and geo- good VDOP is required, is sometimes a
graphic location but, for a fixed position, challenge.
the geometric presentation of the satellites Applications where the available satel-
repeats. lites are low on the horizon or angularly
• DOP can be calculated without deter- clustered, such as those when operating
mining the range. All that is needed is the alongside vessels or platforms, may expose

CHAPTER 2
Dilution of Precision
users to the pitfalls of DOP. If you know

your application will have obstructed con-
Satellites
A, B, C and D
ditions, you may want to use a mission-
planning tool to determine the time with
the ideal DOP.
GNSS Measurements—Code and

Carrier Phase Precision
The positioning technique described
earlier in this chapter is referred to as
Ranges to
Satellites
A, B, C, and D
a code-based technique because the
receiver correlates with and uses the
Position is not easy to determine accurately
when the satellites are angularly grouped
closely together; ie., when the DOP is high
Pseudorandom Noise (PR N) codes
transmitted by four or more satellites
Figure 13 Dilution of Precision to determine its position and time. This
(poor satellite geometry)
results in positioning accuracies of a
Dilution of Precision_2 few meters. For some applications, such
as surveying, higher accuracies are re-
Satellites
A, B and C Satellite D
quired. Carrier-based techniques such as
Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) and Precise
Point Positioning (PPP) have been devel-
oped that can provide positions that are
orders of magnitude more accurate than
code-based GNSS. Figure 15 illustrates
Range to the difference between code and carrier
Satellite D
phase positioning.
A. Phase modulation of the carrier wave
using the PRN code is used to differentiate
Ranges to
Satellites You are located
at this point
satellite signals and to provide signal tim-
A, B and C
Improved satellite angular

ing information for range measurements.
separation and DOP means
better achievable position accuracy B. Measurements based on the PRN
modulation are unambiguous, but preci-
Figure 14 Dilution of Precision sion is limited to sub-meter.
(improved geometry)
C. The carrier wave for the GNSS signal
is a sine wave with a period of less than
one meter (19 cm for L1), allowing for more
precise measurements.
D. Measurements of the phase of the
carrier wave can be made to millimeter
precision, but the measurement is am-
biguous because the total number of sig-

CHAPTER 2
nal cycles between satellite and receiver is Code vs Carrier Phase

unknown.
Resolving or estimating the carrier B
A
phase ambiguities is the key to achieving
Code vs Carrier Phase
precise positioning with RTK or PPP. The 2ns ˜ 0.6 metre range
two methods use different techniques to C
achieve this but both make use of:

• Pseudorange (code-based) position
estimates. D
B
• Mitigation of positioning errors, either
by using relative positioning or correc- 0.003ns ˜ 1mm range
tion data.
2ns ˜ 0.6 metre range
• Multiple satellite signal observations to
find the ambiguity terms that fit best
with the measurement data. C
Therefore, the method employed by
the receiver, code or carrier based mea-
surements, impacts the positioning
performance.
Chapter 4 provides additional informa-
tion about RTK and PPP. D
STEP 5–APPLICATION
Once the errors have been accounted for in
the GNSS equation, the receiver can deter- 0.003ns ˜ 1mm range
mine its position and time, and pass this

information on to the end user application.
Applications range from simple handheld
meter-level navigation aids to robust,
centimeter-level positioning solutions for
survey, unmanned, marine and military.
With users demanding GNSS positioning
functionality in increasingly challenging
environments, GNSS technology is being
integrated with other sensors such as in- Figure 15 Code vs Carrier Phase
ertial technology to enhance positioning
capabilities and dependability.

3
CHAPTER
Global Navigation Satellite

Systems (GNSS)
S
everal countries now have existing or planned space programs that
include the implementation of national or regional GNSS. In this
chapter, we will provide an overview of these systems.
The following GNSS systems are operational:
• GPS (United States)
• GLONASS (Russia)
• Galileo (European Union)
• BeiDou (China)
• NavIC regional navigation satellite system (India)
• QZSS regional navigation satellite system (Japan)
GLONASS
GPS
Galileo

CHAPTER 3
GPS
(GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM), UNITED STATES
GPS was the first GNSS system. GPS (or NAVSTAR, as it is officially called) satellites
were first launched in the late 1970s and early 1980s by the U.S. Department of Defense.
Since that time, several generations (referred to as “Blocks”) of GPS satellites have been
launched. Initially, GPS was available only for military use but in 1983 a decision was
made to extend GPS to civilian use.
Space Segment Signals

The GPS space segment is summarized in Table 2 provides further information on
Table 1. The orbit period of each satellite GPS signals. GPS signals are based on
is approximately 12 hours, so this provides CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access)
a GPS receiver with at least six satellites in technolog y, which we discussed in
view from any point on Earth, under open- Chapter 2.
sky conditions.
Control Segment
Satellites 27 plus 4 spares The GPS control segment consists of a mas-
ter control station (and a backup master
Orbital Planes 6 control station), monitor stations, ground
antennas and remote tracking stations.
Orbit Inclination 55 degrees
There are 16 monitor stations located
Orbit Radius 20,200 km throughout the world. The monitor stations
track the satellites via their broadcast sig-
Table 1 GPS Satellite Constellation GPS Satellite Orbit
nals, which contain satellite ephemeris data,
A GPS satellite orbit is illustrated in
Figure 16. GPS Satellite Orbit
GPS satellites continually broadcast
their identification, ranging signals, sat- Orbit is angled
ellite status and corrected ephemerides up 55 degrees
from the
Orbit is angled
up 55 degrees
from the equatorial
(orbit parameters). equatorial plane
Orbit
Orbit plane
The satellites are identified either by radius
radius isis
20,200
20,200
kilometers
their Space Vehicle Number (SVN) or their kilometers
Pseudorandom Noise (PRN) code. Equatorial

plane
Equatorial
plane
Orbit is nearly
Figure 16 circular
GPS Satellite Orbit
Orbit is nearly
circular

CHAPTER 3
ranging signals, clock data and almanac civilian signal, designated L2C, ensuring
data. These signals are passed to the mas- the accessibility of two civilian codes. L2C
ter control station where the ephemerides is easier for the user segment to track and
are recalculated. The resulting ephemerides it delivers improved navigation accuracy. It
and timing corrections are transmitted back also provides the ability to directly measure
up to the satellites through data upload- and remove the ionospheric delay error for a
ing stations. The ground antennas are co- particular satellite, using the civilian signals
located with monitor stations and used by on both L1 and L2. The L2C signal is expect-
the Master Control Station to communicate ed to be available from 24 satellites by 2021.
with and control the GPS satellites.
L5
GPS Modernization The United States has implemented a
Space segment modernization includes new third civil GPS frequency (L5) at 1176.45
signals, as well as improvements in atomic MHz. The modernized GPS satellites
clock accuracy, satellite signal strength and (Block II-F and later) are transmitting L5.
reliability. Control segment modernization The benefits of the L5 signal include
includes improved ionospheric and tropo- meeting the requirements for critical safe-
spheric modelling and in-orbit accuracy, and ty-of-life applications such as that needed
additional monitoring stations. User equip- for civil aviation and providing:
ment has also evolved, to take advantage of • Improved ionospheric correction
space and control segment improvements. • Signal redundancy
• Improved signal accuracy
L2C • Improved interference rejection
The modernized GPS satellites (Block The L5 signal is expected to be available
IIR-M and later) are transmitting a new from 24 satellites by 2024.
DESIGNATION FREQUENCY DESCRIPTION
L1 is modulated by the C/A code (Coarse/Acqui-

sition) which is available to all users and the P-
L1 1575.42 MHz
code (Precision) which is encrypted for military
and other authorized users.
L2 is modulated by the P-code and, beginning

with the Block IIR-M satellites, the L2C (civilian)
L2 1227.60 MHz code. L2C has begun broadcasting civil naviga-
tion (CNAV) messages and is discussed in this
chapter under “GPS Modernization.”
L5, available beginning with Block IIF satellites,

has begun broadcasting CNAV messages. The L5
L5 1176.45 MHz
signal is discussed in this chapter under “GPS
Modernization.”
Table 2 GPS Signal Characteristics

CHAPTER 3
L1C L1C features a new modulation scheme

A fourth civilian GPS signal, L1C, is that will improve GPS reception in cities
planned for the next generation of GPS and other challenging environments. The
satellites, Block III. L1C will be backward- first Block III satellite was launched in
compatible with L1 and will provide great- 2018. There will be 24 satellites broadcast-
er civilian interoperability with Galileo. ing L1C in the late 2020s.
The Japanese QZSS, Indian NavIC and
Chinese BeiDou also plan to broadcast Other
L1C, making it a future standard for in- In addition to the new L1C, L2C and L5
ternational interoperability. signals, GPS satellite modernization in-
cludes new military signals.
GLONASS
(GLOBAL NAVIGATION SATELLITE SYSTEM), RUSSIA
GLONASS was developed by the Soviet Union as an experimental military communica-
tions system during the 1970s. When the Cold War ended, the Soviet Union recognized
that GLONASS had commercial applications through the system’s ability to transmit
weather broadcasts, communications, navigation and reconnaissance data.
The first GLONASS satellite was launched
in 1982 and the system was declared fully Satellites 24 plus 3 spares
operational in 1993. After a period where
Orbital Planes 3
GLONASS performance declined, Russia
committed to bringing the system up to the Orbit Inclination 64.8 degrees
required minimum of 18 active satellites.
Currently, GLONASS has a full deploy- Orbit Radius 19,140 km
ment of 24 satellites in the constellation.
Table 3 GLONASS Satellite Constellation
GLONASS System Design of 24 satellites, in three orbital planes,

The GLONASS constellation provides vis- with eight satellites per plane.
ibility to a variable number of satellites, The GLONASS constellation geom-
depending on your location. etry repeats about once every eight side-
real days. The orbit period of each satel-
GLONASS Space Segment lite is approximately 8/17 of a sidereal1
The GLONASS space segment is summa- day so that, after eight sidereal days, the
rized in Table 3. GLONASS satellites have completed ex-
The GLONASS space segment consists actly 17 orbital revolutions.
1 A sidereal day is the time it takes for one complete rotation of the Earth relative to a particular star.
A sidereal day is about four minutes shorter than a mean solar day

CHAPTER 3
1598.0625– L1 is modulated by the HP (High Precision) and

L1
1609.3125 MHz the SP (Standard Precision) signals.
1242.9375– L2 is modulated by the HP and SP signals. The SP

L2
1251.6875 MHz code is identical to that transmitted on L1.
Table 4 GLONASS Signal Characteristics GLONASS Antipodal Satellites

Each orbital plane contains eight equal- GLONASS Antipodal Satellites
ly spaced satellites.
The GLONASS satellite signal identifies Both satellites are transmitting
on the same frequency
the satellite and includes: Both satellites are transmitting
on the same frequency
• Positioning, velocity and acceleration

information for computing satellite
locations
• Satellite health information
• Offset of GLONASS time from UTC
(SU) [Coordinated Universal Time
Russia] Figure 17 GLONASS
• Almanac of all other GLONASS Antipodal Satellites
satellites
and L2, and the C/A code (SP code) on
GLONASS Control Segment L1 (all satellites) and L2 (most satellites).
The GLONASS control segment con- GLONASS satellites transmit the same
sists of the system control center and a code at different frequencies, a technique
network of command tracking stations known as FDMA, for frequency division
across Russia. The GLONASS control multiple access. Note that this is a differ-
segment, similar to that of GPS, moni- ent technique from that used by GPS.
tors the satellites’ health, determines the GLONASS signals have the same polar-
ephemeris corrections, as well as satellite ization (orientation of the electromagnetic
clock offsets with respect to GLONASS waves) as GPS signals, and have compa-
time and UTC (Coordinated Universal rable signal strength.
Time). Twice a day, it uploads corrections The GLONASS system is based on 24
to the satellites. satellites using 12 frequencies. The satel-
lites can share the frequencies by having
GLONASS Signals antipodal satellites transmitting on the
Table 4 summarizes the GLONASS same frequency. Antipodal satellites are in
signals. the same orbital plane but are separated
Each GLONASS satellite transmits on by 180 degrees. The paired satellites can
a slightly different L1 and L2 frequency, transmit on the same frequency because
with the P-code (HP code) on both L1 they will never appear at the same time in

CHAPTER 3
view of a receiver on the Earth’s surface, as The first GLONASS-K1 satellite was
shown in Figure 17. launched in February 2011.
GLONASS Modernization L1 and L2 CDMA

As the current GLONASS-M satellites The second block of GLONASS-K sat-
reach the end of their service life, they ellites (GLONASS-K2) adds two more
will be replaced with next generation CDMA based signals broadcast at the L1
GLONASS-K satellites. The new satel- and L2 frequencies. The existing FDMA
lites will provide the GLONASS system L1 and L2 signals will continue to be
with new GNSS signals. broadcast as well to support legacy receiv-
ers. GLONASS-K2 satellites are planned
L3 to be launched starting in 2019.
The first block of GLONASS-K satel-
lites (GLONASS-K1) will broadcast the L5
new civil signal, designated L3, centered The third block of GLONASS-K satellites
at 1202.025 MHz. Unlike the existing (GLONASS-KM) may add an L5 signal to
GLONASS signals, L3 is based on CDMA the GLONASS system.
which will ease interoperability with GPS
and Galileo.
GALILEO
(EUROPEAN UNION)
Galileo, Europe’s global navigation satellite system,
provides a highly accurate and guaranteed global
positioning service under civilian control. The
United States and European Union have been coop-
erating since 2004 to ensure that GPS and Galileo
are compatible and interoperable at the user level.
Galileo will guarantee availability of service un-
portrait by Justus Sustermans
der all but the most extreme circumstances and it

will inform users, within seconds, of a failure of
any satellite. This makes it suitable for applications
where safety is crucial, such as in air and ground
transportation.
Galileo started providing Initial Services in
Figure 18 Galilei Galileo December 2016. Full Operational Capacity (FOC)
is expected by 2020.

CHAPTER 3
System Design
27 operational and 3
Satellites The Galileo space segment is summarized
active spares
in Table 5. Once the constellation is op-
Orbital Planes 3 erational, Galileo navigation signals will
provide coverage at all latitudes.
Orbit Inclination 56 degrees
Two Galileo Control Centres (GCC), lo-
cated in Europe, control the Galileo satel-
Orbit Radius 23,222 km
lites. Data recovered by a global network
Table 5 Galileo Satellite Constellation of 30 Galileo Sensor Stations (GSS) are
sent to the GCC through a redundant com-
munications network. The GCCs use the
data from the sensor stations to compute
E1 A Public regulated service signal.
Safety-of-Life and open service signal

E1 B 1575.42 MHz
(data).

