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2010BUYERSGUIDE
VOL 21 | NO 10
October 2010
Vol. 21, Number 10
gpsworld.com
» cover storY
innovation
Record, Replay, Rewind 28
Testing GNSS Receivers with Record and
Playback Techniques
Blogs from ION-GNSS 2010 Check out These Recent Tech Talk Blogs
GPS World again provided exclusive live coverage of the Go to www.gpsworld.com/techtalk
ION-GNSS Conference, September 21–24 in Portland, Oregon.
Visit gpsworld.com/ion for all the news and blogs. Here is one Can GPS Modernization Be More Effective and Less Costly?
excerpt: By James L. Farrell
A response to the August Expert Advice column
Military Boards “Remembering. And Resolving” by the mysterious
Defense Editor Don Jewell
Masked Engineer.
This year I have noticed a plethora
of MIL STD (military standard) Context-Aware Navigation Algorithms
boards that are about the size to By Jussi Collin
fit perfectly in a PCMIA slot. And
Assume that your mobile phone knows your mode of
none more intriguing than the MB
transportation (stationary, walking, riding a car, and so
100 Compact dual-frequency RTK
Don Jewell on) automatically. How could navigation algorithms take
OEM board from Ashtech. Their
advantage of this information?
new board fits this year’s theme
of cooperation among current and Tracking SVN-62 with a Triple-Frequency Receiver
future PNT providers in that it is By Senlin Peng, Yanhong Kou, and Jade Morton
GLONASS-capable. You may be Following the successful launch of the GPS Block IIF
aware that GLONASS has never SVN-62 satellite on May 28, 2010, the Software GPS
been able to reach FOC or Full Receiver Laboratory at Miami University has been
Operational Capability with their actively monitoring and analyzing the satellite signals.
satellites due to the extremely This article presents the tracking results of 300 seconds
short life span of their satellites. of L1, L2C, and L5 signals.
Richard Langley But the Russian Space Federation
seems to have the longevity
issues under control these
days, at least according to their Hottest Pages @ GPSWorld.com
spokesman, Dr. Sergey Revnivykh, August 31 – September 30, 2010
who claims — and I hope he is
Air Force Reorganization May Drastically
correct — that GLONASS will
reach FOC with 24-plus working
1 Affect GPS Program
satellites on orbit in December of
this year. 2 GPS Flexible Power Coming
Eric Gakstatter
Sony Introduces Digital Camera with GPS
3 and Compass
» OCTOBER WEBINARS Spoofing Detection and Mitigation with
4 a Moving Handheld Receiver
Location-Based Services
October 22, 2010 5 GNSS Almanac: Constellation Data
Speaker: Lisa Peterson, Neustar
6 Innovation: Friendly Reflections
Highlights from the European Navigation
Conference 7 Innovation: Precise Point Positioning
ArcPad
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information back to the office where advanced analysis can be performed. ArcPad
integrates with GPS, range finders, and digital cameras to help you make more-
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and products mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.
OUT IN FRONT
H
i, my name is Alan, and I’m an increase at all, it might just simply stay the much accuracy can and will be produced.
accuracy addict. same — well then, we get upset. Today, we know, or think we know
I got my first taste of accuracy We want to get high precision, we who those people are: the GPS Wing, the
back in 2000 when I started at GPS want to stay high precision, and we want Air Force, the Department of Defense, the
World, and discovered the vast range of to get higher precision. Administration of the U.S. government.
very advanced things that people were We may have a problem with our We may think we know that those same
doing with the signals of the Global accuracy habit. people will be in charge tomorrow.
Positioning System. It’s not just us, the highly educated, I’m not so sure. Revolutions have
This filled me with a great feeling of highly equipped, highly advanced users, happened before.
elation, expansiveness, and effectiveness. with near-lifelong histories of accuracy I don’t mean to be U.S.-centric. The
I can position anything. I can track use. Outside this room, outside this same developments are taking place,
anything. I can go anywhere, and know convention center and all who gather here perhaps a bit lagged, in Europe and Russia
where I am. I can direct something else this week, outside our offices and labs, the and China. When the great mass of the
to go somewhere, and have it hit exactly great unwashed masses are getting their Chinese market gets into using accuracy,
on target. I can examine the minute first taste of low-grade accuracy. With gets the habit, you’re going to see some
movements of the earth, the swaying of their cell phones or smart phones, maybe effects.
skyscrapers, the moisture content of the 50-meter, maybe 15-meter, maybe even Returning to the United States, simply
atmosphere, and I can know all. 5-meter accuracy. because it has the most known and most
I began to feel the illusion of They’re liking it, that first taste. Once established of these systems, it is not
omnipotence — of power over all. they learn how to exploit it, and learn that inconceivable that some Tea Party-like
The more I found out about accuracy, higher accuracy is possible, they’re going movement, a groundswell should roll right
to demand it. up to Washington, into Congress, and say:
Today, we think we know who And some enterprising young “Higher accuracy is possible. We are
engineers are going to build a high- paying for GPS with our taxes, and we
makes the decisions, who funds powered LBS app that needs high want you to spend that money producing
accuracy, just like other new apps need and supplying us with a higher grade
the decisions. That may change. broadband or WiFi or 3G or 4G. If the of accuracy. Don’t give us this talk of
capability exists, someone wants to make responsible stewards. We are calling the
the more I used it, the more addicted I money off it. shots now. Just do it. Revise the ICD. Up
became. We may be raising a generation of the ante.
Very early, I learned that advanced monsters, who will absorb our habit into “Give me accuracy or give me death.”
practitioners, such as some of the people their bloodstreams and into their lifestyles. Ladies and gentlemen, I have
in this room, had developed ways of Things might get ugly. We know expanded, exaggerated only slightly, and
taking two GPS signals, not just one, they’re going to change, altering the perhaps exploded the old dictum that I’ve
but two signals, including one that landscape in ways we may not recognize. heard attributed to Charlie Trimble, I
they weren’t even entitled to use, and I’m not talking about just the social don’t know who first said it, but it bears
combining them, distilling them, refining landscape, the way accuracy users behave. repeating and repeating often: accuracy is
them to produce an even more potent Not just the user segment. I’m talking addictive.
product: high precision. about the way accuracy is produced Indeed it is. I’m here to tell you.
High. I was getting pretty high. Almost and administered. I’m talking about I was asked to give you a user
as high as some of you. the supply of accuracy, the supply of a perspective. I’ve chosen what is today a
Because we’re all in this together. In substance that is in high demand and to relatively small user segment, but a very
this room, we are all addicts. And when which an increasing number of people are real one, and a growing one. And most
our supply of accuracy gets cut off, or becoming addicted. important, one that augurs for the future.
restricted, or we learn that it might soon be I’m talking about the ground control Perhaps the scenario I just imagined
diminished in some way, or even that its segment and the space segment. for you exaggerates a bit. Perhaps. I am
projected future rate of increase might not Ultimately, I’m talking about who consciously trying to push further out the
be as rapid as expected, or that it might not makes the decisions, who funds the boundaries of our thinking.
Continued on page 9
“ADDICTION” was delivered as an invited presentation at the Civil GPS Service Interface
Committee plenary session, September 20 in Portland, Oregon.
ADVERTISING
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An EPIC Start
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Vidal Ashkenazi
Sally Basker
Nottingham Scientific Ltd., United Kingdom
General Lighthouse Authorities, United Kingdom & Ireland
for Coordination
Alison K. Brown NAVSYS Corporation, United States
By John Wilde focusing on specific GNSS issues. EPIC
Pascal Campagne France Developpement Conseil, France
Ismael Colomina Institut de Geomàtica, Spain
would thus not only serve as a gateway but
T
Jordi Corbera Spanish Institute of Navigation, Spain he new European Positioning, actually assist stakeholders in developing
Nicolas de Chezelles Ministry of Defense, France Navigation, and Timing (PNT) common solutions to common problems
Clem Driscoll C.J. Driscoll & Associates, United States Industry Council (EPIC) will in-house.
Børje Forssell Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
be a forum for organizations with an
Alain Geiger Institute of Geodesy and Photogrammetry, Switzerland
interest in all PNT systems including Representation
Art Gower Lockheed Martin, United States
Sergio Greco Alcatel Alenia Spazio, Italy
Global Navigation Satellite Systems GNSS has applications in many com-
Jörg Hahn European Space Agency, The Netherlands (GNSS). EPIC shall serve as an informa- mercial and non-commercial fields:
Michael Healy Astrium Limited, United Kingdom tion and distribution portal between all academia, agriculture, airline operators,
Günter Hein University of the Federal Armed Forces, Germany stakeholders in the PNT community. Its civil aviation authorities, air navigation
Larry D. Hothem U.S. Geological Survey, United States service providers, emergency services,
Len Jacobson Global Systems & Marketing, United States
energy suppliers, logistics, manufactur-
William J. Klepczynski Institute for Defense Analyses, United States
Gérard Lachapelle The University of Calgary, Canada
ing, maritime, communications, pet-
Wolfgang Lechner Telematica, Germany rochemical, rail, surveyors, and more.
