Curriculum vitae

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Ciuban Sebastian
Street Bogdan Voda, nb.3A/18, 430193 Baia Mare (Romania)
0040 741403760
[email protected]
Sex Male | Date of birth 07/03/1992 | Nationality Romanian

POSITION

Editorial board / reviewer of The Journal of Geological Resources

and Engineering

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

01/10/201130/06/2015

Bachelor Degree in Geodetic Engineering

University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest, Faculty of Land Reclamation
and Enviornmental Engineering, Bucharest (Romania)
Subjects covered:
- Geodesy and Satellite Geodesy
- Topography
- Photogrammetry
- Remote Sensing

21/07/201431/07/2014
ESA/JRC International Summer School on GNSS 2014, Ostrava (Czech Republic)
I have completed the 2 ECTS Ph.D. course with the following content:
- Basics of Satellite Navigation
- Frequencies, Signals and Communication Techniques
- Signal processing, GNSS Receivers and Positioning
- Laboratory and Hands-on Exercises
- Ionospheric and Tropospheric Effects on GNSS
- GNSS Interference Mitigation and Detection
- GNSS in a Sensor Integration Environment
- Leadership and Engineering People Processes and Systems
- Business, IPR and Patent Issues
- GNSS and SBAS Evolution
Related document(s): [ESA] Certificate of participation.pdf
01/07/2015Present

Master of Science in Global Navigation Satellite Systems

Ecole Nationale de lAviation Civile, Toulouse (France)
Related document(s): CIUBAN_ADMISSION_CERTIFICATE.pdf

PERSONAL SKILLS
Mother tongue(s)

8/7/15

Romanian

European Union, 2002-2015 | http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu

Page 1 / 19

Curriculum vitae
Other language(s)

English

Ciuban Sebastian

UNDERSTANDING

SPEAKING

WRITING

Listening

Reading

Spoken interaction

Spoken production

C1

C1

C1

C1

C1

Cambdrige CAE
Levels: A1 and A2: Basic user - B1 and B2: Independent user - C1 and C2: Proficient user
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

Digital competence

A good level of knowledge in using: Matlab, gLAB, Microsoft Office Package (Word, Excel, Power
Point, Access), AutoCAD, ArcGIS.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Honours and awards

- Winner of the Student Project Work Competition held at ESA / JRC International Summerschool on
GNSS 2014
- Second Prize at International Student Symposium "IF IM CAD" 2014 held at Faculty of Land
Reclamation on Environmental Engineering
Related document(s): [ESA] 1st prize.pdf , [Symposium] 2nd prize.pdf

Publications

- Estimating the GNSS broadcast ephemeris error - Paper presented at International Student
Symposium IF IM CAD 2014 held at Faculty of Land Reclamation on Environmental Engineering
- MATLAB based student-oriented platform for processing and analyzing GNSS data - Paper
presented at the National Conference GeoPreVi 2015 at Faculty of Geodesy Bucharest.
Related document(s): Estimating the GNSS broadcast ephemeris error - paper.pdf , [English]
GeoPreVi - Paper.pdf

Memberships

Student Member of the Royal Institute of Navigation

Related document(s): [RIN] Student Member.pdf

Hobbies

- The Japanese Martial Art Kyokushin (have been practicing since 2010)
- Socialising with friends
- Reading fiction and history books (regarding both of the World Wars)
- Computing

ANNEXES
[ESA] Certificate of participation.pdf
[ESA] 1st prize.pdf
[Symposium] 2nd prize.pdf
Estimating the GNSS broadcast ephemeris error - paper.pdf
[RIN] Student Member.pdf
CIUBAN_ADMISSION_CERTIFICATE.pdf
[English] GeoPreVi - Paper.pdf

8/7/15

European Union, 2002-2015 | http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu

Page 2 / 19

European skills passport

Ciuban Sebastian

[ESA] Certificate of participation.pdf

8/7/15

European Union, 2002-2015 | http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu

Page 3 / 19

European skills passport

Ciuban Sebastian

[ESA] 1st prize.pdf

8/7/15

European Union, 2002-2015 | http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu

Page 4 / 19

European skills passport

Ciuban Sebastian

[Symposium] 2nd prize.pdf

8/7/15

European Union, 2002-2015 | http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu

Page 5 / 19

European skills passport

Ciuban Sebastian

Estimating the GNSS broadcast ephemeris error - paper.pdf

[DO NOT EDIT THIS LINE, WILL BE COMPLETED LATER BY SYMPOSIUM STAFF WITH INFORMATION]
[DO NOT EDIT THIS LINE, WILL BE COMPLETED LATER BY SYMPOSIUM STAFF WITH INFORMATION]

ESTIMATING THE GNSS BROADCAST EPHEMERIS ERROR

Sebastian CIUBAN
Scientific Coordinator: Vlad Gabriel OLTEANU
University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest, Faculty of Land
Reclamation and Enviornmental Engineering, 59 Mrti Blvd, District 1, 011464, Bucharest,
Romania, Phone: +4021.318.25.64, Fax: + 4021.318.25.67, Email: [email protected]
Corresponding author email: [email protected]
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to compare the position of a certain GNSS satellite with respect to an ECEF (Earth Centered
Earth Fixed) frame, obtained from broadcast ephemeris and precise post-processed orbits. To accomplish this, RINEX
(Receiver Independent Exchange Format) and SP3 (Standard Product) files were downloaded from the International
GNSS Service (IGS) corresponding to the same day.
Furthermore, in order to assess the error of the broadcast ephemeris, several routines were developed under MATLAB
environment, with the aim of importing the data, comparing the orbits and plotting the results.
Key words: GNSS, precise orbits, ephemerides.

INdependent EXchange format) navigation file

(baia0710.13n) has been used (Figure 1).
INTRODUCTION
Satellite PNT (positioning, navigation and
timing) was born during the XXth century. At
the beginning, GNSS (Global Navigation
Satellite Systems) were developed for military
purposes, but now have various uses for the
civil segment. Domains such as aerial, naval
and terrestrial navigation benefited the most
becoming dependent because of the efficient
solutions that the satellite technology provides.
To obtain the right position and find the
solution for the navigation problem is
mandatory to know (with certain accuracty) the
position of the GNSS satellites which may be
obtained with the aid of the broadcasted
ephemeris and the clock corrections transmitted
by the system. These data is part of the
navigation message. Any error in the GNSS
satellites coordinates or satellite clock will
affect the positioning accuracy.

Figure 1. RINEX data block for satellite 1

The data blocks of the RINEX file have the

required parameters that define an orbit:
a) Keplerian parameters (Figure 2)
a square root of the semi-major axis;
e orbit eccentricity;
i0 initial inclination;
M0 mean anomaly;
- longitude of ascending node ;
- argument of perigee.

COMPUTING THE SATELLITE ORBIT

To compute a GNSS satellite orbit or position
at a certain moment with respect to an ECEF
frame, the data from a RINEX (Reciever

8/7/15

Figure 2. Keplerian elements

(satelliteorbitdetermination.com)

European Union, 2002-2015 | http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu

Page 6 / 19

European skills passport

Ciuban Sebastian

[DO NOT EDIT THIS LINE, WILL BE COMPLETED LATER BY SYMPOSIUM STAFF WITH INFORMATION]
[DO NOT EDIT THIS LINE, WILL BE COMPLETED LATER BY SYMPOSIUM STAFF WITH INFORMATION]

b)

Perturbation parameters
dot rate of change of right ascension;
n delta n;
idot rate of change of inclination;
Cuc, Cus, Crc, Crs, Cic, Cis correction
coefficients to the argument of perigee,
orbit radius and inclination.
(http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/elements/)
To obtain the GNSS satellite coordinates from
the navigation message the following
algorithms must be respected :
Compute the time tk from the
ephemerides reference epoch toe:

Compute the mean anomaly at tk:

(
)

= gravitational constant
Solve (iteratively) the eccentric
anomaly

Compute the true anomaly vk:

Compute the argument of latitude uk:

(
)
(
)
Compute the radial distance rk:
(
)
(
)
(
)
Compute the longitude of the ascending
node k:
(
)
E= earths angular velocity
Compute the coordinates in the ECEF
frame:
[

)[ ]