E1 C
(dataless).
E5a I Open service signal (data).

1176.45 MHz
E5a Q Open service signal (dataless).

E5b I
(data).
1207.14 MHz
E5b Q
(dataless).
AltBOC 1191.795 MHz Combined E5a/E5b signal.
E6 A Public regulated service signal.
E6 B 1278.75 MHz Commercial service signal (data).
E6 C Commercial service signal (dataless).
Table 6 Galileo Signal Characteristics

CHAPTER 3
SERVICE DESCRIPTION
Free Open Service (OS) Provides positioning, navigation and precise timing
service. It will be available for use by any person
with a Galileo receiver. No authorization will be
required to access this service.
Commercial Service (CS) Service providers can provide added-value ser-

vices, for which they can charge the end customer.
The CS signal will provide high data throughput and
accurate authenticated data relating to these ad-
ditional commercial services.
Safety-of-Life Service (SOL) Improves on the Open Service by providing timely

warnings to users when it fails to meet certain
margins of accuracy. A service guarantee will be
provided for this service.
Government encrypted Public Highly encrypted restricted-access service offered
Regulated Service (PRS) to government agencies that require a high-avail-
ability navigation signal.
Table 7 Galileo Services
integrity information and to synchronize transponder that will transfer distress

satellite time with ground station clocks. signals to the Rescue Coordination Center
Control centers communicate with the (RCC), which will then initiate the rescue
satellites through uplink stations, which operation. At the same time, the system
are installed around the world. will provide a signal to the user, informing
them that their situation has been detect-
ed and that help is underway. This latter
“Measure what is measurable,
feature is new and is considered a major
and make measurable what is upgrade over existing systems, which do
not so.” not provide feedback to the user.
–Galilei Galileo, Italian physicist, mathematician,
astronomer, and philosopher. Galileo Signals
Table 6 provides further information
Galileo will provide a global Search and about Galileo signals.
Rescue (SAR) function, based on the op-
erational search and rescue satellite-aided Galileo Services
Cospas-Sarsat2 system. To do this, each Five Galileo services are proposed, as
Galileo satellite will be equipped with a summarized in Table 7.
2 Cospas-Sarsat is an international satellite-based Search And Rescue (SAR) distress alert detection
and information distribution system, established by Canada, France, United States and the former
Soviet Union in 1979.

CHAPTER 3
BEIDOU NAVIGATION
SATELLITE SYSTEM
(CHINA)
China has started the implementation of a GNSS system known as BeiDou Navigation
Satellite System (BDS). The system is being implemented in two phases: the initial phase
provides regional coverage, while the second phase will provide global coverage.
The initial phase of the BeiDou system of- Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites, five Inclined
ficially became operational in December Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO) satellites
2012, providing coverage for the Asia- and four Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) sat-
Pacific region. The regional BeiDou ellites (summarized in Table 8).
space segment has five Geostationary The second phase of the BeiDou system
Satellites 5 GEO 5 IGSO 4 MEO
Orbital Inclination – 55 degrees 55 degrees
Orbit Radius 35,787 km 35,787 km 21,528 km
Table 8 Regional BeiDou Satellite Constellation
Satellites 5 GEO 3 IGSO 27 MEO
Orbital Planes – – 3
Orbital Inclination – 55 degrees 55 degrees
Orbit Radius 35,787 km 35,787 km 21,528 km
Table 9 Planned Global BeiDou Satellite Constellation
B1 provides both public service signals and

B1 1561.098 MHz
restricted service signals.
B2 provides both public service signals and

B2 1207.140 MHz
restricted service signals.
B3 1268.520 MHz B3 provides restricted service signals only.
Table 10 BeiDou Signal Characteristics

CHAPTER 3
is planned to be completed by the end of within 0.2 meters per second and timing
2020 and will provide global coverage accuracy of 10 nanoseconds.
with enhanced regional coverage. The • Licensed service is available only to
space segment will consist of a constella- users who have obtained a subscription.
tion of 5 GEO, 3 IGSO and 27 MEO satel- The licensed service improves position
lites, as shown in Table 9. accuracy to 2 meters. This service also
provides bi-directional short messaging
BeiDou Signals (120 Chinese characters) and provides in-
The BeiDou signals, based on CDMA formation about the system status.
technology, are summarized in Table 10. • Restricted military service, more accu-
Three levels of service will be provided: rate than the public service, also provides
• Public service for civilian use and free to system status information and military
users. The public service provides position communications capability.
accuracy of 10 meters, velocity accuracy
QZSS
(QUASI-ZENITH SATELLITE SYSTEM), JAPAN
QZSS is a four-satellite system that provides regional communication services and posi-
tioning information for the mobile environment. The focus of this system is for the Japan
region, but it provides service to the Asia-Oceania region.
QZSS provides limited accuracy in standalone mode, so it is viewed as a GPS augmen-
tation service. The QZSS satellites use the same frequencies as GPS and have clocks that
are synchronized with GPS time. This allows the QZSS satellites to be used as if they were
additional GPS satellites. QZSS satellites also broadcast a Satellite-Based Augmentation
System (SBAS) compatible signal and a high-precision signal at L6. Three of the QZSS
satellites are placed in a periodic Quasi-Zenith Orbit (QSO). These orbits allow the satel-
lites to “dwell” over Japan for more than 12 hours a day, at an elevation above 70° (meaning
they appear almost overhead most of the time).
In the future, Japan intends to expand the QZSS system to a seven-satellite system.

CHAPTER 3
NAVIC
(NAVIGATION INDIAN CONSTELLATION), INDIA
NavIC (formerly known as Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, IRNSS) is a re-
gional navigation satellite system that provides coverage for India and the surrounding
regions. The NavIC system consists of seven satellites, three of them in geostationary
orbits and four in inclined geosynchronous orbits. The system provides a position ac-
curacy of better than 10 meters throughout India and better than 20 meters for the area
surrounding India by 1500 km.
NavIC provides two services. A Standard Positioning Service (SPS) available to all users
and a Restricted Service (RS) available to authorized users only.
Table 11 summarizes the NavIC signals.
L5 will be modulated with the SPS and

L5 1176.45 MHz
RS signals.
S will be modulated with the SPS and RS signals.

S 2492.028 MHz
Navigation signals will also be transmitted on S.
Table 11 NavIC Signal Characteristics
Galileo Galileo Galileo Galileo

E5a E5b E6 E1
GLONASS GLONASS GLONASS

L3 L2 L1
GPS GPS GPS

L5 L2 L1
B1-2
BeiDou BeiDou
B1
B2 B3
1164 MHz
1188 MHz
1214 MHz
1217 MHz
1260 MHz
1261 MHz
1300 MHz
1559 MHz
1587 MHz
1591 MHz
1593 MHz
1610 MHz
1237 MHz
1239 MHz
1563 MHz
Figure 19 GNSS Signals
GNSS SIGNAL SUMMARY

As more GNSS constellations and signals become available, the more complex the GNSS
spectrum becomes. Figure 19 shows the signals for the four global GNSS systems.

4
CHAPTER
GNSS Errors and Resolutions
I
n Chapter 2, we introduced the concept of GNSS error sources. These
are the factors that make it difficult for a GNSS receiver to calculate
an accurate position.
In this chapter, we will look CONTRIBUTING ERROR
SOURCE RANGE
more deeply into these error
sources (see Table 12) and de- Satellite clocks ±2 m
scribe the methods that GNSS Orbit errors ±2.5 m
receivers use to mitigate these
Ionospheric delays ±5 m
errors and provide a more ac-
curate position. Tropospheric delays ±0.5 m
Receiver noise ±0.3 m

SATELLITE CLOCKS
The atomic clocks in the Multipath ±1 m
GNSS satellites are very accu- Table 12 GNSS System Errors
rate, but they do drift a small
amount. Unfortunately, a small inaccuracy in the satellite clock results in a
significant error in the position calculated by the receiver. For example, 10
nanoseconds of clock error results in 3 meters of range error.
The clock on the satellite is monitored by the GNSS ground control system and
compared to the even more accurate clock used in the ground control system. In
the downlink data, the satellite provides the user with an estimate of its clock
offset. Typically, the estimate has an accuracy of about ± 2 meters, although the
accuracy can vary between different GNSS systems. To obtain a more accurate
position, the GNSS receiver needs to compensate for the clock error.
One method of compensating for clock error is to download precise satellite
clock information from a SBAS or a Precise Point Positioning (PPP) service
provider. The precise satellite clock information contains corrections for the
clock errors that were calculated by the SBAS or PPP system.
Another method of compensating for clock error is to use a Differential
GNSS or Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) receiver configuration.

CHAPTER 4
Ionosphere Ionospheric delay varies with solar ac-

tivity, time of year, season, time of day
Troposphere
and location. This makes it very difficult
to predict how much ionospheric delay is
impacting the calculated position.
Ionospheric delay also varies based on
the radio frequency of the signal passing
through the ionosphere. GNSS receiv-
ers that can receive more than one GNSS
signal, such as the dual frequency receiv-
ers used with PPP, can use this to their
advantage. By comparing the measure-
Figure 20 Ionosphere and Troposphere
ments from one frequency (e.g. L1) to the
measurements from another frequency
ORBIT ERRORS (e.g. L2), the receiver can determine the
GNSS satellites travel in well known or- amount of ionospheric delay and remove
bits. However, like the satellite clock, the this error from the calculated position.
orbits do vary a small amount. Also, like For receivers that can only track a single
the satellite clocks, a small variation in GNSS frequency, ionospheric models are
the orbit produces a significant error in used to reduce ionospheric delay errors.
the position calculated. Due to the varying nature of ionospheric
The GNSS ground control system con- delay, models are not as effective as using
tinually monitors satellite orbits. When a multiple frequencies at removing iono-
satellite orbit changes, the ground control spheric delay.
system sends a correction to the satellites Ionospheric conditions are similar
and the satellite ephemeris is updated. within a local area, so base station and
Even with the corrections from the GNSS rover receivers experience very similar
ground control system, there are still small delay. This allows Differential GNSS and
errors in the orbit that can result in up to RTK systems to effectively reduce the ion-
±2.5 meters of position error. ospheric delay.
IONOSPHERIC DELAY TROPOSPHERIC DELAY

The ionosphere is the layer of atmosphere The troposphere is the layer of atmosphere
between 75 km and 1,000 km above the closest to the surface of the Earth.
Earth (see Figure 20). This layer contains Variations in tropospheric delay are
electrically charged particles called ions. caused by the changing humidity, tem-
These ions delay the satellite signals and perature and atmospheric pressure in the
can cause a significant amount of satellite troposphere.
position error (Typically ±5 meters, but GNSS receivers can use tropospheric
can be more during periods of high iono- models to estimate the amount of error
spheric activity). caused by tropospheric delay.

CHAPTER 4
Since tropospheric conditions are very performance of a GNSS receiver. How a

similar within a local area, base sta- manufacturer develops a receiver, includ-
tion and rover receivers experience very ing both hardware and software design
similar tropospheric delay. This allows elements, directly impacts the effective-
Differential GNSS and RTK systems to ness of error resolution. The more errors a
compensate for tropospheric delay. receiver can eliminate, the higher the de-
gree of positioning accuracy and reliability
RECEIVER NOISE it can achieve.
Receiver noise refers to the position error What is the ideal technique to correct
caused by the GNSS receiver hardware for errors? There really is no “best way,” as
and software. High-end GNSS receivers it all depends on the positioning perfor-
tend to have less receiver noise than lower- mance required by the end-user applica-
cost GNSS receivers. tion. Using the GNSS receiver in your cell
phone to find that new restaurant does not
MULTIPATH require the same level of performance as
Multipath occurs when a GNSS signal positioning a vessel close to a platform, for
is reflected off an object, such as a wall, example.
bulkhead or helideck, to the GNSS anten- There are trade-offs between the differ-
na (see Figure 21). Because the reflected ent methods of removing errors in GNSS
signal travels farther to reach the antenna, Multipath
signals. The methods employed depend on
the reflected signal arrives at the receiver
slightly delayed. This delayed signal can Multipath
cause the receiver to calculate an incor-
GNSS Satellite
rect position.
The simplest way to reduce multipath GNSS Satellite
errors is to place the GNSS antenna in a

location that is away from reflective sur-
faces. When this is not possible, the GNSS
receiver and antenna must deal with the Reflected
Reflected
multipath signals.
Long-delay multipath errors are typi- Direct
cally handled by the GNSS receiver, while Direct

short-delay multipath errors are handled
by the GNSS antenna. Due to the addi-
tional technology required to deal with Receiver
multipath signals, high-end GNSS receiv-

ers and antennas tend to be better at re-
Receiver
jecting multipath errors.
RESOLVING ERRORS
Resolving errors is fundamental to the Figure 21 Multipath

CHAPTER 4
the unique requirements of each application stellations in the calculation of position is

such as level of accuracy, system complexity, essential to optimal error resolution.
solution availability, reliability and cost.
In Chapter 2, we introduced the basic Multi-Frequency
concepts of GNSS positioning, specifically Using multi-frequency receivers is the
as they apply to single-point positioning, most effective way to remove ionospher-
where a single GNSS receiver operates in- ic error from the position calculation.
dividually, or “standalone,” to determine Ionospheric error varies with frequency so
its location and time. In this chapter, we it impacts the various GNSS signals dif-
introduce methods by which GNSS receiv- ferently. By comparing the delays of two
ers improve performance by using more ad- GNSS signals, L1 and L2, for example, the
vanced techniques that mitigate or elimi- receiver can correct for the impact of iono-
nate errors within the position calculation. spheric errors.
Fundamentally, GNSS positioning all starts The new and modernized wideband
with the simple mathematical formula of: signals in the L5/E5a band provide inher-
Velocity = Distance ÷ Time. Therefore, fac- ent noise and multipath mitigation capa-
tors that affect the distance to the satellite bilities. When receivers combine L5/E5a
or the time it takes for a satellite signal to capabilities with the ability to remove
arrive at the antenna need to be addressed. ionospheric error using dual-frequency,
In general, these techniques can be de- significant improvements in both mea-
scribed as follows: surement and positioning accuracy can
A. Averaging of repeated observations be achieved.
at the same location (the least efficient Multi-frequency receivers also provide
method). more immunity to interference. If there
B. Modeling of the phenomenon that is is interference in the L2 frequency band
causing the error and predicting the cor- around 1227 MHz, a multi-frequency re-
rection values. ceiver will still track L1 and L5 signals to
C. Differential corrections. ensure ongoing positioning.
D. Correction services.
In this chapter we will examine a num- Multi-Constellation
ber of correction techniques, how they As described previously, a multi-constel-
work and some of the benefits and chal- lation receiver can access signals from
lenges of each method. But let’s first look several constellations: GPS, GLONASS,
at the concepts of multi-constellation/ BeiDou and Galileo for example. The use
multi-frequency and their impact on error of other constellations in addition to GPS
resolution and positioning performance. produces a larger number of satellites in
the field of view, which yields the follow-
MULTI-CONSTELLATION, ing benefits:
MULTI-FREQUENCY • Reduced signal acquisition time
The ability of a GNSS receiver to handle • Improved position and time accuracy
multiple frequencies from multiple con- • Reduction of problems caused by ob-

