Abstract
Network real-time kinematic (NRTK) positioning is today’s industry standard for high-precision applications. Once network ambiguities are fixed, the network engine processes simultaneous observations from a number of continuously operating reference stations to compute corrections for users operating within the network area. Users are treated as passive nodes of the network. However, if two-way communication is available, then users could transmit their observations to the central processing facility where the network can treat them as active nodes, densifying the existing network infrastructure. This multiple rover network (MRN) concept exploits the additional information provided by users in a GNSS network. One application is to use the shorter inter-receiver distances to improve the success rate of single-epoch ambiguity resolution. This is also the goal of the subset ambiguity resolution algorithm, which improves the single-epoch success rate by allowing a subset of ambiguities to be resolved. We present an enhanced processing strategy to complement centimeter-level single-epoch NRTK positioning. This approach combines a single-baseline and an MRN solution with the partial ambiguity resolution algorithm and is only possible for a centralized GNSS network architecture. The algorithm is tested against the standard network ambiguity resolution strategy of full-set ambiguity fixing with respect to the nearest reference station. A 24-h dataset from the Southern California Integrated GNSS network is used with a configuration of three reference stations and four users. The enhanced solution achieves a mean ambiguity resolution success rate of 83% over all four users and all epochs, compared to 32% for the conventional technique.
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Zinas, N., Parkins, A. & Ziebart, M. Improved network-based single-epoch ambiguity resolution using centralized GNSS network processing. GPS Solut 17, 17–27 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10291-012-0256-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10291-012-0256-x