Jingnan Liu National Research Center for Satellite Systems, China Therefore, EPIC will work on behalf
Pietro Lo Galbo European Space Agency, The Netherlands of all GNSS stakeholders regardless of
Keith D. McDonald NavtechGPS, United States their application or business model and
Terence J. McGurn Consultant, United States
represents the whole community, inte-
Jules G. McNeff Overlook Systems Technologies, United States
gral to the ongoing success of GNSS.
James Miller NASA, United States
In addition it will represent the needs
Terry Moore
Ruth Neilan
University of Nottingham, United Kingdom
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, United States
EPIC is intended as a forum — not of users and developers of downstream
Bradford W. Parkinson Stanford University, United States applications.
Ivan G. Petrovski iP Solutions, Japan just a place for debate but literally
Mario Proietti TechnoCom Corporation, United States
International
Jayanta Ray
Martin U. Ripple
Accord Software and Systems, India
European Aeronautics Defense and Space, Germany
a marketplace of ideas where real EPIC stands with sister organizations in
Michael E. Shaw Lockheed Martin Space Systems, United States
North America and Asia:
Giorgio Solari Galileo Supervisory Authority, Belgium transformative change can take place. 䡲 United States GPS Industry Council
Jac Spaans European Group of Institutes of Navigation, Netherlands 䡲 Japan GPS Council
Thomas Stansell Jr. Stansell Consulting, United States 䡲 Korean GNSS Technology Council
F. Michael Swiek U.S. GPS Industry Council, United States mandate includes all GNSS constella- EPIC will maintain close ties to these
David Turner Department of State, United States
tions and related augmentation systems organizations and will profit from shared
A.J. Van Dierendonck AJ Systems, United States
Frantisek Vejrazka Czech Technical University, Czech Republic
worldwide, both operational and in practices and knowledge when mutually
Akio Yasuda Tokyo University of Marine Science & Technology, Japan development/modernization. beneficial. Joint representation with these
EPIC will undertake to serve the organizations to government GNSS
ADVISORS UPDATE interests of all stakeholders within Europe, authorities will be a key coordination
TERRY MOORE directs the and on behalf of Europe on the global activity.
GNSS Research and Applications stage, recognizing that understanding
Centre of Excellence (GRACE) and cooperation between the world’s Communication
and the Institute of Engineering stakeholders is key to the successful EPIC will encourage communication
Surveying and Space Geodesy deployment of new and improved GNSS and cooperation among its member-
(IESSG), which has been applications. We also envision that EPIC ship to develop new associations and
significantly involved in many will become a thriving forum for the partnerships to create new applications
major Galileo projects, most recently SISTER (Centimetre
exchange of new ideas and best practices, or share ideas and expertise. It will or-
positioning via SatCom) as part of EC FP6, the PRECISIO
software-defined radio multi-GNSS receiver, ENCORE, as well as becoming a knowledge center ganize regional meetings, workshops,
and TESTCASE (all for EC/GSA). hosting working groups and task forces focus groups and social gatherings.
8 GPS World | October 2010 www.gpsworld.com
EXPERT ADVICE “Thanks to Septentrio
GPS technology,
we can run
24/7 operation
The organization will update members To get the ball rolling, EPIC will
on the latest developments within GNSS conduct a market survey over the next with 0 misplaced
and work to ensure that information few months with potential members to containers.”
is made available in a sensible, secure clarify their requirements and ensure that Stephan Gosiau,
manner and shared as publicly as possible. EPIC starts with the issues and people that Technical Director
PSA HNN
We intend to keep EPIC a dynamic matter.
organization, reflecting the world of For further details, www.epicforum.org,
GNSS, responsive and adaptable to the or contact info@epicforum.org.
needs of its members. Therefore, active
involvement from the membership of JOHN WILDE has longtime experience in the
GNSS field, specializing most recently in
EPIC will be crucial to its success in both aviation requirements. He is the founder of
setting the agenda and then realizing it. It EPIC. See also his February 2008 interview in
is no accident that EPIC is intended as a this magazine on this same subject, at www.
gpsworld.com/epic.
forum — not just a place for debate but
literally a marketplace of ideas where real
transformative change can take place.
A
t the Civil GPS Service Inter- It is known that the signal generator and GLONASS-K2. GLONASS-K1
face Committee meeting in on the satellite is faulty and it had been satellites will have a 10-year design life
Portland, Oregon, on Sep- set unhealthy since August 31, 2009. and a daily clock stability of 5 ⫻ 10-14.
tember 20, Sergey Revnivykh, Dep- Nevertheless, it was placed in reserve The first GLONASS-K1 satellite will
uty Director General of Roscosmos’s status on March 19, 2010. GLONASS be launched this December from the
Central Research Institute of Machine 714 is nominally healthy and could Plesetsk Cosmodrome about 800 kilo-
Building, reported on the status and be brought back to service if needed. meters north of Moscow. This will be
future of GLONASS. These initial reserve satellites are also the first launch of a GLONASS satellite
He provided a number of details on being used to train the ground team from other than the Baikonur Cosmo-
the present constellation and how it to operate spare satellites in a full or drome. Only one more GLONASS-K1
will be augmented in the future, stress- nearly full constellation. satellite will be built and launched
ing that GLONASS is doing well and GLONASS 727, in orbital slot 3, after that. The K1 satellites will test
that a full constellation of 24 primary which was taken out of service on an open service CDMA signal on the
satellites will be in operation within September 8, has also had a failure of GLONASS L3 frequency in the 1205
months. The average signal-in-space its navigation payload and may not be MHz band. Although the launch of the
range error has improved by a factor of returning to service. The three new first GLONASS-K1 satellite will occur
five in the past three years and pres- satellites launched on September 2 in December, the design process for
ently stands at about 1.8 meters (one are expected to enter service in early the CDMA signal structure is not yet
sigma). October. About 11 more GLONASS-M finished, according to a subsequent
The present constellation consists of satellites will be launched by the end e-mail message from Dr. Revnivykh.
20 healthy satellites with two reserve of 2012. When the process is completed, the
satellites, GLONASS 714 and 726. Revnivykh announced that there structure will be made public.
Revnivykh stated that GLONASS 726 will be two versions of the new A completely new design,
had a failure of its navigation payload. GLONASS-K satellites: GLONASS-K1 GLONASS-K2, will start launching
in 2013. GLONASS-K2 satellites will
have a 10-year design life and a daily
clock stability of 1 ⫻ 10-14. Besides the
CDMA signals on L3, CDMA signals
will also be transmitted on L1 and L2.
The GLONASS-K satellites will transmit
the legacy FDMA satellites in addition
to the CDMA signals.
A modernized GLONASS-K satel-
lite, GLONASS-KM, for launch after
2015, is now under study. In addition
to transmitting legacy FDMA signals
on L1 and L2 and CDMA signals on L1,
L2, and L3, CDMA signals may also be
transmitted on the GPS L5 frequency
at 1176.45 MHz. Also being studied
is an alternative to the present three-
plane, equally spaced satellite constel-
lation. A different constellation design
would be possible using CDMA sig-
▲ FIGURE 1 The GLONASS satellite generations through GLONASS-K2. nals. Such a move would require that
10 GPS World | October 2010 www.gpsworld.com
THE SYSTEM
I
was relieved to see that the facts related interview subjects familiar with the an excellent public forum for the presenta-
to the conception of GPS were clearly system, it became clear there was a general tion of the facts, not the folklore, regarding
laid out in the two-part article “GPS consensus that Timation simply did not the historical origins of GPS, clearly and in
Heroes” (May and June issues). During have the necessary capabilities to meet the detail for the GPS community.
the past few years, erroneous information requirements for the GPS design that was Steven Strom
about the early years of GPS development ultimately selected. El Segundo, California
has circulated in some military, engineer- With the publication of Parkinson’s and
ing, and scientific circles. These stories Powers’ article, GPS World has provided
centered on some version of the idea that
GPS’ design originated with the Naval
Research Laboratory (NRL) and within
the patent submitted for Timation by the
NRL’s Roger Easton; the U.S. Air Force
and The Aerospace Corporation were ARE YOU HEADING IN
conspicuously missing from the various
scenarios that credited Roger Easton with THE RIGHT DIRECTION?
“inventing” GPS.