CHAPTER 4
Differential GNSS
Differential GNSS
GNSS Satellites Figure 22 Differential GNSS
GNSS Satellites
Base
Station Rover
Station
1 Base station location 3 Base station transmits range

is known accurately. corrections to rovers, over a
radio link for example.
Base
2 Base station receives 4Rover
Rover stations receive GNSS signals,
Station GNSS signals, calculates calculate pseudoranges, then apply
pseudoranges to satellites, Station
range corrections. Corrected ranges
then determines range errors. are used to determine position.
1 Base station location 3 Base station transmits range

is known accurately. corrections to rovers, over a
radio link for example.
2 Base station receives 4 Rover stations receive GNSS signals,

GNSS signals, calculates calculate pseudoranges, then apply
pseudoranges to satellites, range corrections. Corrected ranges
then determines range errors. are used to determine position.
structions such as nearby vessels and the receiver must track five satellites, at least
platforms one of which must be from a satellite in the
• Improved spatial distribution of visible other constellation, so the receiver can deter-
satellites, resulting in improved dilution mine the time offset between constellations.
of precision (DOP)
• Increased system redundancy DIFFERENTIAL GNSS
When a receiver utilizes signals from a A commonly used technique for improving
variety of constellations, redundancy is GNSS performance is differential GNSS,
built into the solution. If a signal is blocked which is illustrated in Figure 22.
due to the working environment, there In differential GNSS, the position of a
is a very high likelihood that the receiver fixed GNSS receiver, referred to as a base
can simply pick up a signal from another station, is determined to a high degree of
constellation, ensuring solution continu- accuracy using conventional surveying tech-
ity. While extremely rare, if a GNSS system niques. Then, the base station determines
fails, other systems are available. ranges to the GNSS satellites in view using:
To determine a position in GPS-only • The code-based positioning technique
mode, a receiver must track a minimum of (described in Chapter 2).
four satellites. In multi-constellation mode, • The location of the satellites determined

CHAPTER 4
from the known orbit ephemerides and priate for enhancing position accuracy.
satellite time. SBAS are geostationary satellite sys-
The base station compares the surveyed tems that provide services for improving
position to the position calculated from the the accuracy, integrity and availability of
satellite ranges. Differences between the po- basic GNSS signals.
sitions can be attributed to satellite ephem- • A ccuracy is enhanced through the
eris and clock errors, but mostly to errors transmission of wide-area corrections
associated with atmospheric delay. The base for GNSS range errors
station sends these errors to other receivers • Integrity is enhanced by the SBAS net-
(rovers), which incorporate the corrections work quickly detecting satellite signal er-
into their position calculations. rors and sending alerts to receivers that
Differential positioning requires a data they should not track the failed satellite
link between the base station and rovers, if • Signal availability can be improved if the
corrections need to be applied in real-time, SBAS transmits ranging signals from its
and at least four common GNSS satellites satellites. SBAS systems include refer-
in view at both the base station and the ence stations, master stations, uplink
rovers. The absolute accuracy of the rover’s stations and geostationary satellites, as
computed position will depend on the abso- shown in Figure 23
lute accuracy of the base station’s position- Reference stations, which are geograph-
and the distance between the base station ically distributed throughout the SBAS
and the rover. service area, receive GNSS signals and for-
Since GNSS satellites orbit high above ward them to the master station. Since the
the Earth the propagation paths from the locations of the reference stations are ac-
satellites to the base stations and rovers curately known, the master station can ac-
pass through similar atmospheric condi- curately calculate wide-area corrections.
tions, as long as the base station and rovers Corrections are uplinked to the SBAS
are in the same geographic region. satellite, then broadcast to GNSS receiv-
DGNSS corrections are also available ers throughout the SBAS coverage area.
from correction service providers. Global User equipment receives the corrections
service providers, such as HEXAGON | and applies them to range calculations.
VERIPOS, have reference stations locat- Wide-area corrections do not help with
ed across the globe and can provide us- local ionoshperic error and are limited to
able correction data up to 1,500 km from a geographic area.
a reference station. The following sections provide an over-
view of some of the SBAS services that
SATELLITE BASED have been implemented around the world
AUGMENTATION SYSTEMS (SBAS) or that are planned.
For applications where the cost of a dif-
ferential GNSS system is not justified, or WAAS
if the rover stations are spread over a very The Wide Area Augmentation System
large area, an SBAS may be more appro- (WAAS) provides GPS corrections and a

CHAPTER 4
certified level of integrity to the aviation GAGAN is compatible with other SBAS sys-
industry, to enable aircraft to conduct tems, such as WAAS, EGNOS and MSAS.
precision approaches to airports. The cor-
rections are also available free of charge to SDCM
civilian users in North America. The Russian Federation is developing the
System for Differential Corrections and
EGNOS Monitoring (SDCM) to provide Russia
The European Geostationary Navigation with accuracy improvements and integ-
Overlay Service (EGNOS) is an SBAS for rity monitoring for both the GLONASS
European countries that provides aug- and GPS navigation systems.
mentation for GPS signals and alerts us-
ers about the reliability of the GPS signals. Other SBAS Systems
China is planning SNAS (Satellite
MSAS Navigation Augmentation System) to pro-
The MTSAT Satellite Based Augmentation vide WAAS-like service for the China region.
System (MSAS) is an SBAS that provides
augmentation services to Japan. It uses GROUND BASED AUGMENTATION
two Multi-functional Transport Satellites SYSTEM
(MTSAT) and a network of ground sta- A Ground Based Augmentation System
tions to augment GPS signals in Japan. (GBAS) provides differential correc-
tions and satellite integrity monitoring
GAGAN to receivers using a VHF radio link. Also
GPS-Aided GEO Augmented Navigation known as a Local Area Augmentation
system (GAGAN) is an SBAS that supports System (LAAS), a GBAS consists of sev-
SBAS System Overview
flight navigation over Indian airspace. eral GNSS antennas placed at known loca-

GNSS Satellites SBAS Satellites
Figure 23
GNSS Satellites SBAS Satellites
Reference Master Station/ SBAS-equippedMaster Station/

Reference SBAS-equipped
Station Uplink Stations StationGNSS ReceiversUplink Stations GNSS Receivers

CHAPTER 4
Real Time Kinematic
Real Time Kinematic GNSS Satellite
Figure 24 Real-Time Kinematic
GNSS Satellite
Number of carrier cycles
from the satellite to the
umber of carrier cycles
equipment is determined and
om the satellite to the used to calculate the range
pment is determined and
d to calculate the range
Correction data
from the base Correction data
station is transmitted from the base
to the rover station station is transmitted
Carrier wave, for Carrier Phase for use in real-time,
ample L1 at 1575.42 MHz, Measurements or is used later in to the rover station
which has a wavelength Carrier wave, for Carrier Phase for use in real-time,
post processing
of about 19 centimetres Base Station at 1575.42 MHz,
example L1 Measurements or is used later in
which has a wavelength post processing
Rover Station of about 19 centimetres Base Station
tions, a central control system and a VHF rover station. See Figure 24.
radio transmitter. Rovers determine their position using
GBAS covers a relatively small area (by algorithms that incorporate ambiguity
GNSS standards) and is used for applica- resolution and differential correction. Like
tions that require high levels of accuracy, DGNSS, the position accuracy achievable by
availability and integrity. Airports are an the rover depends on, among other things,
example of a GBAS application. its distance from the base station (referred
to as the “baseline”) and the accuracy of
REAL-TIME KINEMATIC (RTK) the differential corrections. RTK baselines
For applications that require higher ac- must be less than 40 km for best accuracy.
curacies, RTK is a technique that uses Corrections are as accurate as the known
carrier-based ranging and provides ranges location of the base station and the quality
(and therefore positions) that are orders of of the base station’s satellite observations.
magnitude more precise than those avail- Site selection is important for minimizing
able through code-based positioning. environmental effects such as interference
The calculated ranges still include er- and multipath, as is the quality of the base
rors from sources such as satellite clock station and rover receivers and antennas.
and ephemerides, and ionospheric and
tropospheric delays. To eliminate these Network RTK
errors and to take advantage of the preci- Network RTK is based on the use of sev-
sion of carrier-based measurements, RTK eral widely spaced permanent stations.
performance requires measurements to be Depending on the implementation, posi-
transmitted from the base station to the tioning data from the permanent stations

CHAPTER 4
is regularly communicated to a central ceiver, producing decimeter-level or better

processing station. On demand from RTK positioning with no base station required.
user terminals, which transmit their ap- A typical PPP solution requires a
proximate location to the central station, period of time to converge to decime-
the central station calculates and transmits ter accuracy in order to resolve for the
correction information or corrected posi- ambiguity and any local biases such as
tion to the RTK user terminal. The benefit the atmospheric conditions, multipath
of this approach is an overall reduction in environment and satellite geometry.
the number of RTK base stations required. The actual accuracy achieved and the
Depending on the implementation, data convergence time required is dependent
may be transmitted over cellular radio on the quality of the corrections and how
links or other wireless medium. they are applied in the receiver. Up to 4
centimetre accuracy is possible; PPP ac-
PRECISE POINT POSITIONING (PPP) curacy is now approaching that of RTK.
PPP is a positioning technique that re- Similar in structure to an SBAS sys-
moves or models GNSS system errors to tem, a PPP system provides corrections
provide a high level of position accuracy to a receiver to increase position accuracy.
from a single receiver. A PPP solution de- However, PPP systems typically provide
pends on GNSS satellite clock and orbit a greater level of accuracy and charge a
corrections, generated from a network of fee to access the corrections. PPP systems
global reference stations. Once the correc- also allow a single correction stream to be
tions are calculated, they are delivered to used worldwide, while SBAS systems are
the end user via satellite or over the inter- regional. A typical PPP system is shown
net. These corrections are used by the re- in Figure 25.
PPP System Overview
PPP System Overview
GPS Satellite
Figure 25 Constellation
Precise Point
GPS Satellite
Constellation
GLONASS Satellite Geostationary
Constellation Satellite (GEO)
GLONASS SatellitePositioning (PPP) Geostationary
Constellation Satellite (GEO)
System Overview
GNSS User
Reference Reference
Station Station
GNSS User
Internet
Network Control Ground Uplink Reference Reference
Center Subsystem Station Station
Internet
Network Control Ground Uplink
Center Subsystem

CHAPTER 4
PPP Receiver tropospheric delay and carrier-phase am-

In a PPP system, the GNSS receiver must biguities are estimated EKF states.
be able to retrieve the corrections from a EKF minimizes noise in the system and
PPP service provider and use those correc- enables estimating position with centime-
tions to mitigate GNSS error sources. ter-level accuracy. The estimates for the
Typically, the corrections from a PPP EKF states are improved with successive
service provider are broadcast from sat- GNSS measurements until they converge
ellites using L-Band frequencies. To use to stable and accurate values. The typical
these corrections the GNSS receiver must convergence time of PPP to under 10 cm
be capable of receiving and decoding the horizontal error is between 20 and 40 min-
correction signal. Some PPP service pro- utes, but it depends on the number of satel-
viders also transmit the correction signal lites available, satellite geometry, quality of
over the internet. the correction products, receiver multipath
The PPP receiver mitigates the main environment and atmospheric conditions.
GNSS error sources in following ways:
PPP Service Providers
DUAL-FREQUENCY OPERATION: As PPP service providers operate a network
discussed earlier, first-order ionospheric of ground reference stations to collect
delay can almost be eliminated by using correction data for the different signals
the combination of dual-frequency GNSS broadcast by each satellite. The correc-
measurements. tion data is sent the network control center
where the corrections are calculated from
EXTERNAL ERROR CORRECTION DATA: this data. The corrections are then sent to
The correction data includes satellite orbit the Land Earth Station which loads the
and clock corrections. corrections to the geostationary satellites
that broadcast the corrections to the re-
MODELING: The dry tropospheric delay ceivers of subscribed users.
is corrected using the UNB model devel- There are several PPP service provid-
oped by the University of New Brunswick. ers, each with their own system configu-
However, the wet part of tropospheric rations. To provide a more detailed look
delay is highly varying and it cannot be at the parts of a PPP service provider net-
modeled with sufficient accuracy. Thus, work, we will use the VERIPOS network
residual tropospheric delay is evaluated as an example.
when estimating position and other un-
knowns. Modeling is also used in the PPP Reference Stations
receiver to correct the solid Earth tides The reference station network collects
effect. the raw data needed to derive orbit and
clock corrections for the GNSS con-
PPP FILTER ALGORITHMS: An Extended stellations. This raw data is sent to the
Kalman Filter (EKF) is used for the PPP Network Control Center, where the data
estimation. Position, receiver clock error, is processed.

