Global Positioning

System

By Farhan Saeed
 GPS
Satellitebased navigation system made
up of a network of 24 satellites
Originally intended for military
applications
In the 1980s, the US government made
the system available for civilian use.
There are no subscription fees or setup
charges to use GPS
 Basic Principle
GPS satellites circle the earth twice a day in a
very precise orbit and transmit signal
information to earth.
GPS receiver compares the time a signal was
transmitted by a satellite with the time it was
received. The time difference tells the GPS
receiver how far away (distance) the satellite is.
With distance measurements from a few more
satellites, the receiver can determine the users
position and display it as a latitude and
longitude.
 Basic Principle
A GPS receiver must be locked on to
the signal of at least three satellites
to calculate a two-dimensional
position (latitude and longitude) and
track movement.
With four or more satellites in view,
the receiver can determine the users
three-dimensional position (latitude,
longitude and altitude).
 GPS Accuracy
Todays GPS receivers are extremely
accurate and can give average
positional accuracy within 15 metres
or better.
With Differential GPS (DGPS)
receiver accuracies in the order of 3 to
5 metres are possible.
 GPS Satellite System
The 24 satellites (21 active plus 3
operating spares) that make up the
GPS space segment are orbiting the
earth about 12000 miles above us.
They are constantly moving at approx.
7000 m/h, making two complete orbits
in approximately 24 hours, i.e. orbital
period of approximately 12 hours.
 GPS Satellite System
GPS satellites are powered by solar
energy and are built to last
approximately 10 years.
They have back up batteries on board to
keep them running in the event of solar
eclipses.
Small rocket boosters on each satellite
enable them to keep flying on the
correct path.
 GPS Satellite System
The first GPS satellite was launched in 1978.
A full constellation of 24 satellites was
achieved in 1994.
Each satellite is built to last approximately 10
years. Replacements are constantly being
built and launched into orbit.
A GPS satellite weighs approximately 1500 kg
and is about 6 m across with solar panels
extended.
Transmitter power is only approximately 50
watts or less.
 Satellites Signal
GPS satellites transmit two low power radio
signals, designated L1 and L2.
Civilian GPS receivers listen on the L1
frequency of 1575.42 MHz in the UHF band.
The signals travel using direct (space) wave
propagation, often referred to as line of
sight radio communication.
Signals will pass through clouds, glass and
plastic but will not go through most solid
objects.
 Satellites Signal
L1 contains a complex pattern of digital code
signals, the Protected P code and the
Coarse Acquisition C/A code.
This GPS transmission contains 3 different
types of coded information, which are
essential for calculating the travel time from
the satellite to the GPS receiver on the earth.
(Time of arrival)
The travel time multiplied by the speed of
light equals the satellites range (distance
from the satellite to the GPS receiver).
 Coded Information
A pseudorandom code this is simply an ID code
that identifies which satellite is transmitting
information from which you are receiving
Ephemeris data this is information continuously
transmitted by each satellite, containing
important information about the status of the
satellite (healthy or unhealthy), current date and
time.
Almanac data this information tells your GPS
receiver where each satellite should be at any
time throughout the day.
 How does GPS work?
GPS receiver has to know two things about the
satellites, i.e. where they are (location) and
how far away they are (distance).
Your distance from a given satellite equals the
velocity of the transmitted signal multiplied by
the time it takes the signal to reach you, i.e.
Distance = velocity of transmitted signal
x travel time
Velocity= 300,000,000 metres per second
Travel time = Time taken by signal to arrive at
the receiver.
 Travel Time
The transmitted digital code is called a
pseudo-random code. When a satellite is
generating a pseudo-random code, the GPS
receiver is generating the same code and
tries to match it up to the satellites code.
The GPS receiver then compares the two
codes to determine how much it needs to
delay (or shift) its code in order to match the
satellite code. This delay time (shift) is
multiplied by the velocity of propagation of
the radio wave to get the distance (range).
 GPS Receiver Clock
Your GPS receiver clock does not keep the time
as precisely as the satellite clocks. So each
distance measurement needs to be corrected to
account for the GPS receivers internal clock
error.