R1 and R3 are rotation matrices

After these steps, the results will be compared
with corresponding data from the precise postprocessed orbits contained in the SP3 (Standard
Product) file (igs17312.sp3).
Furthermore, as the SP3 file provides satellite
positions at a 15 minutes rate, for other epochs,
an interpolation process is necesessary. A 10th
order polynomial interpolation was used as this

8/7/15

is sufficient to provide centimeter accuracy

(Sanz Subirana & Juan Zornoza, 2013).
( )

ROUTINES DEVELOPED UNDER

MATLAB
MATLAB is a high-level programming
language for numerical computation, and
visualization. Using this environment, tasks
such as analyzing data, developing functions,
plotting results, and many other applications
are successfully completed (mathworks.com).
In order to accomplish the purpose of this
paper, several functions, described below, were
developed:
- readRINEXnav.m imports the data from
the RINEX navigation file (baia0710.13n)
and it returns a matrix containing the
broadcasted ephemerides.
- extr.m it receives as input data, a matrix
with broadcasted ephemerides, and the
PRN number of the GNSS satellite for
which the orbit will be computed. And it
will return the ephemerides only for that
satellite
- satdata.m this function will compute the
GNSS satellite orbit with respect to an
ECEF frame
- plot_orbit.m is an improved function
which uses satdata.m Its inputs are: the
matrix with extracted ephemerides, the
period of interest (toe1, toe2- time of
ephemeris) in seconds, and the increment.
- readSP3.m which will return the ECEF
coordinates in km (X, Y, Z) and the
corresponding time in seconds of the
current day for the GNSS satellite in cause
from the SP3 file (igs17312.sp3)
- extract_sp3.m will return the ECEF
coordinates and corresponding time for a
certain satellite.
- interpolare.m the function will
interpolate the track of the satellite in its
orbit at a given time.
A general script, namely the s_orbit.m file,
involving all the functions described above,
computes and plots the orbit from the RINEX
navigation file and from the SP3 file.

European Union, 2002-2015 | http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu

Page 7 / 19

European skills passport

Ciuban Sebastian

[DO NOT EDIT THIS LINE, WILL BE COMPLETED LATER BY SYMPOSIUM STAFF WITH INFORMATION]
[DO NOT EDIT THIS LINE, WILL BE COMPLETED LATER BY SYMPOSIUM STAFF WITH INFORMATION]

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The plotted values describe the broadcasted

partial orbit (Figure 4).

The data files (RINEX and SP3) used to

accomplish the purpose of this paper were
downloaded from the International GNSS
Service (http://igs.bkg.bund.de) corresponding
to the same day (11.03.2013).
As inputs, the GPS SV 12 broadcast ephemeris
and post-processed orbits were used.

Figure 4. Broadcasted partial orbit

As we expected , the coordinates obtained from

RINEX navigation message compared with
those from SP3 file contain errors, which are
presented in Table 2.
Figure 3. Complete precise orbit
No.

The first result was the complete precise orbit

of the satellite obtained from the SP3 file. Its
position was computed every 15 minutes
(Figure 3). This will be used as reference data
and it will be compared with the positions
obtained from the broadcast ephemeris.
The next phase involved the computation of the
partial orbit from the navigation message with
respect to ECEF frame according to the
algorithm presented before. The GPS satellite
position was calculated for 8 epochs, from
toe1=252000 (seconds of GPS week) to
toe2=258300, every 15 minutes (Table 1).
Table 1. ECEF coordinates of GPS satellite 12 at
different epochs
1.0e+07*
No.
toe(sec)
X[km]
Y[km]
Z[km]
1
252000
1.1286
1.9896
1.3650
2
252900
1.1340
2.1322
1.1267
3
253800
1.1418
2.2466
0.8691
4
254700
1.1482
2.3315
0.5967
5
255600
1.1491
2.3863
0.3142
6
256500
1.1407
2.4111
0.0263
7
254700
1.1191
2.4074
-0.2620
8
258300
1.0811
2.3769
-0.5458

8/7/15

Table 2. Errors between RINEX-SP3

toe(sec)
x[m]
y[m]
z[m]