CHAPTER 4
In the VERIPOS network, more than Space Segment

80 reference stations collect data. These The space segment of a PPP system includes
reference stations are in locations se- several geostationary satellites that broad-
lected to provide optimal coverage in cast the corrections to subscribed users.
offshore operational areas. The VERIPOS system broadcasts the
The VERIPOS reference stations are PPP corrections from seven geostationary
housed in secure locations equipped satellites. This ensures users have access
with dual-redundant systems and back- to a minimum of two correction beams in
up power. Diverse communications are any global offshore location.
employed at the reference stations, with
a minimum of two separate communi- High-Latitude Operation
cation links for each site. At high latitudes the GNSS receiver no
longer has line of sight access to the geo-
Network Control Centers stationary satellites that provide the cor-
The Network Control Center (NCC) re- rection signal. When working in these
ceives and processes the GNSS data from locations, it is important to have a PPP
all the reference stations and checks the service provider that can supply the cor-
quality of the data. The corrections derived rection signal by methods other than
from this data are passed for uplink to the L-Band satellite signals, such as Internet.
broadcast satellites via the Land Earth
Stations (LES). The NCC also receives and GNSS DATA POST-PROCESSING
monitors the data broadcast to the users to For many applications, such as marine
ensure data integrity and reliability. survey, corrected GNSS positions are not
The VERIPOS system has two fully required in real-time. For these applica-
redundant NCCs in secure, geographi- tions, raw GNSS satellite measurements
cally diverse locations with a third NCC are collected and stored for processing
on standby. The main NCC is constantly post-mission. Unlike RTK positioning,
monitored to ensure maximum service post-processing does not require real-time
availability. The secondary site is a full transmission of differential correction
mirror of the main site to ensure service is messages. This simplifies the hardware
available even if the main site fails. configuration greatly.
Both NCCs feed primary and second- During post-processing, base station
ary data streams to the LES via duplicate, data can be used from one or more GNSS
physically diverse communication lines. receivers. Multi-base processing helps
If a problem arises, these data streams preserve high accuracy over large proj-
are fed into hierarchical switching sys- ect areas, which is a common occurrence
tems that allow automatic changeover at for aerial applications. Depending on the
the LES. The LESs for each satellite are project’s proximity to a permanently op-
chosen to ensure that no geographic re- erating GNSS network, base station data
gion has beams uplinked from the same can often be freely downloaded, eliminat-
LES. ing the need for establishing your own

CHAPTER 4
GNSS Correction Method
GNSS Correction Method Figure 26
Comparison of
GNSS GNSS Correction
GNSS Method Accuracy
1 m DGNSS SBAS SBAS

1m
DGNSS
Accuracy
Accuracy
10cm
PPP
RTK
10cm
1 cm PPP
10km 100 km
RTK 1000 km 10,000 km Worldwide
Baseline
1 cm
10km 100 km 1000 km 10,000 km Worldwide
Baseline
base station(s). Moreover, it is possible DGNSS vs RTK

to process without any base station data The configuration of Differential GNSS
through PPP, which utilizes downloaded (DGNSS) and RTK systems are similar
precise clock and ephemeris data. in that both methods require a base sta-
Post-processing applications offer a tion receiver setup at a known location, a
great deal of flexibility. Applications can rover receiver that gets corrections from
involve stationary or moving base sta- the base station and a communication link
tions, and some support integration with between the two receivers. The difference
customer or third-party software mod- is that RTK (a carrier-phase method) is
ules. Post-processing applications may be significantly more accurate than DGNSS
designed to run on personal computers, (a code-based method).
accessible through simple-to-use graphi- The advantage of DGNSS is that it is
cal user interfaces. useful over a longer baseline (distance
Post-processing generally produces a between base station and rover receivers)
more accurate, comprehensive solution and a DGNSS system is less expensive. The
than is possible in real-time. technology required to achieve a higher
accuracy of RTK performance makes the
THE CHOICE OF CORRECTION cost of an RTK-capable receiver higher
SERVICES than one that is DGNSS-capable only.
As discussed at the start of this chapter,
there is no best GNSS correction method, SBAS vs PPP
only a method that best suits the intended An SBAS system and a PPP system are
application. Figure 26 compares the ac- similar in that both systems receive cor-
curacy and practical range of use for each rections from satellites. However, a PPP
of the methods discussed in this chapter. system is significantly more accurate than
The following sections provide compari- an SBAS system. Part of the accuracy ad-
sons between the correction methods. vantage is the positioning method. PPP

CHAPTER 4
systems use the carrier-phase method and An RTK system offers higher accuracy
SBAS systems use the code method. The and quick initialization, but is more com-
other part of the accuracy advantage is plex to set up and more expensive. The
that the private corrections services typi- RTK system requires at least two RTK-
cally used by PPP systems provide higher capable receivers (one base station and
quality corrections and are multi-frequen- one or more rovers), a GNSS antenna for
cy, multi-constellation. each receiver and a communication link
Since SBAS is a code-based method, between the receivers. Also, to achieve
there are no ambiguities to resolve and the high level of accuracy, the base sta-
full SBAS accuracy is available almost tion must be correctly set up at a precisely
immediately. PPP systems require time to known location.
converge before full accuracy is available. A PPP system has a simpler configura-
While the correction services provid- tion: a single PPP-compatible receiver, an
ed by SBAS systems are free for every- antenna capable of receiving GNSS and
one to use, they are limited to a single L-Band frequencies and a subscription
geographical region. PPP correction ser- to a correction service provider. However,
vices are typically available worldwide. PPP has a slightly lower accuracy and
PPP service providers also offer 24-hour longer initial convergence time. This may
network monitoring and support. Some soon change as efforts are dedicated to re-
also offer on-site support for issues related ducing convergence time.
to PPP signal reception. Another differentiator is the baseline
length. The distance between base station
DGNSS vs SBAS and rover (baseline length) on an RTK
While the accuracy of DGNSS and SBAS system directly impacts system accuracy.
are similar, the equipment required for the At short baseline lengths, a few kilome-
systems is different. ters, RTK is very accurate. However, as
An SBAS system only requires an the baseline length increases, the accura-
SBAS-capable receiver and a GNSS an- cy and availability of a solution decreases.
tenna. A DGNSS system requires a base At long baseline lengths RTK can no lon-
station receiver and antenna, a rover re- ger be used. Because PPP does not use a
ceiver and antenna and a communication base station, it is not affected by baseline
link between the base station and rover. length and can provide full accuracy any-
As well, the DGNSS system requires ad- where in the world.
ditional system setup as the base station
must be in a known location. CLOSING REMARKS
This chapter has described, at a high level,
RTK vs PPP some very complex GNSS concepts. If you
RTK and PPP offer similar accuracies, want to learn more about these, we have
but the equipment and setup required is provided a list of references at the end of
different. the book.

5
CHAPTER
Inertial Basics
T
he role of GNSS and inertial measurement unit (IMU) architectures
in offshore and marine applications is often misunderstood or un-
clear. This chapter provides some clarification about architectures
available in today’s market, clarifies terminology, and spotlights performance
characteristics of GNSS and inertial measurement unit solutions along with
key features to consider for marine applications from dynamic positioning to
hydrographic surveys.
SECTION 1: TO COUPLE OR NOT TO COUPLE

GNSS and IMU have long been combined to provide navigational assurance
in manned and unmanned systems such as airplanes, missiles, spacecraft
and marine vehicles. They are, in essence, perfect partners, with GNSS pro-
viding location and time from a network of space-based satellites and IMU
accelerometers and gyroscopes analyzing and measuring acceleration rates,
rotational change, and orientation.
When combined, the two navigation techniques augment and enhance each
other. An IMU allows a GNSS receiver to maintain position, for a limited
time, even when signals are unavailable, while the absolute position and ve-
locity accuracy of the GNSS can compensate for potential IMU errors such as
positional drift (i.e., incremental errors that accumulate and lead to location
inaccuracies).
In general, there are three levels of GNSS/IMU integration structures: loose-
ly, tightly and deeply or ultra-tightly coupled.

Levels of Integration CHAPTER 5
Levels of Integration
Increasing Performance & Robustness Increasing Complexity

Increasing Performance & Robustness Increasing Complexity
INS INS
INS
INS INS
Blending Filter INS/GNSS INS
Blending
GNSS Filter INS/GNSS
GNSS GNSS
GNSS
No GNSS
Loose Tight GNSS Deep
Integration Integration Integration Integration
No
Increasing Redundancy Loose Tight Deep
Integration Integration Integration Integration
Increasing Redundancy
Figure 27 Levels of GNSS/INS integration.
Loosely Coupled Unlike a loosely coupled architecture

The basic GNSS/INS integration tech- where GNSS positions and/or velocities
nique is a loosely coupled architecture update the INS, a tightly coupled archi-
where GNSS positions and/or velocities tecture allows the use of raw GNSS mea-
aid and update the INS to form a trajec- surements, meaning that even partial
tory. It’s a two-stage processing method GNSS constellations can be used to im-
where an inertial trajectory is processed prove INS positioning. This is of greatest
with updates from concurrent GNSS value when GNSS is partially obstruct-
positions. ed, but it also provides precise relative
Many MEMS IMUs are integrated with updates from GNSS measurements in
GNSS receivers through loosely-coupled addition to the absolute, but sometimes
schemes where the positions and veloci- noisier, positions. The GNSS and IMU
ties derived by GNSS signal processing are data are processed simultaneously.
merged as updates of the INS estimates The benefit of tightly-coupled GNSS/
positional information through a naviga- INS over loosely coupled is the use of range
tion Kalman filter. (and Doppler) measurements, even when
there are not enough observations to com-
Tightly Coupled pute a position. With access to raw GNSS
A tightly-coupled GNSS/IMU combines range measurements, the positioning fil-
the GNSS raw measurements with the ter can make use of any available infor-
INS, thereby allowing GNSS position up- mation, even when there are not enough
dates with fewer than four satellites, that observations to compute an absolute po-
is, raw GNSS carrier phase and/or pseudo- sition (e.g., a marine vessel working very
range and/or Doppler measurements are close to a platform with limited visibility
used to aid/update INS filters. to sky). As well, the system can use pseu-

CHAPTER 5
dorange, phase and Doppler information ceiver is a computed position. In this case,
from each available satellite to constrain when only two of three satellites are avail-
inertial drift. able, assumptions are required to compute
In a loosely-coupled GNSS/INS, the only a position to use as an inertial update. In a
available information from the GNSS re- Coupled GNSS_IMU tightly-coupled solution, when two or more
Coupled GNSS_IMU
GNSS Receiver GNSS Position &

Velocity
Signal Φ, ρ
GNSS Receiver
GNSS Positioning
GNSS Position &
Velocity
Tracking Signal Φ, ρ Algorithms
GNSS Positioning
Tracking Algorithms
INS Position
Velocity, Altitude INS Position
INS Filter Velocity, Altitude
IMU
∆θ, ∆ν INS Filter
IMU
∆θ, ∆ν
Loosely-Coupled GNSS/IMU
Loosely-Coupled GNSS/IMU
GNSS Receiver GNSS Position &

Velocity
Signal Φ, ρ GNSS Positioning
Tracking Algorithms
Φ, ρ
GNSS Receiver GNSS Position & INS Position
Velocity, Altitude
Velocity
Signal Φ, ρIMU GNSS Positioning INS Filter
Tracking Algorithms
∆θ, ∆ν
Tightly-Coupled GNSS/IMU
Φ, ρ
INS Position
Velocity, Altitude
INS Filter
IMU
GNSS Receiver ∆θ, ∆ν GNSS Position &
Velocity
Tracking Algorithms
Tightly-Coupled GNSS/IMU
Φ, ρ
INS Position
Velocity, Altitude
INS Filter
IMU
∆θ, ∆ν
INS Position, Velocity, Altitude
GNSS Receiver GNSS PositionDeeply-Coupled

& GNSS/IMU
Velocity
Tracking Algorithms
Φ, ρ
INS Position
Velocity, Altitude
INS Filter
IMU
∆θ, ∆ν
INS Position, Velocity, Altitude
Deeply-Coupled GNSS/IMU
Figures 28, 29 and 30 Three types of Coupled GNSS/IMU

CHAPTER 5
Inside the IMU

Inertial measurements units use accelerometers and gyroscopes to analyze and
measure acceleration rates, angular velocity, rotational change, and orientation.
nThese sophisticated units typically contain three orthogonal rate gyroscopes
and three orthogonal accelerometers that are put together with high-precision
accuracy and tolerances.
While there are many types of IMUs, the three most common are: Fiber Optic
Gyro (FOG); Ring Laser Gyro (RLG) and Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS).
FIBER OPTIC GYROS: A fiber optic gyroscope measures angular velocity using
light interference techniques (the Sagnac effect). Simply put, two light beams are
fired into a coil of optical fiber from opposite directions. Since FOG systems are
less dependent on mechanical movement, they typically provide precise rotational
rate information.
RING LASER GYROS: Ring laser gyros also rely on light interference techniques
to measure angular velocity. However, RLG laser beams are directed around a
closed path using mirrors rather than optical. They are typically highly stable and
accurate, though expensive.
MEMS: These sensors, built using silicon micro-machining techniques, make

use of the Coriolis effect. When the gyroscope is rotated, a secondary vibration is
induced along the perpendicular axis. The angular velocity can be calculated by
measuring this secondary rotation.
Generally, FOG and RLG IMUs provide higher performance than a MEMS IMU—
though not always! Studying specifications, asking the right questions and testing
are key to ensuring you get the right system.
GNSS observations are available, a phase include: 1) improvements to signal reac-

update is possible. quisition following loss of signal, and 2)
Tightly coupled architectures also offer the use of range (and Doppler) measure-
very good 3D, continuous position, veloc- ments, even when there are not enough
ity and attitude performance. observations to compute a position.
The benefits of deep coupling in the ma-
Deeply or Ultra-Tightly Coupled rine environment include:
A deeply coupled architecture provides all • Intelligent measurement selection
the benefits of a loosely coupled but incor- • Rapid satellite reacquisition
porates the INS filter information to aid A deeply coupled GNSS/
in GNSS acquisition and tracking for more INS integration offers:
rapid reacquisition time. • High jamming resistance to
Two significant benefits gained by unintended interference from other
having access to the measurements (and communication systems
signal tracking loops) of a GNSS receiver • High insensitivity to intended jamming

CHAPTER 5
Figure 31 Loosely-coupled with RLG (top) versus deeply-coupled MEMS (bottom)
• Robustness against time-limited signal requirements for a specified application

blockage by buildings and obstacles and then work through the specifications,
• Stabilized signal tracking in low signal- asking the necessary questions of the
to-noise ratio (SNR) scenarios manufacturer.
• Insensitivity in high-dynamic situations Here are a few points to consider during
any discussion with a manufacturer.
SECTION 2: THE DATA SHEET
DILEMMA Data Update Rates
Determining the best GNSS/IMU solu- Data or update rates are a common speci-
tion for an application can be a challenge. fication on any GNSS/IMU datasheet.
Data sheets are often confusing and make The update rate of a GNSS refers to how
it difficult to make apples-to-apples com- often the system calculates and reports a
parisons. The first step is to outline the position. GNSS solution rates are gener-

CHAPTER 5
Figure 32 Loosely-coupled RLG (top) versus deeply-coupled MEMS (bottom)
ally limited to below 100Hz whereas IMUs from spec sheet to spec sheet because of
can have high solution output rates up to manufacturer measurement standards.
200(+)Hz. High-performance tightly and
deeply coupled solutions will typically Accuracy vs Precision
have 20Hz GNSS measurement and posi- Accuracy and precision are often used to
tion data rates. describe the quality of the position ac-
quired by GNSS receiver. Accuracy is the
Gyro/Accelerometer Performance degree of closeness of an estimate to its
The gyro and accelerometer performance true, but unknown value; the precision is
assessment require an understanding of the degree of closeness of observations to
output range, bias, bias stability and scale their means.
factors. All of these are important speci- When GNSS positions are logged over
fications that can be difficult to compare time, the positions are scattered over an

CHAPTER 5
Figure 33 Position error variations between loosely- and deeply-coupled solutions.
Figure 34 Heading error variations between deeply- and loosely-coupled solutions.

