Analysis of the performance of closely spaced low-cost multi-GNSS receivers

Xue, Chenyu; Psimoulis, Panos; Zhang, Qiuzhao; Meng, Xiaolin

Abstract

© 2021, The Author(s). The recent advances of low-cost GNSS receivers have broadened their application field not only in positioning and navigation, but also in deformation monitoring of civil engineering structures and geohazards. Even though some consumer-grade low-cost GNSS receivers can achieve cm-level accuracy, their lower performance compared to the dual-frequency high-end GNSS receivers restricts its systematic application of GNSS technology in monitoring projects. In this study, the noise level and performance of the low-cost GNSS receivers are assessed against geodetic receivers in terms of precision and availability when subjected to different measurements conditions, such as antenna grade, satellite constellation, and base station (antenna-receiver), based on zero- and short-baseline measurements. Furthermore, a new method is developed where a dual low-cost GNSS rover-system is formed by deploying two closely spaced low-cost GNSS receivers (30 cm apart), aiming to model their common error (multipath, satellite constellation, etc.) and reduce their noise level. The analysis of the zero- and short-baseline measurements reveals the potential improvement of the precision of the low-cost receiver by using multi-GNSS measurements and the importance of using a GNSS base station with geodetic antenna. However, development of a methodology which is based on adopting the sidereal filtering and the common mode error technique for the two closely spaced low-cost GNSS receivers may lead to precision of mm-level. The proposed methodology may broaden the application of low-cost GNSS receivers in monitoring networks and mainly for slowly developed deformations.

Citation

Xue, C., Psimoulis, P., Zhang, Q., & Meng, X. (2021). Analysis of the performance of closely spaced low-cost multi-GNSS receivers. Applied Geomatics, 13(3), 415-435. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12518-021-00361-8

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 13, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Jan 26, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021-09
• Deposit Date: Apr 15, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 26, 2021
• Journal: Applied Geomatics
• Print ISSN: 1866-9298
• Electronic ISSN: 1866-928X
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 415-435
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12518-021-00361-8
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5309108
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12518-021-00361-8