I have had the privilege to record and
publish oral history interviews with several
GPS pioneers, including Drs. Getting and
Parkinson and Ed Lassiter. I also had
opportunities to speak to many more early
GPS participants off the record, including
retired Air Force personnel and several
non-Aerospace employees, when conduct-
ing background research for an article
dealing with the beginnings and
subsequent implementation of GPS.
My research included a review of many
of the primary documents relating to GPS’
origins, including the Woodford/Naka-
mura study completed for 621B in 1966,
and several subsequent studies. I can state
emphatically that during the course of my
research, I never encountered any evidence
indicating that NRL’s/Easton’s Timation
system was the progenitor of GPS. In fact, 7KH7ULPEOH%'*166V\VWHPLVDFRPSDFWGXDODQWHQQDUHFHLYHU
as the authors point out, Timation was GHVLJQHGWRGHOLYHUFHQWLPHWHUDFFXUDWHSRVLWLRQVDQGSUHFLVHKHDGLQJ
considered and rejected by 621B personnel WRFKDOOHQJLQJJXLGDQFHDQGFRQWURODSSOLFDWLRQV7KHUHFHLYHUVXSSRUWV
when planning the original system. DZLGHUDQJHRIVDWHOOLWHVLJQDOVLQFOXGLQJ*36///*/21$66//
Not a single person I spoke to has ever
2PQL67$5DVZHOODV*DOLOHR*,29($DQG*,29(%WHVWVDWHOOLWHVIRUVLJQDO
provided me with any version of GPS’
genealogy other than the one related by HYDOXDWLRQDQGWHVWSXUSRVHV
Parkinson and Powers. The majority of )RUPRUHLQIRJRWRZZZWULPEOHFRP*166,QHUWLDO
the interviewees, on or off the record, gave
NRL and Mr. Easton ample praise for
Trimble
T mble
eGGNSS OE
OEM Systems: Performance You Can Rely On
their significant contribution to satellite
navigation through the development of the
Timation system; no one even remotely
carried this acknowledgement and www.trimble.com/GNSS-Inertial
appreciation of Timation as an antecedent
to GPS any further, historically speaking.
After discussing Timation with several &RS\ULJKW7ULPEOH1DYLJDWLRQ/LPLWHG$OOULJKWVUHVHUYHG$OORWKHUWUDGHPDUNVDUHWKHSURSHUW\RIWKHLUUHVSHFWLYHRZQHUV3&
» PROFESSIONAL OEM
NovAtel Releases
OEM6 Receiver Platform
NovAtel Inc. has announced its OEM6 GNSS receiver
platform, which the company says offers comprehensive
support for all current and upcoming GNSS constellations
and satellite signals, including GPS, GLONASS, Galileo,
and Compass. The first in a new receiver line, OEM6
expands positioning capabilities with the inclusion of NovAtel OEM firmware options are supported, including
such features as receiver autonomous integrity monitor- AdVance RTK for centimeter-level positioning accuracy,
ing (RAIM) for safety-critical applications, integrated LAN ALIGN for precise heading determination, GL1DE for
Ethernet port with NTRIP client and server capabilities for consistent pass-to-pass accuracy, and L-band position-
integration into reference network applications, and 100- ing for autonomous decimeter-level positioning.
Hz measurements for high-dynamic positioning. The OEM628 will be available to order in November,
The OEM628 board is form-, fit-, and function-com- with first shipments in December.
patible with the company’s earlier OEMV-2 receiver. All
Ashtech Adopts IFEN Simulator for Locata Covers White Sands Missile
Development and Testing Range for 746 Test Squadron
Ashtech has selected the NavX-NCS Professional, a multi- The U.S. Air Force 746 Test Squadron awarded a contract
constellation and multifrequency GNSS RF navigation to Locata Corporation to upgrade the Locata high-accu-
constellation simulator from IFEN GmbH, as the GPS, racy terrestrial positioning system to cover almost 2,500
Galileo, and GLONASS reference simulator for its profes- square miles (6,500 square kilometers) of the White
sional receiver development and testing. Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The upgrade is
IFEN offers two types of GNSS RF constellation signal designed to help the 746 TS provide sub-meter accurate
simulators for GNSS testing needs and applications. The positioning on the test range when GPS is jammed. The
NavX-NCS Professional, optimized for research and devel- contract focuses on the redesign and upgrade of the Air
opment of multi-frequency GNSS safety and professional Force’s current Locata Non-GPS Based Positioning Sys-
applications, has up to 108 signal channels and 9 L-band
tem, sold commercially under the LocataNet brand.
frequencies. GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, and QZSS can be
The network will give the 746 TS’s Ultra High Accuracy
simulated simultaneously. A Standard model, focused on
Reference System (UHARS) sub-meter position accura-
system integration and production testing for L1 mass
cies in a GPS-denied environment. The 746 TS requires
market applications, carries up to 36 channels and sup-
ports all GNSS, including WAAS, EGNOS, and MSAS, at UHARS to evaluate performance accuracies of next-
L1 upper frequency. generation weapon and aircraft navigation systems. The
Igor Grechkin, Ashtech head of engineering, cited the 746 TS leads the U.S. Department of Defense GPS Test
NavX-NCS Professional’s flexibility in use, high accuracy, Center of Expertise and has operated a Locata NGBPS at
and upgrade capability as reasons for the selection. Holloman Air Force Base for more than three years.
Ashtech launched its first high-precision GPS receiver in Locata says its patented TimeLoc technology enables
1987 and plans to use the IfEN’s simulator to expand its autonomous synchronization of LocataNets to picosec-
high-precision professional portfolio. ond level without atomic clocks or any form of external
aiding. Other Locata partners include Leica and Trimble.
14 GPS World | October 2010 www.gpsworld.com
THE BUSINESS
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Ricoh » CONSUMER OEM
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u-blox Demonstrates Galileo
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u-blox, a fabless semiconductor pro- u-blox has been a Spirent cus-
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wireless communication solutions, Tesshu Naka, u-blox’s Japan country
has purchased Spirent’s GSS6700 manager, “The ability to demonstrate
Multi-GNSS constellation simulator u-blox Galileo-ready technology
system to demonstrate performance before the satellites are available is
Geo–Data of its new Galileo chipset. Using a convincing argument in favor of u-
the simulator, u-blox recently dem- blox receivers.”
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Extremely rugged GPS/Galileo receiver to a number of tially deployed GNSS constellations
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12 MP Resolution with 5 x Zoom “Spirent is seeing an increasingly signals such as L5 and L2C on GPS.
High Definition 720p video positive attitude to Galileo, following Until recently, most testing focused
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Read barcodes directly thru lens
several Galileo system procurement on GPS, but with GLONASS operat-
Populate data while in the field announcements made earlier this ing at near full strength and Galileo
Capture up to 20 memo fields year,” said John Pottle, marketing and Compass around the corner,
Embed data in image header director at Spirent’s positioning unit. testing multi-GNSS capabilities on
Store sound in image header
“The industry is starting to believe in chipsets and navigation devices is
Streamlines workflow
Password security Galileo again and we are seeing that becoming critical to verify perfor-
WORM SD card compatible confidence translate into investment mance and ensure there are no inter-
Connects to Laser Range Finders decisions in Spirent multi-GNSS so- operability issues, u-blox stated.
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GPS, GLONASS, and SBAS signals. provides gain and directivity compa-
dynamic.capture@ricoh-usa.com NovAtel’s GL1DE technology is also rable to a Yagi antenna, but in a much
www.RicohDC.com available. smaller form factor and over a wider
1.909.890.9039 By providing this functionality as range of frequencies.
» SYSTEM DESIGN
» DEFENSE
» GOVERNMENT
Ricoh G700SE
Features GPS Plug-In
Ricoh Co., Ltd. has released the G700SE with
GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. As an expanded func-
tion model of the G700 released earlier this year,
the water- and dust-resistant G700SE has wire-
less LAN and Bluetooth functions as standard features there is an electronic compass function, it is possible to
and supports the use of GPS and laser barcode-reader record information indicating the direction in which the
functions with options. photograph was taken. A GPS log function tracks camera
By installing the optional internal-electronic-compass- movement. With the GP-1 attached, the G700SE satisfies
equipped GPS unit, users can add position and direction IP64 dust and water resistance performance standards
information to their photos. By installing the optional and shock resistance standards for a 1.2-meter drop,
laser barcode-reader unit, users can do rapid recognition Ricoh said.
of one-dimensional (linear) barcodes. Ricoh states these The camera body has an internal Bluetooth
capabilities make the G700SE a powerful tool for a wide Ver.2.1+EDR function. The ability to do high-speed data
range of operations, including facility maintenance (elec- communication with a wide range of Bluetooth-compat-
tric, gas, and water utilities; roads; and so on), disaster ible devices enables receiving position data from highly
planning, and other functions of local governments, po- precise GPS devices and transmitting image data to com-
lice departments, and fire departments; photo manage- patible personal computers and smartphones. The inter-
ment in hospitals; production line management in the nal wireless LAN (802.11b/g) function supports the WPS
manufacturing industry; and warehouse management in button connection for easy wireless LAN connection set-
the transport industry. tings. The G700SE can also transmit images via wireless
The G700SE can use the GP-1 (option) GPS unit which LAN while receiving GPS data from Bluetooth-compatible
compactly connects to the camera body. Connection of external GPS devices.
the GP-1 makes it possible to add position information to Body size of the camera is 118.8 × 71.0 × 41.0 millime-
the image data of photographs taken. In addition, since ters, and body weight is approximately 286 grams.