252000

0.5190

-0.7292

0.5721

252900

0.4597

-0.5377

0.5169

253800

0.4168

-0.4159

0.4562

254700

0.3620

-0.3355

0.3818

255600

0.2644

-0.2653

0.2736

256500

0.1003

-0.1867

0.1086

254700

-0.1434

-0.0985

-0.1374

258300

-0.4617

-0.0276

-0.4804

For a better understanding the evolution of

errors over time, the linear error have been
computed (Table 3) and plotted (Figure 5).
Table 3. Spatial distance (RINEX vs SP3)
toe (sec)
Spatial dist. [m]
252000
1.0623
252900
0.8762
253800
0.7449
254700
0.6240
255600
0.4638
256500
0.2382
254700
0.2217
258300
0.6668

European Union, 2002-2015 | http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu

Page 8 / 19

European skills passport

Ciuban Sebastian

[DO NOT EDIT THIS LINE, WILL BE COMPLETED LATER BY SYMPOSIUM STAFF WITH INFORMATION]
[DO NOT EDIT THIS LINE, WILL BE COMPLETED LATER BY SYMPOSIUM STAFF WITH INFORMATION]

enough for real time navigation and

positioning. This represents the basic concept
for GNSS measurements in real time.
REFERENCES
European Space Agency, 2013, GNSS Data Processing
Book: Volume I and Volume II.
Online documentation:
[http://igs.bkg.bund.de/]
[http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/elements]
[http://www.mathworks.com]
[http://satelliteorbitdetermination.com]

Figure 5. Linear error over time

Also, a comparison has been made between the

precise orbit computed every 15 minutes and
interpolated orbit computed every 5 seconds,
both belonging to the same period of time
(Figure 6).

Figure 6. Precise orbit vs Interpolated orbit

CONCLUSIONS
Satellite based positioning and navigation are
affected by various errors that occur during
these processes. The differences between
broadcasted and post-processed orbits are small

8/7/15

European Union, 2002-2015 | http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu

Page 9 / 19

European skills passport

Ciuban Sebastian

[RIN] Student Member.pdf

8/7/15

European Union, 2002-2015 | http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu

Page 10 / 19

European skills passport

Ciuban Sebastian

CIUBAN_ADMISSION_CERTIFICATE.pdf

8/7/15

European Union, 2002-2015 | http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu

Page 11 / 19

European skills passport

Ciuban Sebastian

[English] GeoPreVi - Paper.pdf

MATLAB based student-oriented platform for processing and analyzing GNSS data
Sebastian Ciuban, Scientific Coordinator: Vlad Gabriel Olteanu

Received:
/ Accepted:
/ Published:
Revista de Geodezie, Cartografie i Cadastru/ UGR

Abstract
At the time of writing, there is a major lack of cost-free
Romanian language based available tools for processing
GNSS observations, which could serve the students in the
field to analyze and better understand the principles of
satellite positioning. The aim of this paper is to present a
first draft of a MATLAB based platform for such use. Its
main purpose is to provide students at national level from
the field of surveying and geodesy or other related domains,
the basis for analyzing GNSS positioning principles,
sources of error, etc. Through an easy-to-understand
interface, the user selects and processes data from multiple
file types, with different modeling and processing options.
Furthermore the user gets to graphically analyze the results
in order to draw his own conclusions about the data / model
/ option used, and thus better interprets and understands the
results.
As a first version, the platform only allows processing GPS
data. Further improvements which will use other satellite
constellations (GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou) will be
brought by future diploma candidates which will continue
the development of this project.
Keywords
GNSS, application, positioning,
processing.

MATLAB, analysis,

1. Introduction
XXth century marked a new age regarding positioning,
navigation and timing with the help of artificial satellites.
At the foundations of this concept stood the proposal of
William Guier and George Wiefenbach, in 1957, to compute
the orbit of the first satellite launched (Sputnik) using the
received frequency from its signal taking into account the
Doppler effect. Since then, developing the present Global
Navigation Satellite Systems was just a matter of time [1].
In the beginning of the development the main purposes were
military, but now they have various uses for the civil
segment. Different scientific, industrial, civil and military
applications benefited from the efficient solutions that the
satellite technology provides. At the moment there are
several global satellite systems for PNT (positioning,
navigation and timing) which are fully operational (GPS,
GLONASS) or being in development (GALILEO, BEIDOU).
An important program which needs special mention is
GALILEO, which is developed by the European Union, will
be the first Global Navigation Satellite System under civil
control. This feature is the main attribute taking into account
that GPS, GLONASS and BEIDOU are under military
management. Furthermore, there will not be any restrictions
in using the full capabilities of the EUs satellite navigation
system.
GALILEO will provide a series of positioning services with
different characteristics: Open Service, Commercial Service,
Public Regulated Service, Search and Rescue. Its fully
operational capabilities are expected to be reached by 2020
[2].