CHAPTER 5
area due to measurement errors. This dis- The Comparison

persion of points is called a scatter plot, While it’s difficult to test IMU and GNSS
which GNSS manufacturers use to charac- solutions in marine applications, testing
terize their equipment’s accuracy. The true on land provides valuable data.
value is located at the intersection of the The following compares a tightly cou-
crosshairs, the center of the shaded area is pled compact, lower-cost MEMS sensor
the location of the mean estimate, and the to a loosely coupled high-performance
radius of the shaded area is a measure of ring laser gyro. (Note, there are no com-
the uncertainty contained in the estimate. parable specifications to compare, so
Product specifications characterize tests must be run to verify performance)
measurements of accuracy as CEP, RMS, In this case, the high-performance IMU
Percentile 67% or Percentile 95%, etc., is a GPS-only precise point positioning
depending on whether the accuracy mea- (PPP) solution in a loosely coupled config-
surements are averages or distribution uration. The MEMS IMU was combined
counts. with a GPS+GLONASS PPP solution to
For example, a specif ication that create a deeply coupled GNSS+INS solu-
states Horizontal Position Accuracy tion. Figures 33 and 34 provide some clar-
(RMS) statistical accuracy character- ity of the value of loosely coupled versus
ized by RMS or root mean square esti- deeply coupled for a land application.
mates. The RMS is a single number that The first graph shows the 2D position
expresses 2D accuracy. Similar to 2D error during a GNSS outage. Note the
accuracy measures, there are many rep- black line that indicates the rapid rise in
resentations of 3D accuracy with various error over time with the low-performance
probabilities. 3D accuracy measures are MEMS IMU, while the high-performance
conceptually similar to those in 2D ex- RLG IMU drift rate (or error growth) is
panded by one dimension, the vertical smaller. Similarly, the low-performance
accuracy. Therefore, Spherical Error MEMS IMU heading error drifts more
Probable (SEP) corresponds to CEP in quickly over time compared to the high-
2D, while Mean Radial Spherical Error performance RLG IMU.
(MRSE) corresponds to distance root A follow-up vehicle test evaluated a
mean squared (DRMS) in 2D. high-grade ring laser gyro in a loosely
In summary, not all data sheets are the coupled setup and the MEMS (low grade)
same. IMU specifications can be used to in a tightly coupled setup. It’s easy to see
gauge the veracity of the INS performance in Figures 33 and 34 that having a high-
claim, however, due to the issue of their grade IMU doesn’t guarantee good re-
inconsistency, this too can be very hard. sults. The loosely coupled solution varies
Don’t put too much weight in data sheet considerably in perceived location while
specifications—too often they are confus- the deeply coupled MEMS remains steady.
ing or aren’t relevant to the customer’s In summary, good results depend on ar-
development concern. See the following chitecture! A tightly coupled solution with
example. a high-grade sensor should provide good

CHAPTER 5
positioning performance, and in the event goes wrong and there is a complete loss
of GNSS signal loss, the high-grade sen- of GNSS signal, the operator has extra
sor will provide the user with more time time to react to the situation. Looking at
to react. the drift rate for the IMU will provide an
indication to the length of time the outage
SECTION 3: THE BENEFITS can be bridged. The lower the drift rate,
OF GNSS/IMU IN MARINE the longer the period you can bridge.
APPLICATIONS For dynamic positioning, an operator
Maintaining the position of an offshore should also take into consideration the
vessel while performing complex and low dynamics of a vessel operating in DP
costly tasks such as drilling or ocean sur- mode to ensure the IMU and positioning
veys requires real-time, reliable and robust algorithms can work with the low dynam-
position and direction information. That’s ics of the platform.
where the value of an IMU really shines. For hydrographic survey applications,
As explained earlier, an IMU coupled to a the operator is most interested in the
GNSS receiver will help mitigate any posi- high date rate output of positioning and
tion jumps and in case of complete loss of attitude data plus the accuracy of these
signal, allows a bit more time to react and parameters—therefore, look at quoted ac-
enact safety procedures. curacy values for the pitch/roll, heading
For instance, an IMU can bridge gaps and position, while ensuring that the data
when scintillation or interference occurs is output at the required data update rate
or provide positioning when satellites are for their application.
masked by structures such as offshore
platforms or other vessels. If everything

6
CHAPTER
GNSS Denial
A
receiver that can not provide position, velocity or time because
the GNSS signals are not available to the receiver due to interfer-
ence, spoofing, signal blockage or constellation failure is said to
be suffering from “GNSS Denial.” The following sections describe the causes
of GNSS denial and the methods used to mitigate them.
INTERFERENCE
By the time GNSS signals have travelled from the satellites to the receiver,
the signals are at a very low power level. This low power level makes the sig-
nals susceptible to interference from other signals transmitted in the GNSS
frequency range. If the interfering signal is sufficiently powerful, it becomes
impossible for the receiver to detect the low-power GNSS signal. An analogy
is trying to have a conversation in a room with a stereo playing. If the stereo
is playing very loud, it is impossible to hear the conversation over the music.
If the signal is from an unintentional source, such as faulty radio equip-
ment, it is called interference. If the signal is intentionally transmitted in the
GNSS frequency range, it is called jamming.
GNSS receivers use several methods to protect against interference and
jamming.
Anti-Jam Antennas
Anti-jam antenna systems, comprised of Controlled Reception Pattern
Antennas (CRPA) and sophisticated electronics, use the multiple antenna
elements to control the amount of signal received from a particular direc-
tion. When an anti-jam system senses interference from one direction, it
turns down the antenna gain, similar to turning down the volume, for that
direction. This reduces the amount of interference received so that legitimate

CHAPTER 6
GNSS signals can be received from other GLONASS L2 or Galileo E5. A descrip-
directions. Figure 35 shows two vessels in tion of the existing and upcoming GNSS
range of a GNSS jammer. The vessel on signals is given in Chapter 3.
the right has a standard antenna and the
GNSS signals are overpowered by the jam- Multiple Navigation Sensors
mer. The vessel on the left has an anti-jam For short term interference, additional
antenna that blocks the jamming signal so navigation sensors such as IMUs can
GNSS signals can be received. help the receiver bridge brief periods of
If the interfering signal has a narrow GNSS outage. A discussion of systems
bandwidth, GNSS receivers can protect that use GNSS receivers and IMUs, called
against the interference by tracking mul- GNSS+Inertial Navigation Systems (INS),
tiple frequencies and multiple constella- is presented in Chapter 5.
tions. For example, if the interference is
in the 1550 to 1600 MHz range, GPS L1 SPOOFING
would be blocked. However, a receiver can Unlike interference where GNSS is denied
still provide position, navigation and time by overpowering the GNSS signal, spoof-
if the receiver can track GPS L2 or L5, ing tricks the receiver into reporting an
Anti-jamming
Figure 35 Anti-Jam Antenna Protecting Against a Jammer

CHAPTER 6
incorrect location or time by introducing SIGNAL BLOCKAGE

a false signal that is either created by a sig- A GNSS receiver needs a clear line of sight
nal generator or is a rebroadcast of a real to the satellites it is tracking. If the line
recorded GNSS signal. Also, unlike inter- of sight to a satellite is blocked by objects
ference, spoofing is always an intentional such as platforms, other vessels, overhead
attack. cranes etc., the receiver cannot receive sig-
To deny GNSS by spoofing, the attacker nals from that satellite. In locations that
broadcasts a signal with the same struc- have large obstructions, such as work-
ture and frequency as the GNSS signal. ing near a platform, the obstructions can
The spoofing signal controls its transmit- block so many satellites that the receiver
ted power level so the receiver will lock cannot calculate its position or time.
onto the spoofed signal rather than the One solution to signal blockage is for the
real GNSS signal. In the spoofed signal, receiver to track more than one constella-
the message is changed so that the re- tion. By tracking more than one constel-
ceiver will calculate an incorrect position lation, there will be more satellites avail-
or time. able and a better chance of finding enough
The most effective way to protect satellites to determine a position and time.
against spoofing is to track an encrypted The use of multiple navigation sensors,
signal (such as the Y-code signal on GPS such as IMUs, helps not only in bridging
L1 and L2) that is broadcast by several of outages such as those due to signal block-
the GNSS constellations. Access to the en- age, but also in reacquisition of the GNSS
crypted signals is restricted and not avail- signals after the outage.
able to all users, however there are mitiga-
tion methods that can be used with open CONSTELLATION FAILURE
signal receivers. Although it is extremely unlikely that an
Spoofing GNSS signals is complicated entire constellation will fail, receivers
and requires sophisticated equipment. It that can track more than one constella-
also generally needs information about the tion provide protection from this unlikely
velocity of the target. The complexity of scenario.
spoofing increases greatly if the attacker
attempts to simultaneously spoof more CLOSING REMARKS
than one GNSS frequency or constella- With the many technologies and applica-
tion. So, a receiver that can track multiple tions depending on GNSS to provide po-
frequencies and/or multiple constellations sition, navigation and time, the topic of
can be used to detect and overcome a pos- GNSS denial is becoming increasingly im-
sible spoofing attempt. portant. If you want to learn more about
Also, other navigation sensors, such this subject, we have provided a list of ref-
as GNSS+INS, can be used to detect and erences at the end of the book.
overcome a spoofing attempt as the sig-
nals from the IMU cannot be spoofed.

7
CHAPTER
Precision at Sea
W
hether positioning offshore drilling units over a wellhead, laying
cable and pipes or surveying the seabed, marine-based oil and
gas companies know that a lot that can go wrong during opera-
tions without proper positioning. Accuracy and reliability are vital, and even
slight errors or loss of connection can lead to problems and down time that
can cost millions.
It’s a challenge companies like UTEC Survey, an Acteon company and one
of the largest global independent offshore surveying companies, know all too
well.
UTEC specializes in offshore construction for the oil and gas industry,
providing services such as pipe-lay installation, inspection, subsea structure
installation and monitoring, precision acoustic metrology, 3D seismic node
deployment, subsea mapping and Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) support.
In these cases, vessel positioning must be precise, and delivered with reli-
ability and redundancy.
UTEC, like many others in the offshore construction market, has exclu-
sively used VERIPOS solutions to achieve precise, redundant and reliable
vessel positioning for a variety of marine construction projects for years.
Dave Ross, UTEC’s Americas Business Unit Director, said, “The advances
in GNSS means we can position things with 10 cm accuracy at sea. The reli-
ability is incredible. It all starts with the position of the vessel on the surface.
Subsea position will be in error if there’s not an accurate position on the sur-
face. That means you could drill wells in the wrong place or put subsea equip-
ment in the wrong spot. That’s all very expensive, particularly in deep water.
Without services like VERIPOS we could do nothing offshore.”
INSIDE THE REDUNDANCY

VERIPOS provides precise and dynamic positioning services with centime-
ter-, decimeter- or meter-level accuracy for marine-based oil and gas opera-
tions like UTEC who are involved in seismic exploration, survey and con-

CHAPTER 7
Photos courtesy of Sergei Dubrovskii, claffra and curraheeshutter
struction, offshore supply vessels (OSV) network includes more than 80 base sta-
and offshore drilling. tions, each with a dual-redundant receiver
Offshore constructors like UTEC rely and communications links. The ground
on VERIPOS’s comprehensive and redun- reference stations, positioned to provide
dant hardware, software and customized optimal differential GNSS coverage in
services to ensure operational objectives offshore operational areas, ensure that
are met. no geographic region has beams uplinked
Delivering a precise, reliable, redun- from the same station.
dant and repeatable positioning solution The reference stations are controlled
requires three key components: a global from two fully secure, purpose-designed
network of stations, orbit and clock de- redundant Network Control Centres
termination system (OCDS) and a way to (NCCs), one in Aberdeen and one in
deliver accurate data to end users. Singapore, with a 24-hour response sys-
Specifically, VERIPOS operates, main- tem available at each reference site. The
tains and controls its own network of Aberdeen NCC is manned 24 hours a
GNSS reference stations and the associ- day, 365 days a year, with a tiered escala-
ated infrastructure for precise positioning tion callout system and dual-redundant
and offshore navigation. Its global ground equipment. The Singapore NCC is a full

CHAPTER 7
mirror of the Aberdeen installation and The NCCs also receive and monitor the
can be controlled remotely from any data broadcast to users to ensure data in-
location. tegrity and reliability. The NCCs feed pri-
Both NCCs receive, process and quality- mary and secondary data streams to the
control the GNSS data from the reference reference stations via duplicate, physically
stations and send the data to the seven diverse communication lines. If a problem
VERIPOS broadcast satellites via ground arises, these data streams are fed into hi-
Earth stations. The independent L-Band erarchical switching systems that allow
global Inmarsat satellites (i.e., 98W, automatic changeover at the reference
AOR-W, 25E, IOR, 143.5E and POR) en- stations.
sure operators have coverage overlap and
access to a minimum of two sources of CORRECTIONS AND CONNECTIONS
VERIPOS augmentation services at any With its network of ground stations, NCCs
global offshore location, as well as internet and broadcast satellites, VERIPOS offers
data feeds as another backup. positioning services with centimeter-,
THE RECEIVERS
VERIPOS offers customers two receiver options.
THE VERIPOS LD8 is a ruggedized compact dual antenna, multi-constellation
GNSS receiver that delivers robust positioning and heading. It
is designed for a range of offshore positioning applications,
including hydrographic/offshore surveying, dredging,
offshore construction, seismic and dynamic positioning
applications. It’s best for short-term projects or where
space is limited. Using VERIPOS positioning algorithms,
the LD8 supports all VERIPOS services that can produce
position accuracies from meter to decimeter level. It is
also compatible with the VERIPOS Quantum software.
THE VERIPOS LD900 is a GNSS receiver that can receive VERIPOS services
through the multi-channel L-Band demodulator. It’s suitable for a variety of
applications including hydrographic/offshore surveying, dredging, offshore
construction, seismic exploration and dynamic positioning. The multi-
constellation GNSS receiver provides precise
positioning and is also configurable to allow
GNSS heading and receive MF beacon
services. The LD900 has an easy-to-use,
intuitive, color display for simple configuration
and monitoring. There is also a kit available to
allow the receiver to be installed within vessel
equipment racks.