» EVENTS
R
2010 International ION International Technical
evolutionary The
is not
first
a word
AfricaGEO
to bandy
Conference
ab
Symposium on GPS/GNSS Meeting 2011 will be held in Cape Town at the Cape
October 26-28, 2010, Taipei, Taiwan January 24–26, 2011, San Diego, Town International Convention Cen-
http://gnss2010.ncku.edu.tw/ California tre (CTICC) from May 30 to June 2,
The annual International Sym- www.ion.org 2011. AfricaGEO is being organized
posium on GPS/GNSS provides an ION International Technical Meet- by the South African Geomatics As-
open forum for researchers and ing 2011 (ION ITM 2011) will be held sociations, and enjoys the full sup-
engineers to exchange innovative January 24-26, 2011, at the Catama- port of, PLATO, GISSA, Hydrographic
ideas on GNSS systems, techniques, ran Resort Hotel in San Diego, Cali- Society of South Africa, Institute of
applications, and opportunities. The fornia. A plenary session on robotics Mining Surveyors of South Africa,
2010 symposium will be organized navigation is planned. the Association of Aircraft Operating
by National Cheng Kung University, Companies and the Department of
Taiwan. AfricaGEO: Developing Rural Development and Land Re-
Geomatics for Africa form.
Trimble Dimensions 2010 May 31–June 2, 2011, Cape Town,
November 8–10, 2010, Las Vegas, South Africa
Nevada http://africageo.org/
www.trimbledimensions.com
Trimble will hold its international More events online: www.gpsworld.com/events
user conference at the Mirage Hotel United States Postal Service
Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation (Requester Publications Only)
in Las Vegas. The theme of Trimble Required by 39 USC 3685
1. Publication Title: GPS World
Dimensions 2010 — Converge, Con- 2. Publication Number: 1048-5104
3. Filing Date: 9/13/10
nect, Collaborate — provides insight 4. Issue of Frequency: Monthly
5. Number of Issues Published Annually: 12
GIS, geospatial, utilities, and mobile Suite 1100, Cleveland, OH 44114; Editor: Alan Cameron, Questex Media Group LLC, 201 Sandpointe Avenue, Ste. 500, Santa Ana, CA 97707-8716; Managing Editor: Tracy
Cozzens, Questex Media Group LLC, 201 Sandpointe Avenue, Ste. 500, Santa Ana, CA 97707-8716
to multi-GNSS issues, the event will in excess of 10% Limit mail at Standard Mail or Package Services Rates)
(3) Nonrequested Copies Distributed Outside the Mail (Include Pickup Stands, Trade Shows, Showrooms and Other Sources) 901 644
focus on signal design, signal process- e. Total Nonrequested Distribution (Sum of 15d (1), (2), (3)) 1,824 1,574
gies with communication services. 16. Publication of Statement of Ownership for a Requester Publication is required and will be printed in the
issue of this publication.
October 2010
17. Signature and Title of Editor, Publisher, Business Manager, or Owner Date
David A. Hall
While GNSS simulators have long provided the de facto recorder (usually a VSA) to capture many hours of continu-
technique for testing GPS receivers, radio frequency (RF) ous RF signal. In such a system, the basic components include
record and playback has emerged as an innovative method to the RF front end, the RF signal-acquisition device, and high-
introduce real-world impairments to GNSS receivers. In this volume storage media. A block diagram of a typical recording
article, we will provide a hands-on tutorial on how to test a system is shown in FIGURE 1.
navigation device using the record and playback technique. In the figure, the RF front end is designed to condition the
The premise of RF record and playback is to capture GNSS GNSS signal in such a way that it can be captured — with
signals off the air with a vector signal analyzer (VSA) and then maximum dynamic range — by the recording device. The re-
replay them to a receiver with an RF vector signal generator cording device digitizes a given signal bandwidth, and then
(VSG). With recorded GNSS signals, one is able to introduce stores in-phase and quadrature (IQ) waveforms to disk.
a signal that contains natural impairments — instead of an In general, RF recording devices are designed to tune to a
ideal signal — to the GNSS receiver. As a result, one can ob- broad range of frequencies and can thereby record many dif-
serve how a receiver will behave in a real-world environment ferent types of signals. Thus, selecting the signal to record is as
where interference, multipath fading, and other impairments simple as setting the center frequency and bandwidth of the
are present. recording device. For example, to record the GPS C/A-code
A VSA combines traditional superheterodyne radio receiver L1 signal, the center frequency should be set to 1575.42 MHz.
technology with high-speed analog-to-digital converters and Because each satellite generates the same carrier frequency, one
digital signal processors to perform a variety of measurements can capture C/A-code signals from all satellites simply by cap-
on complex modulated signals. It is widely used in the tele- turing all signals within a 2.046 MHz (twice the code chip-
communications industry as a test instrument. Digitized sig- ping rate) band around the carrier frequency.
nals can be recorded for future analysis. A VSG reverses the By contrast, recording GLONASS signals requires slightly
process, taking a digital representation of a complex waveform different settings. Because the GLONASS constellation uses
and, using digital-to-analog converters, generating an appro- frequency division multiplexing, every satellite generates the
priately modulated RF signal. same code, but each pair of antipodal satellites transmits at a
Recording GPS or GLONASS signals off the air can be done unique center frequency. Thus, recording L1 signal informa-
in a fairly straightforward manner. An RF recording system tion for the entire GLONASS constellation requires a recorder
combines appropriate antennas, amplifiers, and an RF signal to capture signals that range from 1598.0625 MHz (channel
⫺7) to 1605.375 MHz (channel 6). In order to capture the en-
RF front end RF signal acquisition Storage media tire bandwidth of each satellite, a recorder is actually required
to capture 1.022 MHz of signal for each carrier (again, twice
LNA ADC &
DDC the code chipping rate). Therefore, the total recording band-
width is actually 1597.5515 MHz to 1605.886 MHz, a span
of 10.3345 MHz. On the RF signal analyzer, one can record
GLONASS signals simply by setting the center frequency to
ÅFIGURE 1 GPS receivers implement cascaded low-noise 1601.71875 MHz, and the bandwidth to ≥ 10.3345 MHz.
amplifiers. The RF signal acquisition block includes analog-to-
digital conversion (ADC) and digital down conversion (DDC) to Modern RF signal recorders are capable of recording both
select the data of interest. GPS and GLONASS C/A-code signals on a single wideband
28 GPS World | October 2010 www.gpsworld.com
Signal Processing | INNOVATION
recording channel. For example, one of our RF signal analyz- dynamic range of the signal.
ers is capable of recording up to 50 MHz of signal bandwidth. The simplest method to amplify an off-the-air GPS signal
With this instrument, one can simultaneously record both GPS so that it can be captured by an RF signal recorder is the com-
and GLONASS by setting the center frequency to 1590.1415 bination of an active GPS antenna and one or more external
MHz and the bandwidth to ≥ 31.489 MHz. However, while LNAs. Note that many professional GPS antennas offer the
RF recording systems can be used to capture a wide range of best performance because they combine high element gain
GNSS signals including GPS L1/L2/L5, GLONASS L1/L2, with an LNA and even pre-selection filtering, which improves
Galileo, and others, this article focuses primarily on the GPS the dynamic range of the RF recorder.
