ELECTRONIS NAVIAGATION

SYSYEMS
GPS CONT’D
 HOW THE BASIC LINE
MEASUREMENT IS OBTAINED IN A
GPS
 Calculating a Position
A GPS receiver calculates its position by measuring the
distance between the GPS receiver and the GPS
satellites it is tracking. The range (the range a receiver
calculates is actually a pseudorange, or an estimate of
range rather than a true range) or distance, is
measured as elapsed transit time. The position of each
satellite is known, and the satellites transmit their
positions as part of the "messages" they send via radio
waves. The GPS receiver on the ground is
the unknown point, and must compute its position
based on the information it receives from the satellites.
Measuring Distance to Satellites
The first step in measuring the distance between the
GPS receiver and a satellite requires measuring
the time it takes for the signal to travel from the
satellite to the receiver. Once the receiver knows
how much time has elapsed, it multiplies the travel
time of the signal times the speed of light (because
the satellite signals travel at the speed of light,
approximately 186,000 miles per second) to
compute the distance. Distance measurements to
four satellites are required to compute a 3-
dimensional (latitude, longitude and altitude)
position.
 In order to measure the travel time of the satellite
signal, the receiver has to know when the signal left
the satellite and when the signal reached the receiver.
Knowing when the signal reaches the receiver
is easy, the GPS receiver just "checks" its internal clock
when the signal arrives to see what time it is. But how
does it "know" when the signal left the satellite? All
GPS receivers are synchronized with the satellites so
they generate the same digital code at the same time.
When the GPS receiver receives a code from a
satellite, it can look back in its memory bank and
"remember" when it emitted the same code. This little
"trick" allows the GPS receiver to determine when the
signal left the satellite.
 Using the Distance Measurements to
Calculate a Position

Once the receiver has the

distance measurements, it's basically a problem
of geometry. If it knows where the four satellites
are, and how far it is from each satellite, it can
compute its location through trilateration.
EXAMPLE OF GPS TRILATERATION
1) The GPS receiver "locks on" to one satellite
and calculates the range to be 12,000 miles.
This fact helps narrow the receiver location
down, but it only tells us that we are
somewhere on a sphere which is centered on
the satellite and has a 12,000 mile radius.
Many of the locations on that sphere are not
on earth, but out in space.
 2) Now, consider that the receiver picks up a
signal from a second satellite and calculates
the range between the receiver and the
satellite to be 11,000 miles. That means we
are also somewhere on a sphere with an
11,000 mile radius with the second satellite at
the center. We must, therefore, be
somewhere where these two spheres
intersect. When the two spheres intersect, a
circle is formed, so we must be somewhere on
that circle.
3) If the receiver picks up another satellite, say
at 11,500 miles away, another sphere is
formed, and there are only two points where
the three spheres intersect.
Usually the receiver can discard one of the last
two points because it is nowhere near the
earth. So, we're left with one point which is
the location of the GPS receiver.
4) In practice, a fourth measurement is needed
to correct for clock error.
GPS ERRORS
There are many sources of possible errors that will degrade the accuracy
of positions computed by a GPS receiver. The travel time of GPS satellite
signals can be altered by atmospheric effects; when a GPS signal passes
through the ionosphere and troposphere it is refracted, causing the
speed of the signal to be different from the speed of a GPS signal in
space. Sunspot activity also causes interference with GPS signals. Another
source of error is measurement noise, or distortion of the signal caused
by electrical interference or errors inherent in the GPS receiver itself.
Errors in the ephemeris data (the information about satellite orbits) will
also cause errors in computed positions, because the satellites weren't
really where the GPS receiver "thought" they were (based on the
information it received) when it computed the positions. Small variations
in the atomic clocks (clock drift) on board the satellites can translate to
large position errors; a clock error of 1 nanosecond translates to 1 foot or
0.3 meters user error on the ground. Multipath effects arise when signals
transmitted from the satellites bounce off a reflective surface before
getting to the receiver antenna. When this happens, the receiver gets the
signal in straight line path as well as delayed path (multiple paths).
 DILUTION OF PRECISION (DOP)
Dilution of Precision (DOP) is a term used for expressing the
mathematical quality of a solution. DOP can exist in one dimension
only. Examples are; time DOP (TDOP); horizontal DOP; vertical DOP
and geometric DOP, referring to SV geometry But it is the position
dilution of precision, PDOP, that is of most value to a navigator. PDOP
in the GPS has an optimum value of unity. If the figure is higher the
solution is degraded (diluted). The PDOP will approach unity when a
solution is made with a satellite overhead and three other satellites
evenly spaced at low elevation angles. Alternatively, if all satellites
are in the same plane, PDOP would be near infinity and the
navigation fix solution would be unsound. The PDOP figure has a
direct bearing on user range error (URE). For example, for a URE of
50 m and a PDOP of unity, the best fix accuracy is 50 m. If the PDOP
is 2, the accuracy drops to 100 m. Modern GPS receivers may be
programmed to reject a position solution if the PDOP level is high.
 Geometric Dilution of Precision (GDOP)
Satellite geometry can affect the accuracy of GPS
positioning. This effect is called Geometric
Dilution of Precision (GDOP). GDOP refers to
where the satellites are in relation to one another,
and is a measure of the quality of the satellite
configuration. It can magnify or lessen other GPS
errors. In general, the wider the angle between
satellites, the better the measurement. Most GPS
receivers select the satellite constellation that will
give the least uncertainty, the best satellite
geometry.
GPS receivers usually report the quality of satellite geometry
in terms of Position Dilution of Precision, or PDOP. PDOP
refers to horizontal (HDOP) and vertical (VDOP)
measurements (latitude, longitude and altitude). You can
check the quality of the satellite configuration your receiver
is currently using by looking at the PDOP value. A low DOP
indicates a higher probability of accuracy, and a high DOP
indicates a lower probability of accuracy. A PDOP of 4 or less
is excellent, a PDOP between 5 AND 8 is acceptable, and a
PDOP of 9 or greater is poor. Another term you may
encounter is TDOP, or Time Dilution of Precision. TDOP refers
to satellite clock offset. On a GPS receiver you can set a
parameter known as the PDOP mask. This will cause the
receiver to ignore satellite configurations that have a PDOP
higher than the limit you specify.