CHAPTER 7
decimeter- or meter-level accuracy by uti-

lizing two independent networks for com- VERIPOS Quantum
plete system redundancy. Software
The high-accuracy GNSS positioning
THIS SOFTWARE SUITE delivers
services for offshore positioning and navi- real-time position and quality control
gation include Apex and Ultra positioning information with configuration
services with real-time corrections from and performance monitoring. The
an OCDS. software can be configured to
For Apex, VERIPOS operates its own the user’s operational needs and
supports all VERIPOS correction
OCDS to add flexibility to its overall sys-
and a wide range of GNSS services.
tem. This can, for instance, control im- The Quantum software allows the
provements to orbit and clock determina- operator to check performance of
tion to derive higher accuracy orbits and the system and the quality of the
clocks and derive additional monitoring computed solution to ensure that
everything is within specification.
capability, particularly of the GNSS net-
Diagnostic features are available
works. The VERIPOS OCDS uses data to provide easy identification of
from the VERIPOS reference station net- any problems and assists the user
work with multiple and redundant OCDS in identifying possible solutions.
systems running in VERIPOS-operated Remote operation of the connected
NCCs in Aberdeen and Singapore. VERIPOS receiver allows users to
manage the configuration of the
The VERIPOS OCDS derives real-time
receiver directly from the Quantum
corrections for all available satellite con- software meaning they do not need
stellations using proprietary algorithms. It to leave their workstation.
operates entirely independently from the
reference stations used by JPL to derive
the orbit and clock corrections for Ultra The Ultra correction services, launched
services. in 2005, provide robust and reliable deci-
There are three Apex services: The Apex metre-accuracy services in all locations,
service uses satellites from the GPS con- including areas experiencing ionospheric
stellation, the Apex2 service uses both the disturbances. The Ultra service uses satel-
GPS and GLONASS constellations and lites from the GPS constellation. The Ultra2
Apex 5 accesses GPS L1/L2, GLONASS service uses both the GPS and GLONASS
L1/L2, BeiDou B1 & B2, Galileo E1 & E5b constellations, for faster convergence and
and QZSS L1C & L2L. The Apex service is help in maintaining reliable and accurate
available using LD2, LD3, LD6 or LD5 re- positioning when satellites are potentially
cievers and through Verify QC and Verify masked (e.g. when working close to a plat-
DP software applications. form) or when suffering from ionospheric
Complementary to Ultra services, Apex scintillation. Real-time corrections for
services provide the user with correction the Ultra services are provided by Jet
services derived from independent net- Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) OCDS. The
works and mitigate for single-point failures. NCCs control and monitor the OCDS and

CHAPTER 7
the integrity of the data network and moni- System algorithms need to handle
tor the integrity of the GNSS system. satellite network traits and ensure so-
As well, VERIPOS offers global real- lutions compatibility between the mod-
time Apex correction services for sub- els used to correct GNSS errors and the
decimeter accuracy. Apex is broadcast OCDS.
alongside Ultra via the seven geostation- Apex and Ultra positioning services
ary communications satellites to ensure provide users with correction services
availability and service redundancy. derived from independent networks and
SOLUTIONS
FOR THE MARINE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY
DYNAMIC POSITIONING (DP), DRILLING: As the depth of well sites continues to
increase, oil and gas exploration has moved beyond the reach of conventional moored
drilling in many parts of the world. By enabling the positioning of offshore drilling
units accurately over the wellhead, DP systems and precise positioning capabilities
have made deepwater drilling possible. Once installed, the equipment calculates the
position a rig needs to hold, then sends that information to the onboard DP system to
accurately control functions, such as the thrusters that maintain the rig’s position.
Software is also available for quality control and monitoring. VERIPOS services track
all GNSS constellations and have horizontal accuracies better than five centimeters.
VERIPOS uses two independent correction networks for complete redundancy.
DYNAMIC POSITIONING (DP), MARINE: VERIPOS satellite positioning systems are

intuitive, making them ideal on DP-classified vessels from DP1 to DP3. When a vessel
is alongside an offshore rig, the accuracy of the vessel’s position is vital. VERIPOS’s
technology provides the information necessary to hold the vessel in the required
position, even when waves, wind and currents want to interfere.
SEISMIC EXPLORATION: VERIPOS positioning systems are used on a range of

seismic acquisition vessels to assist with operations collecting 2D, 3D, 4D or wide
azimuth data. The technology provides real-time position information by calculating
the vessel’s speed, heading, roll, pitch and yaw. Seven delivery beams and a range
of positioning algorithms operate independently to capture reliable positioning
information. The integration of this information prevents vessels from drifting off
course.
SURVEY: VERIPOS provides satellite positioning systems that are configurable

to suit various survey projects, including construction survey, geophysical survey,
hydrographic survey and pipeline route and inspection survey.
CONSTRUCTION: VERIPOS offers solutions for many construction applications,

including laying cables and pipes, undertaking subsea field development, and
installing and repairing subsea equipment.

CHAPTER 7
mitigate for single-point failures, thus po- opening the U.S. office in Houston back in
sitioning performance and reliability. 2006. The company provides services that
As a further layer of redundancy, cover the complete lifecycle of offshore oil
VERIPOS can also provide services to us- and gas development, from pre-drilling
ers via the internet, as either a hardware surveys to decommissioning site clear-
or software solution, employing industry- ance surveys.
standard implementation. Ross had worked with the VERIPOS
Beyond the hardware and software, management team during the company’s
there is the importance of VERIPOS’s early days and already had a lot of confi-
support and training, which includes ma- dence in their products and services. He
rine installations, dimensional control also liked the fact that VERIPOS is an
and calibrations, 24/7 telephone support independent provider that isn’t associated
and globally available marine technicians. with any of UTEC’s competitors.
VERIPOS works directly with its custom- UTEC has used VERIPOS receivers
ers to ensure successful integration of exclusively for the past four or five years
their corrections with customer opera- in all their projects, Ross said. These have
tions and, above all, supports the customer spanned 35 countries and territories
directly during these operations. worldwide.
“Running expensive vessels precisely UTEC typically turns to VERIPOS LD5
at sea is our main challenge, and we use and LD8 receivers to provide the neces-
VERIPOS for that,” UTEC’s Ross said. sary precision, Ross said. Every receiver is
“In the good ole days, it cost half a mil- designed and certified specifically for ma-
lion dollars a day if there was any down rine operations, the result of many years of
time or inaccuracy in position. VERIPOS system use and feedback from marine cus-
helps save money through the reliability tomers. Different receiver models cater for
of what it does. The service that’s avail- the needs of different offshore industrial
able and the availability of technical missions and work scopes.
assistance when required means the For instance, the LD5 receiver is a rug-
uptime is high and therefore the down- gedized, integrated sensor that is available
time is low, and the impact to the client as L-band demodulator only, or as an in-
is minimized.” tegrated L-band dual frequency receiver
and with an option for marine radio bea-
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER con reception.
VERIPOS positioning solutions deliver the The signal type UTEC uses varies by
precise positioning performance and accu- project, though single-beam or dual-beam
racy needed to lay cables and pipes, under- options are the most common. They also
take subsea field development, install and use VERIPOS’ Quantum software for
repair subsea equipment or execute many some projects.
other high precision marine projects. “VERIPOS offers a good range of ser-
UTEC, for instance, has partnered with vices that can cover pretty much all of our
VERIPOS for positioning services since offshore positioning needs,” Ross said.

CHAPTER 7
“We use VERIPOS for satellite position- hardware that gives us heading derived
ing of vessels at sea, mainly associated from GPS. They have a solution for pretty
with offshore construction. They have the much everything we want to do with GPS.”
THE SERVICES
VERIPOS offers a variety of high-accuracy GNSS positioning services for offshore
positioning and navigation. They include:
APEX AND APEX2: These services provide sub-decimeter accuracy and are
complementary to VERIPOS Ultra and Ultra² services, which, when taken together,
provide the user with correction services derived from independent networks and
mitigate for single-point failures.
The Apex service uses satellites from the GPS constellation while the Apex2
service uses both the GPS and GLONASS constellations. The satellites from
the GLONASS constellation provide additional observations. Apex services are
broadcast alongside Ultra services via seven geostationary communications
satellites to ensure availability and service redundancy.
APEX5: An extension to the VERIPOS Apex services using GNSS observations from
five available GNSS systems: GPS, GLONASS, BEIDOU, GALILEO and QZSS. More
satellites lead to more observations and more redundancy. Apex5 is broadcast
alongside the Apex/Apex2 Ultra services via seven geostationary communications
satellites.
ULTRA AND ULTRA2: These positioning solutions deliver decimeter-level

positioning accuracy. They are reliable in all locations, including areas experiencing
ionospheric disturbances. Real-time corrections are derived from the JPL Orbit
and Clock Determination System (OCDS), which uses data from JPL reference
stations. Ultra can be purchased as a stand-alone service, but most often
complements Apex to ensure operation redundancy. The Ultra service uses
satellites from the GPS constellation while the Ultra2 service uses both the GPS
and GLONASS constellations.
VERIPOS STANDARD AND STANDARD2: These services can be used with any RTCM-
compatible GPS receiver. Augmentation data is produced at two fully redundant
Network Control Centres (NCCs), both capable of managing 100% system operation.
VERIPOS Standard² is an extension of the VERIPOS Standard service designed to
increase the availability of GNSS observations during periods of local masking,
ionospheric scintillation or general poor GPS geometry. Pseudorange corrections
are derived using the equivalent C/A code and carrier phase measurements for all
GLONASS satellites in view. These are then broadcast over multiple high-power
delivery satellites.
Corrections are encoded in standard RTCM format and can be used directly
with compatible GNSS equipment or with external processing software, such as
VERIPOS Verify QC. It also can integrate GLONASS with GPS.

CHAPTER 7
VERIPOS receivers and correction ser- UTEC is one of the company’s biggest
vices play a key part in rig moving and po- clients, said Rami Tadros of VERIPOS,
sitioning, key tasks among the various ma- and one they really take pride in serving.
rine oil and gas projects UTEC takes on. They have worldwide operations that are
In 2015, for example, UTEC NCS supported by the regional VERIPOS offic-
Survey, part of UTEC, was awarded a es. The scope of their projects is very broad
three-year rig move and positioning and is well covered by the various products
framework contract from Total E&P UK and services that VERIPOS offers.
Limited. Through the contract, UTEC The solutions VERIPOS provides are vi-
provides positioning services on their fleet tal to companies like UTEC and their cli-
of rigs and support vessels in the UKCS re- ents. UTEC relies on accurate positioning
gion. For rig moves, no matter the client, for just about every service they provide to
UTEC often must determine, via sea ves- the offshore oil and gas industry, and any
sels, where a pipe is on the seabed, so they down time caused by an interruption costs
know where the rig must be placed. their clients big, as do positioning errors.
Often, they need to survey the area for Accurate, redundant position is a must,
accurate placement before they can po- and that’s what they get with VERIPOS
sition a rig for the first time over a well. solutions.
Logistical preparation is essential for any Ross concluded, “Before the technol-
rig move initiative, and UTEC relies on its ogy VERIPOS provides was available,
real-time navigation systems to execute offshore positioning was relatively inac-
those moves. The survey team generates curate. VERIPOS enables precise naviga-
coordinates and positioning updates using tion. There’s not a single construction ves-
GPS and rig headings with gyro equip- sel that can go to sea without a system like
ment. These technologies interface with the one VERIPOS provides.”
UTEC’s navigation software for real-time
viewing. The telemetry systems enable in-
stantaneous communication and tracking
of support vessels as well as precise anchor
positioning on the seabed.
“I’m not aware of any instances of
VERIPOS systems not working,” Ross said.
“The uptime is fantastic; their equipment is
high-quality; and their support is extensive
and readily available. When we need equip-
ment for testing, they accommodate us. It’s
like a partnership in a way. There really is a
lot of trust in both directions. I find they’re
a really good company to work with. Of all
the things that make me lose sleep at night,
VERIPOS is not one of them.”

APPENDIX A: ACRONYMS
ESA European Space Agency
Appendices FAA
FCC
Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Communication Commission
FDMA Frequency Division Multiple Access
This section includes the following
FKP Flachen Korrectur Parameter (Plane
appendices, which include general or CorrectionParameter) German
supplementary information about GNSS: FOC Full Operational Capability
• Appendix A–Acronyms FOG Fiber Optic Gyro
GAGAN GNSS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation
• Appendix B–GNSS Glossary (India)
• Appendix C–Standards and References GBAS Ground Based Augmentation System
GCC Galileo Control Centre
GDOP Geometric Dilution Of Precision
1PPS One Pulse Per Second GEO Geostationary Earth Orbit
ADR Accumulated Doppler Range GIC GNSS Integrity Channel
AFSCN Air Force Satellite Control Network GIS Geospatial Information System
AltBOC Alternate Binary Offset Carrier GLONASS Global Navigation Satellite System
AMSAT American Satellite GMS Ground Mission Segment
ARNS Aeronautical Radio Navigation Services GMT Greenwich Mean Time
ARP Antenna Reference Point GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System
AVL Automatic Vehicle Location GPS Global Positioning System
BDS BeiDou Navigation Satellite System GRAS Ground-based Regional Augmentation
BOC Binary Offset Carrier System (Australia)
C/A Code Coarse/Acquisition Code GRC Galileo Reception Chain
CASM Coherent Adaptive Subcarrier GRCN Galileo Reception Chain Non-PRS
Modulation GSS Galileo Sensor Stations
CD Clock Drift GSTB Galileo System Test Bed
CDGPS Canada-Wide Differential GPS GTR Galileo Test Receiver
CDMA Code Division Multiple Access GTS Galileo Test Signal Generator
CE Conformité Européenne (Also known as GUS Ground Uplink Station
CE Mark) GUST WAAS GUS-Type 1
CMG Course Made Good GUSTR WAAS GUST Type-1 Receiver
CNAV Civil Navigation HDOP Horizontal Dilution Of Precision
C/No Post Correlation Carrier to Noise Ratio in hex Hexadecimal
dB-Hz HTDOP Horizontal Position and Time Dilution Of
COG Course Over Ground Precision
COGO Coordinate Geometry Hz Hertz
COSPAS Cosmitscheskaja Sistema Poiska I and Q In-Phase and Quadrature (Channels)
Awarinitsch Sudow (Russian: space I Channel In-Phase Data Channel
system for search of vessels in distress) ICP Integrated Carrier Phase
CRPA Controlled Reception Pattern Antenna IEC International Electrotechnical
CS Commercial Service Commission
CTP Conventional Terrestrial Pole IERS International Earth Rotation Service
CTS Conventional Terrestrial System IGP Ionospheric Grid Point
dB Decibel IGRF International Geometric Reference Field
dBm Decibel Relative to 1 milliWatt IGS CB International GNSS Service Central
DGNSS Differential Global Navigation Satellite Bureau
System IGSO Inclined Geosynchronous Orbit
DGPS Differential Global Positioning System IMLA Integrated Multipath Limiting Antenna
DOP Dilution Of Precision IMU Inertial Measuring Unit
DR Dead Reckoning INS Inertial Navigation System
e Eccentricity I/O Input/Output
EC European Commission IODE Issue of Data (Ephemeris)
ECEF Earth-Centred-Earth-Fixed IOV In-Orbit Validation
EGNOS European Geostationary Navigation IRNSS Indian Regional Navigation Satellite
Overlay System System