The range measurement is referred to as a
pseudo-range. To determine position using
pseudo-range data, a minimum of four satellites
must be tracked and the four subsequent fixes
must be recomputed until the clock error
disappears.
 GPS Position
Like Radar Ranges!
 Almanac Data
The unit stores data about where the
satellites are located at any given
time.
This data is called the almanac.
cold receiver
warm receiver
 GPS receiver technology
Most modern GPS receivers are a
parallel multi-channel design.
These parallel receivers typically have
between 5 and 12 receiver circuits,
each devoted to one particular
satellite signal, so strong locks can be
maintained on all satellites at all
times.
 Sources of errors
Ionosphere and troposphere
delays
The satellites radio signal slows as it
passes through the atmosphere. Your GPS
system uses a built-in model that
calculates an average amount of delay to
partially correct for this type of error.
 Sources of errors
Signal multi-path
This occurs when the GPS radio signal is
reflected off objects such as large
topographical objects and surfaces before
it reaches your receiver. This effectively
increases the travel time of the GPS radio
signal, thereby causing errors.
 Sources of errors
Receiver clock errors
Your receivers built-in clock is not as
accurate as the atomic clocks on board
the GPS satellites. Therefore, it may have
very slight timing errors.
 Sources of errors
Orbital errors
These are also known as ephemeris
errors, and are inaccuracies of the
satellites reported location. This could
be, for example, due to the satellites
orbit precessing in azimuth.
 Sources of errors
Number of satellites visible
The more satellites your GPS receiver can
see, the greater the accuracy.
Topographical and geographical terrain,
electronic interference and adverse
weather and precipitation can inhibit radio
signal reception, causing position errors or
possibly no position indication at all. GPS
receivers typically do not work indoors,
under water or underground.
 Sources of errors
Satellite geometry/shading
Ideal satellite geometry exists when the
satellites are located at wide angles
relative to each other, giving a position
based on a wide angle of cut from several
position lines.
This is often referred to as a situation
where the position fix is based on a good
Horizontal Dilution Of Position (HDOP).
 Sources of errors
Selective Availability (SA)
Selective availability (SA) is an intentional
degradation of the signal once imposed
by the US Department of Defence.
The US government turned off SA in May
2000, which significantly improved the
accuracy of civilian GPS receivers.
 Sources of errors
Selective Availability (SA)
However, this degradation could be re-
introduced at any time by the US
government and has led to the development
of two initiatives, which help to overcome
any future degradation of the system for
civilian users:
the development of DGPS
the proposed development of an EU
supported initiative called Galileo
 GPS system accuracy
100 metres - accuracy of the GPS
system when subjected to accuracy
degradation under the US government
Selective Availability (SA) programme
15 metres - typical GPS position
accuracy without SA. Available at
present to all civilian users
3-5 metres - typical differential GPS
(DGPS) position accuracy
Exercise
 Chart datum
Charts are essentially grids created from
a starting reference point called a datum.
Many charts still being used today were
originally created decades ago.
Over time, technology has allowed us to
improve our surveying skills and create
more accurate charts. However, there is
still a need to adapt GPS receivers to use
with older charts.
 Chart Datum
A navigational chart is referenced to two datums
one horizontal, for latitude and longitude, and
one vertical for depth and height.
Because the earth is not a regular shape the
accuracy of each datum will vary as you get
further from the specific location for which it
was defined.
OSGB36, European 1950, NAD27 etc.
Satellite systems require a global datum and
GPS positions are based on the World
Geodetic System 1984 (WGS-84) which is a
model of the entire earth.
 DGPS
The fundamental principle of DGPS is
the comparison of the position of a
fixed point, referred to as the
reference station, with positions
obtained from a GPS receiver at that
point.
 GLONASS
The GLObal NAvigation Satellite System
(GLONASS) is similar to GPS in that it is a
satellite based navigation system, providing
global 24 hour a day all weather access to
precise position, velocity and time information
to a suitably equipped user.
Any receiver capable of operating with both
GLONASS and GPS would offer the best of both
worlds, with one system making up for the
limitations of the other at specific latitudes.
 Galileo
Galileo is a proposed European
satellite navigation system designed
purely for civilian use which is very
much in the initial discussion stages.
Europe hopes to deploy by 2010.