C/A-code signal. With the RF front end appropriately configured, one can
verify system performance using a simple spectrum analyzer
Setting up the RF Front End demonstration panel. The demo panel allows one to visualize
The trickiest aspect of recording GPS signals is the selection the RF spectrum in the GPS L1 band. If all is set up correctly,
and configuration of the appropriate antenna and low noise the C/A-code GPS signal should be visually present on the
amplifier (LNA). When connecting a typical off-the-shelf display. FIGURE 2 illustrates a screenshot of the spectrum on a
GPS passive patch antenna to a signal analyzer, the peak power virtual spectrum analyzer display.
in the GPS L1 band ranges from ⫺120 to ⫺110 dBm. Because Note that visualizing the GPS signal in the frequency do-
the power level of GPS signals is small, significant amplifica- main with an RF signal recorder (or spectrum analyzer) re-
tion is required to ensure that the VSA can capture the full quires careful attention to settings such as resolution band-
test products. Consumers, or their with certain signals, the scenario can-
representatives, should test products not be repeated — not exactly. If we
on offer — not only to corroborate (or tweak a receiver operating parameter,
dispute) manufacturers’ claims but also for example, we don’t know for certain
to compare one manufacturer’s product whether any observed change is due
INNOVATION INSIGHTS against another. There’s a whole slew to the tweaking or a change in the
with Richard Langley of magazines, television programs, and scenario. We could use a radio-
web resources devoted to testing and frequency (RF) simulator — a device
We can digitize signals comparing everything from laundry for mimicking the radio signals gener-
detergent to automobiles. And GNSS ated by the satellites. This would allow
with a vector signal receivers are no exception. us to define scenarios, including
analyzer. When we conduct tests, we are receiver trajectories, and to replay
usually trying to get answers to certain them as many times as necessary
questions — just like those posed to while varying the operating parameters
students on their exams. In testing of the receiver. Or we could modify
AS A PROFESSOR, I’m quite familiar GNSS receivers, what are some ap- the scenario from run to run. Such test
with testing — of students, that is. propriate questions? When a receiver scenarios could include those difficult
It’s how we check their performance is turned on, how long does it take to carry out with live signals such as
— how well they have mastered the until the position of the receiver is determining how a receiver would
course material. Outside academia, determined? When a weak signal area perform in low Earth orbit. While ex-
testing is also quite common. We have is encountered, can the receiver still tremely useful, these are tests with
to pass a driving test before we can determine its position? If the signal is simulated signals.
get a license. We might have to pass interrupted and then restored, how Is there a way to perform repeat-
a physical fitness test before starting a long does it take for the receiver to re- able tests on GNSS receivers using
job. And manufacturers have to test or cover and resume calculating its posi- real signals? In this month’s column,
stress their products to make sure they tion? And what is the position accuracy we learn how to use an RF vector
are fit for purpose. As David Ogilvy, under different situations? signal analyzer to digitize and record
the father of advertising once quipped, While we can certainly hook up an live signals, and then play them back to
“Never stop testing, and your advertis- antenna to a receiver to get answers a GNSS receiver with an RF vector
ing will never stop improving.” But it’s to these questions in a certain environ- signal generator — a procedure we
not just manufacturers who should ment on a certain day at a certain time can repeat as often as we like.
-96
-98
-100
Hardware Connections
-102 With the reference level appropriately set, it is important to
-104 properly configure the RF front end of the recording device.
Power (dBm)
-106
As previously mentioned, one can achieve the best RF record-
-108
-110
ing results by using an active GPS antenna. The active antenna
-112 used in our experiment utilized a built-in LNA to provide up
-114 to 30 dB of gain with a 1.5 dB noise figure. (Recall that the
-116
noise figure is the difference in dB between the noise output
-118
-120
of a device and the noise output of an “ideal” device with the
1.57292G 1.574G 1.575G 1.576G 1.577G 1.57792G
Frequency (Hz)
same gain and bandwidth when it is connected to sources at
the standard noise temperature — usually 290 K.) However,
ÅFIGURE 2 GPS is visible in the spectrum only if a narrow the LNA must be powered by supplying a DC bias to the RF
resolution bandwidth is used. This spectrum was obtained with a
center frequency of 1575.42 MHz, a frequency span of 4 MHz, a connection. While there are several methods to supply the DC
resolution bandwidth of 10 Hz, root-mean-square averaging with bias, we will look at two of the easiest methods.
20 averages, and a reference level of ⫺50 dBm. Method 1: Active Antenna Powered by GPS Receiver.
The first method to power an active antenna is with a bias tee
or DC power injector. Using this three-port component, a DC
Active GPS DC + RF DC bias RF Vector signal voltage (3.3 V in this case) is fed to its DC port, which applies
antenna LNA
tee analyzer the appropriate DC offset to the active antenna connected to
DC DC power
the RF-in port while blocking it on the RF-out port. The de-
supply vice gets its name from the fact that the three ports are often
ÅFIGURE 3 This set-up shows the use of a DC bias tee to power arranged in the shape of a “T.” Note that the precise DC volt-
an active GPS antenna. age one should apply depends on the DC power requirements
of the active antenna. A diagram illustrating the connections
DC + RF GPS is shown in FIGURE 3.
receiver
Observe in Figure 3 that one can use off-the-shelf hardware
Active GPS DC + RF
Splitter
such as a programmable DC power supply to supply the DC
antenna
bias signal. Also, one can use a generic off-the-shelf bias tee as
DC + RF DC RF Vector signal
long as it has bandwidth up to 1.58 GHz.
blocker LNA
analyzer Method 2: Active GPS Antenna Powered by Receiver.
A second method of powering the active GPS antenna is with
ÅFIGURE 4 With a DC blocker, one can record and analyze the the receiver itself. Most off-the-shelf GPS receivers use a single
same GPS signals being tracked by a GPS receiver. port to power and receive signals from an active GPS antenna,
and this port is already biased with an appropriate DC volt-
width and averaging. Because the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) age. Combining an active GPS receiver, a power splitter, and a
of the GPS signal is so small, the settings shown in Figure DC blocker, one can power an active LNA and simply record
2 require a narrow resolution bandwidth (10 Hz) and sig- essentially the same signal as that observed by the GPS receiver.
nificant averaging (20 averages per measurement record, so a A diagram of the appropriate connections is shown in FIGURE 4.
20-second interval for 1 Hz data). With these settings applied, Some splitters incorporate a DC block on all but one of the
one can easily visualize a modulated signal above the noise output ports.
floor with approximately 1 MHz of bandwidth and centered at As FIGURE 4 illustrates, the DC bias from the GPS receiver is
1575.42 MHz. This signal is the GPS C/A-code. In Figure 2, used to power the LNA. This method is particularly useful for
the reference level of the signal analyzer was set to ⫺50 dBm drive tests because one can observe the receiver’s characteristics,
to reduce the noise floor of the instrument to the lowest pos- such as velocity and dilution of precision, while recording.
sible level. Note that setting the signal analyzer’s reference level
provides a simple mechanism to adjust the front-end attenua- Selecting the Right LNA
tion or amplification. In general, RF signal analyzers provide Recording GPS signals with generic RF signal recorders is pos-
the greatest dynamic range when the reference level of the in- sible largely because external LNAs can be used to reduce the
strument matches closely with the average power of the signal effective noise floor of the receiver. Today, one can find off-
connected to the front end. In this case, setting the reference the-shelf spectrum analyzers with noise figures ranging from
level of our signal analyzer to ⳮ50 dBm removes all front-end 15 dB to 20 dB. One of our analyzers, for example, has a 15 dB
attenuation, giving the analyzer a more optimal noise figure for noise figure while applying up to 60 dB of gain. By applying
signal recording. external amplification to the front of an RF signal analyzer,
30 GPS World | October 2010 www.gpsworld.com
Signal Processing | INNOVATION
nf2 − 1 nf3 − 1 nf − 1
nfreceiver = nf1 + + +K + n
g1 g1 g2 g1g2 ...gn BRINGING DECIMETER
(1)
Note that both noise factor (nf ) and ACCURACY WITHIN REACH
gain (g) are shown in lowercase to dis-
tinguish them as linear measures rather
than logarithmic measures. The conver-
sion from linear to logarithmic gain and
noise figure (and vice versa) is shown in
the following equations: Introducing OmniSTAR High Performance (HP), our revolutionary new DGPS
system that redefines the standard for differential correction. OmniSTAR has
NFdB = 10 × log10 ( nf ) (2) developed cost-effective, reliable real-time corrections enabling high-accuracy
⎛ NFdB ⎞ applications over entire continents without deploying local base stations.