2. Understanding GNSS principles

Sebastian Ciuban
University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Bucharest,
Faculty of Land Reclamation and Environmental Engineering
Address: 59 Marasti Blvd, District 1, 011464, Bucharest, Romania
E-mail: [email protected]

8/7/15

The numerous types of applications covering the mass

market, professional and safety-critical domains based on
satellite radio navigation systems require an in-depth
understanding of their principles for proper development and
usage.
Taking into account the evolution of GNSS and their wide
employment, it is necessary to be aware of the positioning,
navigation, timing principles and the source of errors that
affect their quality. This can be achieved through easy-to-

European Union, 2002-2015 | http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu

Page 12 / 19

European skills passport

Ciuban Sebastian

Sebastian Ciuban

understand applications, such as gLAB, SISNETlab,

SBASimulator which will be short-presented below:
- gLAB is a software tool suite developed under European
Space Agency (ESA) Contract by the research group of
Astronomy and Geomatics (gAGE), as an interactive
educational multipurpose package to process and analyze
GNSS data [3].
- SISNETlab is a software that has been developed by the
European Space Agency (ESA) engineers as a tool that
allows users to quickly and easily asses the performance of
various SBAS (Satellite Based Augmentation Systems).
This software serves a wide user of community of students,
research scientist, Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and
engineers involved in the exploitation of SBAS systems [4].
- SBASimulator represents a simulation software
developed by ESA and IGUASSU Software Systems. The
main purpose of this application was to allow understanding
and learning SBAS systems being dedicated to everybody,
with an interest in Satellite Based Augmentation Systems
[4].
It can be noticed that relevant institutes are giving special
attention regarding the development of educational
applications in the GNSS field. The need of well trained
specialists is of utmost importance, both at the Romanian
and European level, and these initiatives represent the first
step in forming them.
The major lack of cost-free Romanian language based tools
for processing GNSS observations represents the main
purpose for the development of this project, together with
providing students in the field, at national level, a proper
way to analyze and understand the principles of satellite
positioning through an easy-to-understand application.

Import Date (Import Data)

Configurare (Configuration)
Procesare (Processing)
Analiza (Analysis)
Export.

3. MATLAB based application

MATLAB (MATrix LABoratory) is a high-level
programming language developed by Mathworks. Its key
features allow the users to compute numerical algorithms
and visualize the results. Having built-in tools for
programming applications with custom interfaces represents
a significant advantage [5].
In order to provide a MATLAB based-platform for
processing and analyzing GNSS data, the required core
functions were created and assembled into a first draft of
the user interface.
As a first version, the platform only allows processing GPS
data, but it will be improved to accept data from other
satellite constellations (Galileo, GLONASS, Beidou). The
applications features will be described below together with
the GUI (Graphical User Interface).

3.1 Overview of the interface

The platforms GUI has a main menu with 5 sub-menus
(Fig. 1.1) which allow the user to access them in order to
proceed with the processing and analysis of the GNSS data.
The 5 sub menus are as follows: (a more detailed
description and functionality will be covered later in this
paper):

8/7/15

Fig. 1.1 Main Menu

A.

Import Date (Import Data)

This window (Fig. 1.2) provides the user with options to

import different types of data for processing and analysis
(Receiver Independent Exchange Format and Standard
Product 3 files):
- RINEX Navigation Message containing the broadcasted
ephemeris of the satellites from a constellation.
- RINEX Observation which has the information regarding
the measurements made by the receiver (code, phase,
Doppler, etc.)
- SP3 represents the format file with precise ephemeris
(position/clock errors of GNSS satellites).

