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CE 223 - Surveying

Chapter 8:
Global Positioning Systems
Khaled Hamad, Ph.D.
College of Engineering
University of Sharjah

What is GPS?
GPS is short for Global
Positioning System

GPS is a network of satellites

that continuously transmit
coded information, making it
possible to precisely identify
locations on earth by
measuring distance from the
satellites
GPS provides location
information anywhere on the
globe (on land, at sea, and in
the air), any weather
conditions, 24 hours /day & 7
days/week.
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Brief history of GPS

Created and operated by US Department of
Defense and military applications
Originally called NavStar
Started development in 1973
First four satellites launched in 1978
Full Operational Capacity reached on July 17, 1995
System cost of $12 billion
Each satellite is built to last about 10 years
replacements are constantly being built and
launched into orbit
In the 1990s the government made the system
available for civilian use
In 2000, SA error was turned off
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Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) - 2008

NAVSTAR GPS (USA)

GPS III, a new up-graded system:

Phase I, 8 satellites by 2013

Phase II, 8 more satellites by 2016
Phase III, 16 additional satellites by 2019 (complete system)

Galileo a proposed European satellite system

30 satellites, planned to be operational by 2011

GLONASS (Russia)

18 satellites (2008), 24 satellites will comprise a

complete system

Compass Satellite System (also known as Beidou)

(China)
30 satellites, planned to be operational by 2011

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GPS Main Components/Segments

1. Space (satellites)
2. Control (ground control network)
3. User (GPS receivers and their users)

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GPS SPACE COMPONENT

GPS Constellation

24 satellites (+ 3 spare)
11,500 miles (20,200 km) altitude
12 hour orbit period (exactly 11 hours
and 58 minutes)
6 orbital planes (55 inclination)
4 satellites in each of 6 orbital
planes

GPS Satellite Details

~1900 lbs (900 kg) in orbit

2.2m body, 7m with solar panels
7-10 year expected lifetime
continuously transmit a uniquely
coded radio signal.
equipped with onboard atomic clock

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GPS GROUND CONTROL COMPONENT

Ground-based monitoring and upload stations
Control orbit and timing information

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GPS USER COMPONENT

User needs GPS unit: made of receiver and

software
Three classes of GPS receivers:
Navigation

Geodetic

Mapping

Hand-held

Vehicle or backpack mounted

Backpack or tripod
mounted

10-15 meter
accuracy

12 meter accuracy (<2 meters

with differential techniques)

Sub-centimeter (5 10
centimeters) accuracy

Light-weight

Light-weight, portable

Bulky

Cheap

More expensive

Expensive

For recreational
use

Resource mapping and

navigation applications

High-precision
applications such as
surveying

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GPS BASIC CONCEPTS

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GPS Basic Concept

GPS units are made
to communicate
with GPS satellites
(which have a much
better view of the
Earth) to find out
exactly where they
are on the global
scale of things.
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GPS Basic Concept

A GPS receiver's job is to locate four or
more satellites, figure out the distance to
each, and use this information to deduce
its own location.

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How does GPS work?

1. Satellites send coded signals indicating
their position in space and the exact time
the signals are being sent; Receiver picks up
the signals from the satellites
2. Receiver uses the time it takes signal to
travel from satellite to receiver to
determine distance from satellite to
receiver
3. Information from multiple satellites is used
to determine position of the receiver
through triangulation
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GPS Signals
Each GPS satellite
transmits data that
indicates its location
and the current
time.
All GPS satellites
synchronize
operations so that
these repeating
signals are
transmitted at the
same
instant.
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Physically the signal is

just a complicated
digital code, or in other
words, a complicated
sequence of on and
off pulses.

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Satellite Signals
L1

L2

Frequency @ 1575.42
MHz
Wavelength about 19 cm
C/A code, P Code and
Navigation message
Frequency @ 1,227.60
MHz
Wavelength about 24 cm
P Code and Navigation
message

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Time Difference
The 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 the
satellite is.
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Calculating Distance
Velocity x Time = Distance
Radio waves travel at the speed of light, roughly 186,000
miles per second (mps) or 300,000 Kilometer per second

Example:
If it took 0.06 seconds to receive a signal
transmitted by a satellite floating directly
overhead, distance from the satellite will be:
186,000 mps x 0.06 seconds = 11,160 miles
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Triangulation
Surveying Principle:
You can find one
location if you know
its distance from
other, already-known
locations.