⎜⎝ ⎟
10 ⎠
nf = 10 (3) Our innovative HP signal provides five times the accuracy of standard
GdB = 10 × log10 ( g )
DGPS for horizontal accuracy of ~ +/- 10-15 cms. HP means a wide-area
(4) solution offering previously unobtainable levels of accuracy, opening the door
⎛ GdB ⎞
⎝⎜ 10 ⎠⎟ for high-precision uses such as auto steering, guidance and automation
g = 10 (5) of agri-vehicles, increased hit probability for GIS/utilities, rough grading
An active GPS antenna using a built- for construction applications, survey projects, oil exploration, aerial
in LNA typically provides 30 dB of gain photogrammetry, and more. We just raised the bar on accuracy and reliability,
while introducing a noise figure that but it’s way within your reach. OmniSTAR HP. Others promise—we deliver.
is typically on the order of 1.5 dB. The
second part of the recording instrumen-
tation provides 30 dB of additional gain
© 2005, OmniSTAR
(a)
23.055
Trial 1
23.050 Trial 2
Trial 3
Latitude (degrees)
23.045 Trial 4
Trial 5
23.040
Trial 6
23.035 Trial 7
Trial 8
23.030 Trial 9
Trial 10
ÅFIGURE 5 Two-channel record and playback system from Averna. 23.025
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600
Time (seconds)
Longitude (degrees)
114.375
nfreceiver = 1.4125 + + = 1.4147 114.370
Trial 4
development environment, one can parse all sentences to re- shown in Figure 6.
turn satellite and position-fix information. As the data from Figure 6 illustrate, a recorded test-drive
For practical testing purposes, GPS dilution of precision signal reports static, position, and velocity information. In
and active satellites (GSA), GPS satellites in view (GSV), addition, one can observe that this information is relatively
course over ground and ground speed (VTG), and GPS fix repeatable from one trial to the next, as evidenced by the dif-
data (GGA) sentences are the most useful. More specifically, ficulty in graphically observing each individual trace. To bet-
one can use information from the GSA sentence to determine ter characterize the deviation between each trace, one can also
whether the receiver has achieved a position fix and is used in compute the standard deviation between each sample in the
time-to-first-fix measurements. When
performing sensitivity measurements
GSG-54 GPS 8-CHANNEL SIMULATOR
in this example, the GSV sentence was
used to return carrier-to-noise-density
ratios (C/N0) for each satellite being
tracked. In addition, the VTG sentence
allows us to observe the velocity of the
receiver. Finally, the GGA sentence
provides the receiver’s precise position
by returning latitude and longitude in-
formation. See the references in Further
Reading for in-depth information on
the NMEA 0183 protocol.
Using the receiver’s reported latitude
and longitude information, we are able to
test its ability to report a repeatable posi-
tion when the recorded signal is played
back to the receiver. In this experiment,
we tracked the receiver position over 10
minutes. For the best results, the com-
mand interface of the receiver should be
tightly synchronized with the start trig-
ger of the RF signal generator. The re-
GPS
sults in FIGURE 6 show that the RF vec-
tor signal generator in this experiment
was synchronized with the GPS receiver
Constellation
by using the data line of the serial com-
munications (COM) port (RxD, pin
2) as a start trigger. Using this syn-
in a Box
chronization method, the vector signal Eight-Channel GPS Test Device for Manufacturing and Development
generator and GPS receiver were syn-
chronized to within one clock cycle of Applications ÕVÌ>ÌÞ
the VSG’s arbitrary waveform generator UÊÊÕÞÊVÌÀ>LiÊ*-ÊÃÕ>Ì UÊÊ,i«i>Ì>LiÊ>`ÊÀi>Li
(100 MS/s). Thus, the maximum skew UÊÊ6iÀÃ>ÌiÊ*-ÊvÕVÌ>ÌÞÊÌiÃÌ} UÊÊ
>ÃÞÊÌÊÕÃi
should be limited to 10 microseconds. UÊÊ-Õ>ÌiÊ«ÃÌÃ]ÊÌiÃÊ>`Ê UÊÊ>ÃÌÉ
}
ÊÌ
ÀÕ}
«ÕÌ
Given our receiver’s maximum velocity user movements UÊÊvvÀ`>Li
of 15 meters per second (our maximum UÊÊ-Ì>`>À`ÃL>Ãi`Ê*-ÊÌiÃÌÃ UÊÊ*ÀÌ>LiÊ>`ÊV«>VÌ
speed on the drive test), we can deter-
mine that the maximum error induced
by clock offset of the signal generator is
10 microseconds ⳯ 15 meters per Synchronizing Critical Operations ®
1.50
Latitude
1.25
Longitude sphere. For a more precise calculation of repeatability, the geo-
Standard deviation (meters)
5 Conclusion
0 In this article, we’ve illustrated how to use commercially avail-
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600
Time (seconds) able off-the-shelf products to record GPS signals with an RF
ÅFIGURE 8 Correlation of position accuracy and C/N0. recorder, and then play the signal back to a receiver. As the
results illustrate, recorded GPS signals can be used to measure
waveforms. FIGURE 7 illustrates the standard deviation between a wide range of receiver characteristics. Not only can receiver
each of the 10 trials, calculated for every one-second interval, designers use these test techniques to better prototype a receiv-
versus time. er baseband processor, but also to measure system-level perfor-
When observing the horizontal standard deviation, it is in- mance such as position repeatability.
teresting to note that the standard deviation appears to rapidly
increase at time ⳱ 120 seconds. To investigate this phenom- Manufacturers
enon further, we can plot the total horizontal standard devia- The tests discussed in this article used a National Instruments
tion against the receiver’s velocity and a proxy for C/N0. In this (www.ni.com) PXIe-5663E, 6.6 GHz, RF signal analyzer; a
case, we simply averaged the C/N0 values for the four highest National Instruments PXI-5690, 100 kHz to 3 GHz, two-
satellites reported by the receiver. Since four satellites are re- channel programmable amplifier and attenuator; a National
quired to achieve a three-dimensional position fix, our assump- Instruments PXIe-5672, 2.7 GHz, RF vector signal generator
tion was that position accuracy would closely correlate with the with quadrature digital upconversion; a 320 GB USB Passport
signal strength of these important satellite signals. hard drive from Western Digital Corp. (www.wdc.com); a Na-
One simple method to evaluate the horizontal repeatability tional Instruments PXI-4110 programmable, triple-output,
of the receiver position versus time is to calculate the standard precision DC power supply; and a ZX85-12G-S+ bias tee man-
deviation on a per-sample basis of each recorded latitude and ufactured by Mini-Circuits (www.minicircuits.com). The article
longitude (in degrees). Once the standard deviation is mea- also mentioned the RP-3200 2-channel record and playback
sured in degrees, we can roughly convert this to meters with system manufactured by Averna (www.averna.com), which in-
the following equation: corporates National Instruments modules.
Deviation (meters) = ( LatSTDEV × 111325m ) + ( 2 DAVID HALL is an RF product manager for National Instruments. He holds
a bachelor’s of science with honors in computer engineering from
0.5 Pennsylvania State University.
⎛ Lat × π ⎞ ⎞ ⎞
2
⎛
⎜⎝ LonSTDEV × 111325m × cos ⎜⎝ 180 ⎟⎠ ⎟⎠ ⎟
⎠ MORE ONLINE
Can GNSS
Drive V2X?
Communication-enabled vehicle safety has the potential to change transportation’s future, particularly vehicle-
to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), collectively represented as V2X. An automakers’ consortium
conducted extensive field trials to determine GNSS service availability and accuracy for the V2X challenge.
Chaminda Basnayake, Tom Williams, Paul Alves, and Gérard Lachapelle
V
2X can include applications based on communications the service road and not on the freeway is sufficient. The need
between any two or more entities on the road. Of all of a typical vehicle navigation device is another good example
the potential V2X applications, V2V applications of this requirement category. The typical accuracy requirement
probably lead the way in terms of maturity of prototype for this case is better than 5 meters. However, this could be a
development and test efforts. General Motors (GM) relative accuracy requirement for certain applications. For in-
demonstrated the first working prototype V2V system in 2005. stance, in a V2V scenario, one vehicle may only need to know
Information on further industry collaborative efforts in V2V if the other is on the same road or not, while in the absolute
system developments can be found at the U.S. Department sense both vehicles could be in error by more than 5 meters.
of Transportation’s (DOT’s) IntelliDrive website (www. For V2I applications, however, this becomes an absolute accu-
intellidriveusa.org). While a multitude of applications could be racy requirement, as the infrastructure is always mapped and
developed based on V2I capability, most of the related system identified with respect to a global coordinate frame.
prototype development efforts have taken place under the 䡲 Which Lane. This accuracy level enables applications to
DOT’s Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance (CICAS) identify other entities with lane level resolution. The typical
program (www.its.dot.gov/cicas). requirement is 1.5 meters or better, which approximately cor-
responds to half of a lane width. A blind-spot advisor is a good
Accuracy Requirements example that requires this accuracy.
In terms of positioning accuracy requirements, Vehicle Safety 䡲 Where-in-Lane.This accuracy level enables the relative
Communications-Applications (VSC-A) prototype system ca- positioning of entities to better than 1 meter. Further refine-
pabilities as well as all V2X applications can be classified as: ments of blind-spot advisor-like applications are examples.