APPENDIX A: ACRONYMS
ITRF International Terrestrial Reference System RF Radio Frequency

L1 The 1575.42 MHz GPS carrier frequency RINEX Receiver Independent Exchange Format
including C/A and P-Code RLG Ring Laser Gyro
L1C Future GPS L1 civilian frequency RoHS Restriction of the use of Hazardous
L1F Future Galileo L1 civilian frequency Substances
L2 The 1227.60 MHz 2nd GPS carrier RMS Root Mean Square
frequency (P-Code only) RPDP Relative PDP
L2C The L2 civilian code transmitted at the RS Restricted Service
L2 frequency (1227.6 MHz) RSS Residual Solution Status
L5 The 1176.45 MHz 3rd civil GPS frequency RTCA Radio Technical Commission for Aviation
that tracks carrier at low signal-to-noise Services
ratios RTCM Radio Technical Commission for
LAAS Local Area Augmentation System Maritime Services
LIDR Light Detection and Ranging RTK Real Time Kinematic
LGF LAAS Ground Facility SA Selective Availability
LNA Low Noise Amplifier SAR Search and Rescue
LORAN LOng RANge Navigation System SARSAT Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking
MAT Multipath Assessment Tool SBAS Satellite Based Augmentation System
mBOC Multiplexed Binary Offset Carrier SD Standard Deviation
MEDLL Multipath Estimating Delay Lock Loop SDCM System for Differential Corrections and
MEO Medium Earth Orbit Monitoring
MHz MegaHertz SG Signal Generator
ms Millisecond SGS-90 Soviet Geodetic System 1990
MSAS MTSAT Satellite Based Augmentation SI Système Internationale
System (Japan) SiS Signal in Space
MSAT Mobile Satellite SNAS Satellite Navigation Augmentation
MSL Mean Sea Level System (China)
MTSAT Multi-Functional Transport Satellite SNR Signal-to-Noise Ratio
NASA National Aeronautics and Space SOL Safety-of-Life
Administration (U.S.) SPS Standard Position Service
NAVSTAR NAVigation Satellite Timing And Ranging SPAN Synchronized Position Attitude Navigation
(synonymous with GPS) SV Space Vehicle
NMEA National Marine Electronics Association SVID Space Vehicle Identifier
ns Nanosecond SVN Space Vehicle Number
OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer TDOP Time Dilution Of Precision
OS Open Service TTFF Time-To-First-Fix
PAC Pulsed Aperture Correlator TTNL Time to Narrow Lane
PCO Phase Center Offset UHF Ultra High Frequency
P-Code Precise Code USGS United States Geological Survey
PDOP Position Dilution Of Precision UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
PDP Pseudorange/Delta-Phase UGV Unmanned Ground Vehicle
PE-90 Parameters of the Earth 1990 (see PZ-90) UNB University of New Brunswick
PIN Position Indicator USV Unmanned Surface Vehicle
PLL Phase Lock Loop UTC Coordinated Universal Time
PPM Parts Per Million UTC(SU) Coordinated Universal Time (former
PPP Precise Point Positioning Soviet Union, now Russia)
PPS Precise Point Positioning Service UUV Unmanned Underwater Vehicle
PPS Pulse Per Second VDOP Vertical Dilution of Precision
PRN Pseudorandom Noise VHF Very High Frequency
PRS Public Regulated Service VRS Virtual Reference Station
PSR Pseudorange VSWR Voltage Standing Wave Ratio
PVT Position Velocity Time WAAS Wide Area Augmentation System
PZ-90 Parametry Zemli 1990 (see PE-90) WMS Wide Area Master Station
Q Channel Quadrature Data-Free Channel WRS Wide Area Reference Station
QSO Quasi-Zenith Orbit WEEE Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment
QZSS Quasi-Zenith Satellite System WGS World Geodetic System
RCC Rescue Coordination Centre

APPENDIX B: GLOSSARY
ABSOLUTE ACCURACY BASE STATION

In GNSS positioning, absolute accuracy The GNSS receiver which is acting as the
is the degree to which the position of an stationary reference. It has a known position
object on a map conforms to its correct and transmits messages for the rover
location on the earth, according to an receiver to use to calculate its position.
accepted coordinate system.
BEARING
ACQUISITION The horizontal direction of one terrestrial
The process of locking onto a satellite’s point from another terrestrial point,
C/A code and P-code. A receiver acquires expressed as the angular distance from a
all available satellites when it is first reference direction, usually measured from
powered up, then acquires additional 000° at the reference direction clockwise
satellites as they become available and through 360°. The reference point may
continues tracking them until they become be true north, magnetic north or relative
unavailable. (vehicle heading).
ACCUMULATED DOPPLER RANGE (ADR) BEIDOU NAVIGATION SYSTEM (BDS)

Carrier phase, in cycles. [See Carrier Phase BeiDou is China’s navigation satellite
Measurements]. system. Originally, a regional navigation
satellite system with 14 satellites, BeiDou
ALMANAC is expanding to provide global coverage.
A set of orbit parameters that allows The global system space segment consists
calculation of approximate GNSS satellite of 5 geostationary Earth orbit satellites, 3
positions and velocities. The almanac is inclined geosynchronous orbit satellites
used by a GNSS receiver to determine and 27 medium Earth orbit satellites.
satellite visibility and as an aid during
acquisition of GNSS satellite signals. BROADCAST EPHEMERIDES
A set of parameters which describes the
ALMANAC DATA location of satellites with respect to time,
A set of data which is downloaded from and which is transmitted ( broadcast) from
each satellite over the course of 12.5 the satellites.
minutes. It contains orbital parameter
approximations for all satellites, GNSS to CARRIER
Universal Standard Time (UTC) conversion The steady transmitted RF signal whose
parameters, and single-frequency amplitude, frequency, or phase may be
ionospheric model parameters. modulated to carry information.
AMBIGUITY CARRIER PHASE AMBIGUITY

The integer number of carrier cycles The number of integer carrier phase cycles
between a satellite and receiver. between the user and the satellite at the
start of tracking (sometimes ambiguity for
ANTI-SPOOFING short).
Denial of the P-code by the Control
Segment is called Anti-Spoofing. It is CARRIER PHASE MEASUREMENTS
normally replaced by encrypted Y-code. These are “Accumulated Doppler Range”
[See P-Code and Y-Code] (ADR) measurements. They contain the
instantaneous phase of the signal (modulo
ANTIPODAL SATELLITES 1 cycle) plus some arbitrary number of
Antipodal satellites are satellites in the integer cycles. Once the receiver is tracking
same orbit plane separated by 180 degrees the satellite, the integer number of cycles
in argument of latitude. correctly accumulates the change in range
BASELINE seen by the receiver. When a “lock break”
The line between a pair of stations for occurs, this accumulated value can jump an
which simultaneous GNSS data has been arbitrary integer number of cycles (this is
collected. called a cycle slip).

C-BAND are directions steered or intended to be

C Band is the original frequency allocation steered through the water with respect
for communications satellites. C-Band uses to a reference meridian); this will not be a
3.7-4.2 GHz for downlink and 5.925-6.425 straight line if the vessel’s heading yaws
GHz for uplink. back and forth across the course.
COARSE ACQUISITION (C/A) CODE CYCLE SLIP

A pseudorandom string of bits that is used When the carrier phase measurement
primarily by commercial GNSS receivers jumps by an arbitrary number of integer
to determine the range to the transmitting cycles. It is generally caused by a break in
GNSS satellite. The 1023 chip GPS C/A code the signal tracking due to shading or some
repeats every 1 ms giving a code chip length similar occurrence.
of 300 m, which is very easy to lock onto.
DEAD RECKONING (DR)
CONTROL SEGMENT The process of determining a vessel’s
The Master Control Station and the globally approximate position by applying DR from
dispersed Reference Stations used to its last known position by a vector or a series
manage the GNSS satellites, determine of consecutive vectors representing the run
their precise orbital parameters and that has since been made, using only the
synchronize their clocks. courses being steered, and the distance
run as determined by log, engine rpm or
COORDINATED UNIVERSAL TIME (UTC) calculations from speed measurements.
This time system uses the second-
defined true angular rotation of the Earth DESTINATION
measured as if the Earth rotated about its The immediate geographic point of interest
Conventional Terrestrial Pole. However, to which a vessel is navigating. It may be the
UTC is adjusted only in increments of one next waypoint along a route of waypoints or
second. The time zone of UTC is that of the final destination of a voyage.
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
DIFFERENTIAL GNSS (DGNSS)
COURSE A technique to improve GNSS accuracy
The horizontal direction in which a vessel is to that uses pseudorange errors, at a known
be steered or is being steered; the direction of location, to improve the measurements
travel through the air or water. Expressed as made by other GNSS receivers within the
angular distance from reference north (either same general geographic area.
true, magnetic, compass or grid), usually
DILUTION OF PRECISION (DOP)
000° (north), clockwise through 360°. Strictly,
A numerical value expressing the
the term applies to direction through the air or
confidence factor of the position solution
water, not the direction intended to be made
based on current satellite geometry. The
good over the ground [See Track Made Good].
lower the value, the greater the confidence
Differs from heading.
in the solution. DOP can be expressed in the
COURSE MADE GOOD (CMG) following forms.
The single resultant direction from a given GDOP: Uncertainty of all parameters
point of departure to a subsequent position; (latitude, longitude, height, clock
the direction of the net movement from one offset)
point to the other. This often varies from the PDOP: Uncertainty of 3D parameters
track caused by inaccuracies in steering, (latitude, longitude, height)
currents, cross-winds, etc. This term is HTDOP: Uncertainty of 2D and time
often considered to be synonymous with parameters (latitude, longitude, time)
Track Made Good, however, Course Made HDOP: Uncertainty of 2D parameters
Good is the more correct term. (latitude, longitude)
VDOP: Uncertainty of height parameter
COURSE OVER GROUND (COG) TDOP: Uncertainty of clock offset
The actual path of a vessel with respect parameter
to the Earth (a misnomer in that courses

DOPPLER ELEVATION
The change in frequency of sound, light The angle from the horizon to the observed
or other wave caused by movement of its position of a satellite.
source relative to the observer.
ELLIPSOID
Theoretical Doppler: The expected
A smooth mathematical surface which
Doppler frequency based on a satellite’s
represents the Earth’s shape and very
motion relative to the receiver. It
closely approximates the geoid. It is used as
is computed using the satellite’s
a reference surface for geodetic surveys.
coordinates and velocity, and the
receiver’s coordinates and velocity. ELLIPSOIDAL HEIGHT
Apparent Doppler: Same as Theoretical Height above a defined ellipsoid
Doppler of satellite above, with clock drift approximating the surface of the Earth.
correction added.
Instantaneous Carrier: The Doppler EPHEMERIS
frequency measured at the receiver, at A set of satellite orbit parameters that
that epoch. are used by a GNSS receiver to calculate
precise GNSS satellite positions and
DOPPLER AIDING velocities. The ephemeris is used in the
A signal processing strategy, which uses a determination of the navigation solution
measured Doppler shift to help a receiver and is updated periodically by the satellite
smoothly track the GNSS signal, to allow more to maintain the accuracy of GNSS receivers.
precise velocity and position measurement.
EPHEMERIS DATA
DOUBLE-DIFFERENCE The data downlinked by a GNSS satellite
A mathematical technique comparing describing its own orbital position with
observations by differencing between respect to time.
receiver channels and then between the
base and rover receivers. EPOCH
Strictly a specific point in time. Typically
DOUBLE-DIFFERENCE CARRIER PHASE when an observation is made.
AMBIGUITY
Carrier phase ambiguities which are FIXED AMBIGUITY ESTIMATES
differenced between receiver channels and Carrier phase ambiguity estimates
between the base and rover receivers. They which are set to a given number and held
are estimated when a double-difference constant. Usually they are set to integers or
mechanism is used for carrier phase values derived from linear combinations of
positioning (sometimes double-difference integers.
ambiguity or ambiguity, for short). FIXED DISCRETE AMBIGUITY ESTIMATES
EARTH-CENTERED-EARTH-FIXED ( ECEF) Carrier phase ambiguities which are
This is a coordinate system which has set to values that are members of a
the X-axis in the Earth’s equatorial plane predetermined set of discrete possibilities,
pointing to the Greenwich prime meridian, and then held constant.
the Z-axis pointing to the north pole, and FIXED INTEGER AMBIGUITY ESTIMATES
the Y-axis in the equatorial plane 90° from Carrier phase ambiguities which are set to
the X-axis with an orientation which forms a integer values and then held constant.
right-handed XYZ system.
GALILEO
ECCENTRICITY (E) Galileo is the European Union’s own global
A dimensionless measurement defined for navigation satellite system, providing
a conic section where e=0 is a circle, 0<e<1 a highly accurate, guaranteed global
is an ellipse, e=1 is a parabola and e>1 is a positioning service under civilian control.
hyperbola. For an ellipse, larger values of The fully deployed Galileo system will consist
e correspond to a more elongated shape. of 27 satellites (with three active spares),
The eccentricity of GNSS satellite orbit is positioned in three circular orbits, 23,222 km
typically .02.

above the Earth, and at an inclination of the users with accurate position, velocity and
orbital planes of 56 degrees with reference time data. GPS provides this data free of
to the equatorial plane. direct user charge worldwide, continuously,
and under all weather conditions. The GPS
GEOMETRIC DILUTION OF PRECISION constellation consists of 27 satellites in
(GDOP) six different orbital planes. The system is
[See Dilution of Precision (DOP)] developed by the Department of Defense
GEOID under U.S. Air Force management.
The shape of the Earth if it were GPS L1 FREQUENCY
considered as a sea level surface extended The 1575.42 MHz GPS carrier frequency,
continuously through the continents. The which contains the course acquisition (C/A)
geoid is an equipotential surface coincident code, as well as encrypted P-code, and
with mean sea level to which at every point navigation messages used by commercial
the plumb line (direction in which gravity GPS receivers.
acts) is perpendicular. The geoid, affected
by local gravity disturbances, has an GPS L2 FREQUENCY
irregular shape. The 1227.60 MHz secondary GPS carrier
frequency, containing only encrypted
GEODETIC DATUM P-code. GPS satellites transmit the civilian
The reference ellipsoid surface that defines C/A code on the L1 frequency, and the
the coordinate system. military P(Y) code on both the L1 and L2
GEOSTATIONARY frequencies. Modernized GPS satellites
A satellite orbit along the equator that transmit the same signals as previous GPS
results in a constant, fixed position over a satellites, but also have a new signal, called
particular reference point on the Earth’s L2C, on the L2 frequency.
surface. GPS L5 FREQUENCY
GEOSYNCHRONOUS The third civil GPS frequency at 1176.45 MHz
A satellite orbit with an orbital period is transmitted beginning with the Block IIF
matching the Earth’s sidereal rotation GPS satellites. This frequency is located
period. This synchronization means that for within the 960-1215 MHz frequency band. The
an observer at a fixed location on Earth, a L5 signal is equally split between an In-phase
satellite in a geosynchronous orbit returns (I) data channel and a Quadrature (Q) data-
to exactly the same place in the sky at free channel, which improves resistance to
exactly the same time each day. interference, especially from pulse emitting
systems in the same band as L5.
GLOBAL NAVIGATION SATELLITE SYSTEM
(GLONASS) GREAT CIRCLE
GLONASS is a radio satellite navigation The shortest distance between any two
system, the Russian counterpart to the points along the surface of a sphere or
United States’ GPS and the European ellipsoid, and therefore the shortest
Union’s Galileo positioning systems. The navigation distance between any two points
GLONASS space segment consists of 24 on the Earth. Also called Geodesic Line.
satellites (with three active spares) in HEADING
three orbital planes, with eight satellites The direction in which a vessel points or
per plane. The satellites are placed into heads at any instant, expressed in degrees
nominally circular orbits with an inclinations 000° clockwise through 360° and may be
of 64.8 degrees and an orbital height of referenced to true north, magnetic north,
about 19,140 km, which is about 1,050 km or grid north. The heading of a vessel is
lower than GPS satellites. also called the ship’s head. Heading is a
GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS) constantly changing value as the vessel
Full name is NAVSTAR Global Positioning oscillates or yaws across the course due to
System. A space-based radio positioning the effects of the air or sea, cross currents
system which provides suitably equipped and steering errors.