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Triangulation

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3-D Trilateration
1 Satellite
One
measurement
narrows down our
position to the
surface of a
sphere; We are
somewhere on
the surface of this
sphere.

2 Satellites
Second
measurement
narrows it down
to the
intersection of
two spheres;
Intersection of
two spheres is a
circle.

3 Satellites
Third measurement
narrows to just two
points; Intersection
of three spheres is
only two points.

Fourth measurement
will decide between the
two points; Fourth
measurement will go
through only one of the
two points.

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GPS ACCURACY

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Factors Affecting GPS Accuracy

Selective Availability (SA)
Un-modeled atmospheric delays
Solid objects (topography, trees,
buildings) block satellite signals
causing multipath error
Satellite constellation geometry
(GDOP)
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GPS Errors

Clock errors
Ionosphere
Multipath
Weak geometric figure
Errors in satellite orbital data
Setup errors
Selected availability (SA). This was turned
off in May, 2000

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Selective Availability (SA)

Government can introduce artificial
clock and orbital data errors
Designed to prevent hostile forces
from using the systems full accuracy
When operating, SA is the biggest
single source of error in the system
Turned off on May 2, 2000
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Atomic Clocks
GPS satellites use Atomic Clocks
for accuracy, but because of the
expense, most GPS receivers do not.

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Line of Sight Transmissions

Line of sight is the
ability to draw a
straight line
between two
objects without any
other objects
getting in the way.
GPS transmission
are line-of-sight
transmissions.
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Line of Sight Transmissions

Receivers require clear line-of-sight; thus,

obstructions such as trees, buildings, or natural
formations may prevent clear line of sight.
GPS will not work indoors or where tall objects
obscure the sky

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Light Refraction
Sometimes the GPS
signal from the
satellite doesnt
follow a straight
line.
Refraction is the
bending of light as
it travels through
one media to
another.
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Signal Refraction
Signals from satellites can
be like light. When they
hit some interference (air
patterns in the
atmosphere, uneven
geography, etc.) they
sometimes bend a little.
Atmospheric Delays

Ionosphere (band of
charged particles)
Troposphere (our
weather)

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Signal Interference
Sometimes the
signals bounce off
things before they
hit reach
receivers; causing
whats called
Multipath Error
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Satellite Distribution
When the satellites are all in the same part of the sky, readings
will be less accurate:
Poor GDOP (large value) results when angles from receiver to satellites are
similar (satellites are close to each other)
Good GDOP (small value) results when angles from receiver to satellites are
different (satellites are widely spaced)

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Geometric Dilution of Precision (GDOP)

All of this
combines to make
the signal less
accurate, and gives
it what we call a
high PDOP.

11,000 miles
11,000 miles
11,000 miles

11,000 miles

A PDOP of <4 is excellent

A PDOP of 4-8 is good
A PDOP of >8 is poor (not acceptable)
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Differential Correction
Differential correction is a
technique that greatly increases
the accuracy of the collected
GPS data.
It involves using a receiver at a
known location - the "base
station- and comparing that
data with GPS positions collected
from unknown locations with
"roving receivers."

Before

After

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Differential Correction
Offset differences
computed by the base
station are used to
correct the rover
receivers positions
Corrections can be
applied in:
post processing (i.e.
file from internet)
real-time (i.e. base
station, Coast Guard
beacon, satellite
service)

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Post vs.
Real-time
processing
DC

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Differencing
Single difference

Two receivers simultaneously

observing the same satellite

Double difference

One receiver observing two or

more satellites

Triple difference

The difference between two

double differences; That is,
double differences are
compared over succeeding
epochs

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GPS Measurements
Static
Kinematic
Real time Kinematic (RTK)
DGPS
CORS

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Differential Correction
Errors Corrected by DGPS

Satellite clocks
Orbit errors
Ionosphere and troposphere (partially
corrected)

Errors NOT Corrected by DGPS

Multipath error
Receiver noise

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GPS APPLICATIONS

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How can we use GPS?

Can be used as a digital compass
Can be used to determine ground speed
Can store landmarks (locations)
Can be used for dynamic routing
Can be used for mapping applications

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Applications of GPS
In-vehicle Navigation (car, boat, airplane)
Asset Management
Construction
Geologic Research & Mining
Military Navigation and Operations
Mapping & Surveying
Precision Agriculture
Public Health
Public Safety (Police, Firefighters , and Emergency
Medical Services)
Wireless Communications
Science
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