䡲 Which Road. In this case, accuracy is only required to the
extent of identifying the road traveled. For instance, if a vehicle Availability Requirements
is in a service road parallel to a freeway, knowing that it is on GNSS as a line-of-sight technology has obvious limitations in
Å DRIVING ENVIRONMENTS encountered in testing. Clockwise from top left: deep urban, urban thruway, local roads, mountains.
www.gpsworld.com October 2010 | GPS World 35
TRANSPORTATION | Road
% of
Environment Description Mask Angle Speed & Dynamics
Data
Test Scenarios Suburban residential 10° to 90° depending
Max: 25 mph. Frequent
V2V data was collected in and around Local Roads streets, occasional tree on trees and neighbor-
starts, stops, and corners.
14.4
canopy. hood.
the city of Calgary in August 2009. In
the majority of the tests, Vehicle 1 fol- Major multilane roads Max: 50 mph.
Urban Thruway with nearly constant Around 20°. Mainly free-flowing, occa- 21.8
lowed Vehicle 2 with a separation of 3–4 storey buildings. sional traffic jam.
less than 300 meters, the stated effec-
Multilane road with Max: 50 mph.
tive range of the DSRC link. For most Rural Thruway occasional 3–4 storey From 5° to 20°. Free-flowing and mainly 19.2
tests the inter-vehicle separation was buildings. straight.
between 30 and 150 meters. Some driv- Similar to urban and Max: 40 mph.
ing environments forced modifications Major Roads rural thruways with 5° (rural) to 20° (urban) Frequent starts and stops, 18.1
of the default behavior; for example, on lower speed limit. mainly straight.
highways, vehicles moved in between Freeways with open-sky Max: 60 mph.
the two test vehicles, necessitating lane Freeway view and occasional 5° or less. Free-flowing, mainly 20.1
overpass. straight.
changes. Approximately 52 hours of
data was collected over 12 days. After Freeways on mountain 20° to 60° depending Max: 60 mph. Frequent
Mountains 2.5
sides. on trees. changes in direction.
rejecting data due to various faults such
as reference-system malfunction, more Deep Urban
Roads in downtown core Generally 20° to 40°, as Max: 25 mph. Frequent
3.7
flanked by highrises. high as 80°. starts and stops
than 45 hours of data remained.
Data was collected in the seven test
environments listed in TABLE 1. These ÅTABLE 1 Description of driving environments used in V2V tests.
environments were selected in accordance
with Federal Highway Administration
descriptions. Each environment provided
different challenges for GNSS-based
positioning. Obviously the deep urban
environment was challenging because the
reduced number of visible satellites and
the large amount of multipath meant that
navigation solutions were both rare and
of poor quality. As another example, the
mountain environment was interesting
because often almost half the sky was
occluded by trees on the mountain side,
leading to an asymmetrical visible GPS
satellite constellation with the associated
solution degradation. The photos at the
beginning of this article show selected
driving environments encountered during
testing.
V2V Solution Accuracy. Positioning
accuracy of the individual receiver was ÅFIGURE 3A (top) Individual receiver absolute accuracy; 3B (mid) Relative accuracy with
same receiver type; 3C (bottom) Relative accuracy with receiver/configuration mix.
first investigated to estimate the V2V
relative positioning accuracy when using
the DPOS method. This was done for same type in the second vehicle (V2). As As a second step, V2V relative accuracy
the entire dataset. a general trend, Type A receivers provided when the same receiver type was used was
FIGURE 3A shows a representative better absolute accuracy meeting the estimated, and the mean errors are shown
freeway dataset to illustrate overall trends: Which Lane accuracy, whereas the Type B in FIGURE 3B. Based on the mean error
the absolute 2D mean position errors receivers provided Which Road accuracy. for each pair, all four receiver pairs were
observed from all eight GPS receivers Also, the use of WAAS with receiver Type able to provide Where-in-Lane relative
used in both vehicles. The first set of four B has yielded some absolute accuracy position accuracy. The geodetic grade
receivers shown were the AW, BW, BNW, improvement. Limiting the constellation Type A receiver pair (AW–AW) yields
B24W receivers in the first vehicle (V1), to 24 (B24W) did not significantly the best relative accuracy at around 0.5
and the second set of receivers were the degrade accuracy in this case. meters relative 2D error. In comparison
38 GPS World | October 2010 www.gpsworld.com
Road | TRANSPORTATION
Å FIGURE 4 Distribution of GPS service outages for individual Å FIGURE 5 Distribution of GPS service outages for V2V
vehicles. applications.
with the mean absolute errors, the V2V relative accuracy is greatly sary independent position solutions. While the two definitions
improved as a result of cancellation of correlated errors, indicating of availability are not quite congruous, because only that for
a high degree of correlation of absolute errors in receivers under the RTK includes the possibility of communication failure,
these test conditions. comparison of logs of data transmitted between the vehicles
The relative accuracy with mixed receiver types or showed that out of approximately 45 hours of data, only 0.22
configurations was also estimated. With respect to receiver type percent of missing RTK solutions could be attributed to failure
mixes, the Type A receiver from vehicle 1 was used with the of the DSRC link.
three Type B receivers in vehicle 2, yielding three combinations FIGURE 4 plots the distribution of GPS service outages observed
as AW–BW, AW–BNW, and AW–B24W. Mean error statistics by AW and BW receivers in individual vehicles in all of the test
for these three combinations and the combination of BW from environments including deep urban. Here, as described for the
vehicle 1 and B24W from the second vehicle are shown in FIGURE DPOS method, an outage for a single receiver is identified on an
3C. In comparison to the same type receiver pairing, this shows epoch basis whenever the receiver has observations from less than
much larger mean errors. For instance, for all AW receiver mixes, four satellites. The total driving time included in this dataset is
the mean relative error is around 2 meters. Therefore, it is fair to 45 hours and 4 minutes for each receiver. Figure 4 [deep urban]
conclude that error characteristics and modeling in the navigation shows the same statistics for deep urban environment driving
solutions in receiver A and B are type-dependent, and they may only, and this contains 1 hour and 40 minutes of driving for each
not be compatible when a receiver mix is used. The BW–B24W receiver. The latter was selected specifically as this environment
combination does not show a significant increased mean error, contained the most challenging conditions.
indicating that the constellation difference in this test was not An important conclusion based on this data is that more than
significant enough to result in an increased relative positioning 98 percent of the individual vehicle-level service outages in the
error. entire study lasted less than 30 seconds using any one of the
receiver types. For the deep urban environment, 93 percent of
V2V Solution Availability the outages lasted less than 30 seconds. However, when using
Availability statistics were generated for all accuracy categories the high-sensitivity enabled Type B receivers, 100 percent of the
(Which Road, Which Lane). At a more abstract level, solu- outages lasted less than 5 seconds. No significant outage difference
tion availability statistics were also calculated for the DPOS is seen between the observations from the same receiver type in
and RTK methods. RTK solutions were defined as available the two vehicles.
whenever the software yielded a solution for that particular ep- GPS service availability for V2V applications was calculated
och. Data gaps in the RTK method could be caused by either using two approaches for the two relative positioning methods.
communication failure due to, for example, a large truck enter- For the DPOS method, individual vehicle service availabilities
ing the line of sight between vehicles, or one vehicle disappear- were time-synchronized in post-mission, and V2V DPOS
ing around a corner, or because insufficient observations from solution availability was estimated. FIGURE 5 compares V2V
common satellites were available at the two vehicles. DPOS solution outages using both receiver types and both relative
solutions, calculated in post-processing, were defined to be positioning methods.
available whenever both receivers had observations from four The DPOS method yields better solution availability statistics
or more satellites and were therefore able to calculate the neces- than RTK. With both receiver types, more than 95 percent of
www.gpsworld.com October 2010 | GPS World 39
TRANSPORTATION | Road
DPOS solution outages are less than 10 vehicles use Type A receivers with RTK almost identical RTK performance curves.
seconds. With the RTK method, relatively and DPOS methods. The second CDF Given that the RTK curve with both
longer outages were observed, especially plot (center) shows the same CDFs when using Type A receivers shows much better
for Type B receivers. With Type A both vehicles use the Type B receivers. The performance, it is fair to conclude that in
receivers, the difference is only significant third shows the DPOS and RTK accuracy the mixed-receiver case, the RTK curve is
for outages shorter than 30 seconds. For CDFs when vehicle 1 uses Type A receiver limited by the performance of the Type B
Type B receivers, larger percentages of and the other uses Type B receiver. receiver. Figure 6 also shows that at Which
longer RTK outages were observed; this Figure 6 demonstrates that if higher Road accuracy, all receiver combinations
can be potentially attributed to poor quality GPS receivers similar to Type A and both processing methods yield almost
carrier-phase tracking loop performance of are used in both vehicles, both RTK and identical performance.