HORIZONTAL DILUTION OF PRECISION MASK ANGLE

(HDOP) The minimum GNSS satellite elevation
[See Dilution of Precision (DOP)] angle permitted by a particular receiver
design. Satellites below this angle will not
HORIZONTAL AND TIME DILUTION OF be used in position solution.
PRECISION (HTDOP)
[See Dilution of Precision (DOP)] MISCLOSURE
The gap between a receiver’s predicted and
INTEGER AMBIGUITY ESTIMATES actual position.
Carrier phase ambiguity estimates which
are only allowed to take on integer values. MOVING BASE STATION
The GNSS receiver which is acting as
IONO-FREE CARRIER PHASE the reference point but is in motion. It
OBSERVATION has an estimated position and transmits
A linear combination of L1 and L2 carrier messages for the rover receiver to use to
phase measurements which provides an calculate its position.
estimate of the carrier phase observation
on one frequency with the effects of the MULTIPATH ERRORS
ionosphere removed. It provides a different GNSS positioning errors caused by the
ambiguity value (non-integer) than a simple interaction of the satellite signal and its
measurement on that frequency. reflections.
KINEMATIC NANOSECOND
The user’s GNSS antenna is moving. In GNSS, 1 x 10-9 second.
this term is typically used with precise carrier
phase positioning and the term dynamic is NARROW LANE
used with pseudorange positioning. The GPS observable obtained by summing
the carrier phase observations on the L1 and
L-BAND L2 frequencies. The narrow lane observable
L-Band is a frequency range between can help resolve carrier-phase ambiguities.
390 MHz and 1.55 GHz which is used for
satellite communications and for terrestrial NETWORK RTK
communications between satellite With Network RTK, corrections are
equipment. L-Band includes the GNSS generated from a base station network
carrier frequencies L1, L2, L5 and several instead of from a single base station. These
Precise Point Positioning service providers corrections can remove more spatially
satellite broadcast signals. correlated errors and thus improve the RTK
performance as opposed to the traditional
LANE RTK. Network RTK uses permanent base
A particular discrete ambiguity value on station installations, allowing kinematic
one carrier phase range measurement GNSS users to achieve centimetre
or double-difference carrier phase accuracies without the need for setting up
observation. The type of measurement is a GNSS base station on a known site.
not specified (L1, L2, L1-L2, iono-free).
OBSERVATION
MAGNETIC BEARING Any measurement.
Bearing relative to magnetic north;
compass bearing corrected for deviation. OBSERVATION SET
A set of receiver measurements, taken at
MAGNETIC HEADING a given time, that includes one time for all
Heading relative to magnetic north. measurements, and the following for each
satellite tracked: PRN code, pseudorange
MAGNETIC VARIATION
or carrier phase or both, lock time count,
The angle between the magnetic and
signal strength and tracking status.
geographic meridians at any place,
expressed in degrees and minutes east or PARITY
west to indicate the direction of magnetic The even or odd quality of the number of
north from true north. ones or zeroes in a binary code. Parity is

often used to determine the integrity of of the range to the satellite including the
data especially after transmission. effect of the satellite and user clock biases.
P-CODE RADIO TECHNICAL COMMISSION FOR

Precise code or protected code. A AERONAUTICS ( RTCA)
pseudorandom string of bits that is used by An organization which developed and
GPS receivers to determine the range to the defined a message format for differential
transmitting GPS satellite. P-code is replaced positioning.
by an encrypted Y-code when Anti-Spoofing
RADIO TECHNICAL COMMISSION FOR
is active. Y-code is intended to be available
MARITIME SERVICES ( RTCM)
only to authorized (primarily military) users.
An organization which developed and
[See Anti-Spoofing, (C/A) Code and Y-Code]
defined the SC-104 message format for
PDOP differential positioning.
Position Dilution of Precision [See Dilution
REAL-TIME KINEMATIC ( RTK)
of Precision (DOP)]
A type of differential positioning based on
POST- PROCESSING observations of carrier phase.
A processing mode in which a base station
RECEIVER CHANNELS
is placed at a known reference point and a
A GNSS receiver specification which
rover is used for gathering positions. Accurate
indicates the number of independent
coordinates are generated by taking data
hardware signal processing channels
stored from the receivers and processing
included in the receiver design.
them using post-processing software.
REFERENCE SATELLITE
PRECISE POSITIONING SERVICE (PPS)
In a double-difference implementation,
The GNSS positioning, velocity and time
measurements are differenced between
service which is available on a continuous,
different satellites on one receiver in order
worldwide basis to users authorized by the
to cancel the correlated errors. Usually one
U.S. Department of Defense (typically using
satellite is chosen as the “reference”, and
P-code).
all others are differenced with it.
PSEUDORANDOM NOISE NUMBER
REFERENCE STATION
A number assigned by the GPS system
[See Base Station]
designers to a given set of pseudorandom
codes. Typically, a particular satellite RELATIVE BEARING
will keep its PRN (and hence its code Bearing relative to heading or to the vessel.
assignment) indefinitely, or at least for a
long period of time. It is commonly used as REMOTE STATION
a way to label a particular satellite. [See Rover Station]
PSEUDOLITE RESIDUAL
An Earth-based transmitter designed to In the context of measurement, the residual
mimic a satellite. is the difference between the measurement
predicted by the computed solution and the
PSEUDORANGE actual measurement.
The calculated range from the GNSS
receiver to the satellite determined ROUTE
by taking the difference between the A planned course of travel, usually
measured satellite transmit time and composed of more than one navigation leg.
the receiver time of measurement, and ROVER STATION
multiplying by the speed of light. Contains The GNSS receiver which does not
several sources of error. know its position and needs to receive
PSEUDORANGE MEASUREMENTS measurements from a base station to
Measurements made using one of the calculate differential GNSS positions.
pseudorandom codes on the GNSS signals. (The terms remote and rover are
They provide an unambiguous measure interchangeable.)

SATELLITE-BASED AUGMENTATION TRUE BEARING

SYSTEM (SBAS) Bearing relative to true north; compass
A type of geostationary satellite system bearing corrected for compass error.
that improves the accuracy, integrity and
TRUE HEADING
availability of the basic GNSS signals. This
Heading relative to true north.
includes WAAS, EGNOS and MSAS.
UNDULATION
SELECTIVE AVAILABILITY (SA)
The distance of the geoid above (positive)
The method used in the past by the United
or below (negative) the mathematical
States Department of Defense to control
reference ellipsoid (spheroid). Also known
access to the full accuracy achievable
as geoidal separation, geoidal undulation,
by civilian GPS equipment (generally by
geoidal height.
introducing timing and ephemeris errors).
UPDATE RATE
SIDEREAL DAY
The GNSS receiver specification which
A sidereal day is the rotation period of the
indicates the solution rate provided by the
Earth relative to the equinox and is equal
receiver when operating normally.
to one calendar day (the mean solar day)
minus approximately four minutes. UTC
[See Coordinated Universal Time]
SPHEROID
Sometimes known as ellipsoid; a perfect VDOP
mathematical figure which very closely Vertical Dilution of Precision [See Dilution of
approximates the geoid. Used as a surface Precision (DOP)]
of reference for geodetic surveys.
WAYPOINT
STANDARD POSITIONING SERVICE (SPS) A reference point on a track.
A positioning service made available by the
United States Department of Defense which WIDEBAND ANTENNA
is available to all GPS civilian users on a A GNSS antenna that is capable of receiving
continuous, worldwide basis (typically using multiple Global Navigation Satellite
C/A Code). Systems (GNSS) including GPS, GLONASS,
BeiDou and Galileo frequencies.
SPACE VEHICLE ID (SV)
Sometimes used as SVID. A unique number WIDE LANE
assigned to each satellite for identification A particular integer ambiguity value on
purposes. The ‘space vehicle’ is a GNSS one carrier phase range measurement
satellite. or double-difference carrier phase
observation when the difference of the L1
TDOP and L2 measurements is used. It is a carrier
Time Dilution of Precision [See Dilution of phase observable formed by subtracting L2
Precision (DOP)] from L1 carrier phase data: F’ = F1 - F2. The
corresponding wavelength is 86.2 cm.
TIME-TO-FIRST-FIX (TTFF)
The actual time required by a GNSS WORLD GEODETIC SYSTEM 1984 ( WGS84)
receiver to achieve a position solution. This An ellipsoid designed to fit the shape of the
specification will vary with the operating entire Earth as well as possible with a single
state of the receiver, the length of time since ellipsoid. It is often used as a reference on
the last position fix, the location of the last a worldwide basis, while other ellipsoids
fix, and the specific receiver design. are used locally to provide a better fit to
the Earth in a local region. GNSS uses the
TRACK MADE GOOD
centre of the WGS84 ellipsoid as the centre
The single resultant direction from a
of the GNSS ECEF reference frame.
point of departure to a point of arrival or
subsequent position at any given time; may Y-CODE
be considered synonymous with Course An encrypted form of P-code. Satellites
Made Good. transmit Y-Code in replace of P-code when
Anti-Spoofing is in effect. [See P-Code and
84 An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond Anti-Spoofing]
A PPENDI X C: STA NDA RD S A ND REFERENCES
This appendix provides links to companies and agencies engaged in activities related
to GNSS. Web site addresses are subject to change; however, they are accurate at the
time of this book’s publication.
Hexagon | VERIPOS
Contact your local VERIPOS representative first for more information.
To locate a dealer in your area or to resolve a technical problem, contact VERIPOS
directly.
1B Farburn Terrace
Dyce, Aberdeen, United Kingdom, AB21 7DT
Phone: +44 122 496 5800
E-mail: support@veripos.com
Web site:veripos.com
Other sources of information about GNSS:

Arinc: http://www.arinc.com
BeiDou Navigation Satellite System: http://en.beidou.gov.cn/
European Space Agency (Galileo and EGNOS information):

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Navigation
Geodetic Survey of Canada: http://www.geod.nrcan.gc.ca/
GPS System: http://www.gps.gov/
Indian Space Research Organisation

(IRNSS information): http://www.isro.org/index.aspx
National Geodetic Survey: http://www.ngs.noaa.gov
National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA): http://www.nmea.org
NAVSTAR GPS Operations: http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/gpsinfo.html
Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS): http://www.qzs.jp/en/
Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA): http://www.rtca.org
Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services (RTCM): http://www.rtcm.org
Russian Federal Space Agency (GLONASS information): http://glonass-iac.ru/en/
Signals Chart: http://www.novatel.com/signalschart
Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE): http://www.sae.org/

TerraStar: http://www.terrastar.net/
VERIPOS: http://www.veripos.com/

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What is GNSS?

What is GNSS?

What are the different GNSS systems discussed?

What are the different GNSS systems discussed?

FIRST EDITION

Published by Veripos Limited

Registered in Scotland under Company No. SC 359548

4 An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond

GNSS Signals............................................................. 15 GLOBAL NAVIGATION SATELLITE

An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond 5

GAGAN...................................................................... 49 Signal Blockage........................................................67

SDCM.......................................................................... 49 Constellation Failure...........................................67

Other SBAS Systems.................................... 49 CHAPTER 7

6 An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond

An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond 7

An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond 9

10 An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond

An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond 13

14 An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond

GNSS Segment Space Segment

GNSS Broadcast Signals

GNSS Broadcast Signals

g Master Contol Monitor

Figure 1 GNSS Segments

An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond 15

mapping. Today, GNSS is being used for GNSS Receivers

16 An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond

Basic GNSS Concepts

An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond 17

GNSS Constellations and Satellites

3 Reception Control Station

Figure 2 Basic GNSS 4 Computation 5 Application

The latest generation of GPS satellites crosecond (a millionth of a second), light

18 An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond

sight to some of the satellites is obstructed, high-accuracy position information for

An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond 19

Amplitude GPS Frequency Plan

1176.45 MHz 1227.60 MHz

Figure 4 GPS Frequency Plan

20 An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond

An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond 21

To obtain accurate position and time, Troposphere

22 An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond

Depending on the implementation, GNSS antenna. Gain can be defined as

1. CONSTELLATION AND SIGNALS Obstructed

Each GNSS constellation has its own signal Troposphere Direct

2. ANTENNA GAIN

An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond 23

Time t2, signal received by user

Figure 6 Determining Time of Propagation

4. ANTENNA BEAMWIDTH AND GAIN 5. PHASE CENTER STABILITY

24 An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond

center moves with respect to the satellite

An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond 25

The impedance of the antenna cable eration, a method of geometrically de-

26 An Introduction to GNSS and Beyond

Ranging to Second Satellite

Figure 9 Ranging to Second Satellite

DB’ distance DB’ distance

GNSS Satellite A Position 2 GNSS Satellite B

• Positioning, velocity and acceleration