European Union, 2002-2015 | http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu

Page 13 / 19

European skills passport

Ciuban Sebastian

MATLAB based student-oriented platform for processing and analyzing GNSS data

Fig. 1.2 Import Data

B. Configurare (Configuration)
Accessing this section (Fig 1.3) will prompt the
configuration options to set or unset different source of
errors or corrections applied, in order to highlight and study
their behavior.

Fig. 1.3 Configuration

The modeling options that can be studied are the following:

- Ionosfera (Ionosphere): The ionosphere is a dispersive
environment (frequency dependent), that extend itself from
70 km until more than 1000 km above the surface of the
Earth. Electromagnetic signals that are emitted through this
layer of atmosphere are influenced by the free electrons
released after the ionization of existing gas particles by the
Suns UV rays. During the propagation of the GNSS signals
the ionosphere produces an advance of the phase of the
signals carrier and a delay of the code. In this application
the Klobuchar model was implemented in order to correct
the pseudoranges. The ionospheric refraction can cause
errors that reach 10-15 m and can be eliminated by the
multi-frequency receivers [6].
- Troposfera (Troposphere): Represents the lowest layer of
Earths atmosphere and it contains approximately 80 % of
the atmospheres mass. The troposphere is a non dispersive
environment for the GNSS signals taking in consideration
their frequencies [7]. This means that the carrier phase and
code measurements are affected by the same delay. To
compute the tropospheric correction, two models were
adopted (Hopfield and Collins). Unlike ionospheric
refraction, the tropospheric delay cant be removed by using
multi-frequency receivers [6].
- Erori instrumentale (Total Group Delay): This delay is
caused by the antennas and cables used in the GNSS
receivers. Both code and carrier measurements are affected
by these instrumental delays. For the single-frequency

8/7/15

receivers the TGD can be extracted from the navigation

message broadcasted by the satellites. In the case of multifrequency users the instrumental delays cancel [6].
- Ceas satelit (Relativistic Clock Correction): At the base of
every Global Navigation Satellite System is the accurate
measurement of the time that the signal travels from the
satellite to a receiver. Taking in consideration the rate of
advance of the clock placed in the satellite and the one in the
receiver, there will be a difference between them due to
different gravitational potential and to the relative speed
between them. Neglecting this correction range errors up to
13 m and vertical errors over 20 m can occur [6].
- Erori relativiste (Relativistic path range correction): This
correction is also known as Shapiro signal propagation delay.
This effect is taken in consideration only for high-accuracy
positioning [6].

C.

Procesare (Processing)

The processing window contains 3 different tabs offering the

user possibilities to choose the proper processing method for
the receiver data and orbital data:
- Date Receptor (Receiver Data) tab provides options
regarding the processing and measurement method used (Fig
1.4.1). The user can choose between MCMMP (Least
Squares Method) and Filtru Kalman (Kalman Filter) in order
to compute the receivers position. At the time of writing this
paper, the application computes the data from static receivers
using Standard Point Positioning (SPP). For kinematic
measurement method and Precise Point Positioning (PPP),
further improvements will be made (as specified earlier, this
application is in a continuous development).

Fig. 1.4 Processing (Receiver Data)

- Orbita Precisa (Precise Orbit) tab (Fig 1.4.2) will allow the
user to choose the satellite and time parameters for
computing and plotting its orbit at different epochs. The
precise ephemeris contains the satellites coordinates with
respect to ECEF (Earth Centered Earth Fixed) frame and
their clock errors at a 15 minutes rate, for other epochs an
interpolation process being necessary. A 10th order
polynomial interpolation was implemented in order to
achieve centimeter accuracy [6].

European Union, 2002-2015 | http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu

Page 14 / 19

European skills passport

Ciuban Sebastian

Sebastian Ciuban

Fig. 1.7 Analysis

Fig. 1.5 Processing (Precise Orbit)

- Orbita Difuzata (Broadcasted Orbit) (Fig. 1.4.3) is

similar with the previous tab. The last 2 tabs were created
with the purpose of studying the difference between the
orbit computed from precise and broadcasted ephemeris.
The user can choose to see the difference graphically (plots)
or numerically with the help of Export section, which will
be presented later.