these receivers and the impact on RTK. DPOS methods would provide a solution
of better than Which Lane accuracy more Other Approaches
Using GNSS Data than 90 percent of the time. However, if Given that carrier-phase measurements
We anticipated performance issues aris- Type B receivers are used, a solution with are subject to cycle slips in some road
ing from receiver type and configuration similar accuracy will only be available 60 environments, we ran a test using code
incompatibilities going into the proto- percent of the time if the DPOS method is measurements only in relative mode,
type development effort. We identified used for relative positioning of the vehicles. using selected data sets collected on a
use of raw GPS measurements instead If the RTK method is used, this availability mountainous highway. Only common
of the DPOS method as one method can be increased up to 90 percent. satellites were used. Given that code
to overcome this limitation, as the dif- The performance difference between measurements are not affected by a loss
ferencing techniques with measurement the two methods becomes even more of phase lock, such a solution is more
data guarantees correlated error cancel- prominent when the two vehicles use a robust, but is subject to code noise and
lation. This was one reason to include mix of receiver types. In the right-most multipath. The RMS horizontal posi-
the RTK capability in the prototype sys- CDF of Figure 6, a solution with Which tion differences between these solutions
tem. Therefore, confirming the fact that Lane accuracy is only available 30 percent and the reference inter-vehicle separa-
use of raw measurements eliminates the of the time if DPOS method is used with tions were 25 centimeters and 1 meter
receiver type and configuration-related the mixed receiver configuration. The RTK for receiver Types A and B, respectively.
incompatibilities was a major goal of the solution availability still remains around 90 Both receiver types meet the Where-in-
study. percent even with the mixed configuration. Lane requirement in this test. Type A,
As discussed earlier, V2V relative This confirms that use of measurement with its low code noise and excellent
position solutions using RTK were logged data eliminates some of the limitations code multipath-reduction capability, has
in real time as a part of the test setup. We associated with the DPOS method. a clear advantage.
compared these real-time RTK solutions Comparison of only the RTK Such an approach would represent a
and the DPOS solutions estimated in post- performance between all three CDFs compromise between the DPOS and RTK
mission for all datasets. FIGURE 6 shows in Figure 6 shows that RTK V2V approaches. Its advantage over the RTK
three cumulative probability distribution performance is only limited by the approach is a lower data transmission-rate
(CDF) plots generated using RTK and worst-performing receiver in the receiver requirement, while that over the DPOS
DPOS accuracy data from a freeway test combination. Out of the three CDFs, the approach is the use of common satellites
dataset. The first CDF plot (left) shows middle (both vehicles using Type B) and only. The latter is quite significant, since
the comparison of accuracy when both the right (Type A and B mix) CDFs have low-elevation satellites contribute the
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Sparse Network
Wide-Area, Sub-Decimeter Positioning for Airborne LiDAR Surveys
The use of a precise wide-area positioning technique for airborne trajectory solutions for LiDAR surveys provides
both relative and absolute accuracies similar to those derived from using a local GNSS reference station.
Oscar L. Colombo, Shane Brunker, Glenn Jones, Volker Janssen, and Chris Rizos
A
irborne light detection and logistical complications. This opens up ing, where the data are available only
ranging (LiDAR) surveys are a new level of operational capability, al- up to the present epoch, and accurate
among the most advanced lowing flexibility for weather conditions results must be obtained right away,
means of producing high-resolution, ac- and priority response applications. with no chance for a second try.
curate surface elevation models used for The tests described here were orga- Differential processing makes it pos-
many applications in surveying and civil nized and conducted by the NSW gov- sible to resolve the carrier-phase
engineering. Precise geolocation and ernment’s Land and Property Manage- ambiguities using well-understood
orientation (or georeferencing) of the ment Authority, in collaboration with methods.
LiDAR instrument with a combination the University of New South Wales, in Technique. It is common practice in
of on-board GNSS and inertial sensors June 2009. CORSnet-NSW consists, at airborne LiDAR surveys to use GNSS
at the times when the measurements are this writing, of 46 stations and by 2012 both to position the instrument precisely,
made provides the key to high-quality will provide statewide GNSS position- and to assist an inertial navigation system
elevation products. ing infrastructure across NSW with a (INS) to obtain the orientation of the
The usual practice deploys reference planned 70 stations in operation. aircraft in space, as both position and
GPS/GNSS land receivers in the area orientation are needed to interpret the
where the aircraft will be flying, to ob- Precise Wide-Area Positioning data properly. FIGURE 1 illustrates the
tain a precise trajectory by short-base- We used a technique for long-baseline relationship between the sensors used for
line differential GNSS techniques. This differential, off-line positioning, able to airborne LiDAR surveys. The aircraft uses
could mean installing and operating re- deliver centimeter precision for fixed re- a GNSS antenna combined with an INS to
ceivers at many sites during a flight mis- ceivers and sub-decimeter precision for georeference its trajectory. The bore-sight
sion if the area surveyed is a large one. moving receivers. This choice was dic- calibration process aligns the individual
We have tried a different approach: tated by three considerations: sensor orientations and standardizes the
using as reference receivers those of a The intended application was the range measurements. However, if the
sparse network of Continuously Operat- geolocation of the data of an airborne survey is to achieve the now-expected
ing Reference Stations (CORS) in New scanning LiDAR sensor to be used in high level of vertical accuracy (⫾15
South Wales known as CORSnet-NSW, the generation of high-accuracy digi- centimeters, 1 sigma), then the position of
and a wide-area differential GPS tech- tal elevation models (DEM). the GNSS/INS-derived aircraft trajectory
nique for obtaining the aircraft trajec- Off-line processing, where all the for each laser swath must be determined
tory with sub-decimeter accuracy even GNSS data collected during the with a relative precision in the order of
with baseline lengths of several hundred flight are available for processing just a few centimeters. This is achieved
kilometers. This may be comparable in and (as in this case) there is no need via differential GNSS post-processing of
precision and accuracy to the short-base- for immediate results, is intrinsically the kinematic airborne data together with
line method, but without the cost and more reliable than real-time process- static observations collected on precisely
44 GPS World | October 2010 www.gpsworld.com
Mapping | SURVEY
Å FIGURE 2 Glen Innes survey of June 9, 2009, showing the Å FIGURE 3 Bathurst test of June 16, 2009, showing the distribu-
distribution of reference stations with baseline lengths and the tion of reference stations with baseline lengths and the survey
survey area with (numbered) flight runs. area with (numbered) flight runs.
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www.gpsworld.com October 2010 | GPS World 47
SURVEY | Mapping
GNSS Reference Station Min. Max. Average Std. Dev. GNSS Reference Station Min. Max. Average Std. Dev.
BALL/GFTN East -0.008 0.029 0.011 0.008 BALL East -0.013 -0.005 -0.009 0.002
(average 200 km baseline) (626 km baseline)
North -0.027 0.018 -0.004 0.011 North -0.034 0.012 -0.012 0.013
Vertical 0.004 0.045 0.025 0.009 Vertical -0.031 -0.003 -0.020 0.008
WGGA/NWRA East -0.050 0.024 -0.017 0.021 BALL/GFTN East -0.009 0.002 -0.004 0.002
(average 600 km baseline) North (average 570 km baseline) North -0.036 0.007 -0.015 0.011
-0.106 0.083 -0.018 0.057
Vertical -0.050 0.001 -0.024 0.014 Vertical -0.048 -0.014 -0.037 0.008
ÅTABLE 2 Displacement vectors for each combination relative to the DBBO/WGGA/NEWC East -0.035 -0.026 -0.031 0.002
local solution for Glen Innes run 002 (values in meters). (average 220 km baseline) North -0.031 -0.002 -0.016 0.008
Vertical -0.020 0.017 -0.008 0.009
once again show a remarkably consistent comparison with the WGGA East -0.024 -0.009 -0.018 0.004
locally derived solution. Data spikes showing up in the DBBO/ (280 km baseline) North -0.028 0.000 -0.014 0.006
WGGA/NEWC (yellow) solution were attributed to small Vertical -0.027 0.015 -0.016 0.010
data glitches at the DBBO CORSnet-NSW site. Unfortunate- WGGA/GLBN/NEWC East -0.006 0.004 -0.002 0.002
ly, LiDAR data were not collected at those instances; therefore, (average 210 km baseline) North -0.029 0.003 -0.015 0.009
the effect on ground data could not be fully assessed. Vertical -0.020 0.017 -0.009 0.009
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www.gpsworld.com October 2010 | GPS World 49
SURVEY | Mapping
Manufacturer
NovAtel’s WayPoint GrafNav software (www.novatel.com) was
used for comparison purposes.
OSCAR L. COLOMBO received a degree in electrical engineering from
the National University of la Plata, Argentina, and a Ph.D. in
electrical engineering from the University of New South Wales, ÅFIGURE 10 Usual operational comparison of LiDAR surface and
Australia. He is an independent consultant. ground control points.
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