The second tab (Fig 1.5.2), Analiza Comparativa

(Comparative Analysis) is useful for studying the difference
between two sets of processed data. The importance of
considering the error sources (ionosphere, troposphere, TGD)
and the relativistic corrections (relativistic clock correction
and relativistic path range correction) in the process of
position and time estimation is emphasized. Horizontal and
vertical positioning errors can be studied in this window.

Fig. 1.6 Processing (Broadcasted Orbit)

Fig. 1.8 Comparative Analysis

D.

E. Export

Analiza (Analysis)

Analysis window allows the user to graphically interpret the

results of the processing that has been made in order to draw
his/her own conclusions about the data / model used. Two
tabs are available for accomplishing this step.
Analiza (Analysis) tab (Fig 1.5.1) has 6 options regarding
the graphical plots that can be made:
- Eroare planimetrica (Horizontal positioning error) and
Eroare altimetrica (Vertical positioning error) will highlight
the errors for X,Y and Z coordinates, with respect to ECEF
frame, over the time of measurements.
- PDOP (Position Dilution of Precision), HDOP (Horizontal
Dilution of Precision) and VDOP (Vertical Dilution of
Precision) plots contain the graphical data regarding the
geometry of the observed satellites. It is important to
mention that the dilution of precision affects the accuracy
with which the receivers can determine position and time.

8/7/15

After the computation of the data one can choose what type
of data is relevant for export , according to the available
options, which are (Fig 1.6):
- Rezultate procesare (Processing results) will export the
receivers position in a .CSV (Comma Separated Value)
format which can be opened with Microsoft Excel. This file
can be later imported in Analiza Comparativa (Comparative
Analysis) together with other processing results in which a
model / option from Configurare (Configuration) has been set
/ unset for further studies.
- Orbita Precisa (Precise Orbit) coordinates with respect to
ECEF frame or the results of the 10 th order polynomial
interpolation can be exported in .CSV format for numerical
analysis.
- Orbita Difuzata (Broadcasted Orbit), like the precise one
can be treated for numerical studies, for example,
highlighting the differences between precise and broadcasted
epehemeris.
- KML (Keyhole Markup Language) exporting format is
available for precise and broadcasted orbits. This option
allows importing the orbital data in Google Earth for a more

European Union, 2002-2015 | http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu

Page 15 / 19

European skills passport

Ciuban Sebastian

MATLAB based student-oriented platform for processing and analyzing GNSS data
detailed visualization of the satellites orbit.

Fig. 1.9 Export

4. Results and discussion

Fig. 3 Broadcasted partial orbit

To demonstrate the functionalities of the application

presented in this paper, RINEX and SP3 data files were
downloaded from the International GNSS Service [8]
corresponding to the same day (25.02.2015). The data are
from the permanent receiver placed in Bacau city.

4.1 Orbit computation and comparison

As mentioned, studies regarding the difference between
precise and broadcasted orbits can be made. As an example,
the GPS Space Vehicle (SV) 4 orbit has been computed
using precise and broadcast ephemeris.

The errors between the orbit computed from RINEX

navigation message and those from SP3 file can also be
analyzed numerically (Table 1).
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6

toe(sec)
295200
296100
297000
297900
298800
299700

x [m]
0.1039
-0.2685
-0.6121
-0.9332
-1.2479
-1.5787

y [m]
0.1199
0.1559
0.1990
0.2447
0.2816
0.2988

z [m]
-0.6771
-0.7115
-0.6661
-0.5576
-0.4011
-0.2015

Table 1. Errors between RINEX-SP3

4.2

Processing results

After processing the receivers position using the navigation

message (baca0560.15n) and the corresponding observation
file (baca0560.15o) we obtain the following plots:

Fig. 2 Complete precise orbit

The complete precise orbit (Fig. 2 ) of SV 4 was obtained

from the SP3 file. Its position was computed every 15
minutes. It will be compared with the positions obtained
from the broadcasted ephemeris. For this example, the
partial orbit from the navigation message with respect to
ECEF frame, was computed in 6 epochs (Fig. 3).
Fig. 4 X and Y error over time (Full Model)

8/7/15

European Union, 2002-2015 | http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu

Page 16 / 19

European skills passport

Ciuban Sebastian

Sebastian Ciuban

In both plots (Fig.4 and Fig. 5) one can observe that errors
vary within few meters even with the sources of error and
relativistic corrections taken into account. The results are as
expected for Standard Point Positioning (SPP) accuracy.
The geometry of the observed satellites (Fig. 6) and the
precisions resulted from the estimation of the receivers
position (Fig. 7) can be graphically analyzed.
Also a comparison has been made between data processed
with all modeling options taken in consideration and those
processed without taking into account the following:
Relativistic Clock Correction (Fig. 8), Ionosphere (Fig. 9),
Total Group Delay (Fig. 10) and ignoring all available
sources of error (Fig. 11).

Fig. 5 Vertical Positioning error (Full Model)

Fig. 8 Neglecting Relativistic clock correction

As expected, neglecting the relativistic clock correction will

cause errors in the horizontal positioning up to 16 m.
Fig. 6 Position Dilution of Precision

Fig. 9 Neglecting the ionospheric influence

Fig. 7 Accuracy

8/7/15

The errors caused by the influence of ionosphere are small in

this case. We can conclude that the solar activity was low

European Union, 2002-2015 | http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu

Page 17 / 19

European skills passport

Ciuban Sebastian

MATLAB based student-oriented platform for processing and analyzing GNSS data
during the measurement session. And this verifies the fact
that the observations have been made during the end of
winter (25 February 2015).

4.3 Exporting orbit in KML format

Keyhole Markup Language (KML) is a format to display
geographic data in an Earth Browser, such as Google Earth,
Google Maps [9].
Exporting orbital data computed from precise or broadcasted
ephemeris as KML format is available from the Export
section. This feature allows the user to understand better the
orbits and the behavior of satellites on them.
At the moment, the orbit of a satellite, specified by the user,
can be visualized being computed in Earth Centered Earth
Fixed frame (Fig. 12). This means that the coordinate axes
are co-rotating with the Earth in its diurnal rotation and it is
used to describe the receivers position. To obtain the orbit as
an ellipse, the satellite coordinates must be computed in
Conventional Celestial Reference System (CRS), feature
which will be implemented in near future.

Fig. 10 Neglecting Total Group Delay (TGD)

The Total Group Delay correction is extracted from the

navigation message broadcasted by the satellites.
Neglecting this effect will cause errors in position up to few
meters.

Fig. 12 SV 4 orbit exported as KML

5. Conclusions

Fig. 11 Neglecting all sources of errors

As it can be observed in Fig. 11, not taking into account the

influence of all available effects in the process of the
estimation of the receivers position will cause errors up to
tens of meters in the horizontal plane. The importance of
applying corrections for the sources of error is emphasized
and we can easily conclude that one cant neglect them
even if the analysis or studies limit for Standard Point
Positioning method, in order to achieve meter level
accuracy. Taking in consideration that this application is
under continuous development, as mentioned, in near future
Precise Point Positioning (PPP) will be available.

8/7/15

Satellite PNT (Positioning, Navigation and Timing) plays a

significant role in every major domain of human activity.
Understanding the principles of how this technologies
function will only improve their development and their usage
in both research and production domains.
The process of education can be eased through GNSS related
applications, as the one presented in this paper. Its current
features have been proved to be functional and reliable for
educational purposes. Further improvements will be brought
by future diploma students in order to maintain the
development of this platform.

References
[1] The Legacy of Transit: Guest Editors Introduction by
Vincent L. Pisacane, Johns Hopkins APL Technical

European Union, 2002-2015 | http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu

Page 18 / 19

European skills passport

Ciuban Sebastian

Sebastian Ciuban

Digest, Vol 19, Number 1, 1998

[2] Regulation (EU) 1285/2013 of the European Parliament
and of the Council on the implementation &
exploitation of European Satellite Navigation Systems
[3] www.gage.upc.edu
[4] www.navipedia.com
[5] www.mathworks.com
[6] European Space Agency, GNSS Data Processing Book:
Volume I and Volume II.
[7] Sisteme de pozionare global, Johan Neuner, MATRIX
ROM Bucureti 2000
[8] http://igs.bkg.bund.de
[9] http://developers.google.com

8/7/15

European Union, 2002-2015 | http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu

Page 19 / 19