Geomatics IB

Lecture 15: GPS, GNSS & TrigNET

 Introduction:
• The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a worldwide
radio-navigation system formed from a constellation of
24-26 satellites and their ground stations. GPS uses these
"man-made stars" as reference points to calculate
positions accurate to a matter of meters. In fact, with
advanced forms of GPS you can make measurements
to better than a centimeter.

• GPS receivers have been miniaturized to just a few

integrated circuits and so are becoming very
economical. And that makes the technology
accessible to virtually everyone.

• These days GPS is finding its way into cars, boats, planes,
construction equipment, farm machinery, cellphones,
laptop computers, tablets.
 Introduction:
• Is GPS a new idea? No! Satellites are only man made stars and we
have navigated using the stars for thousand of years. Today of
course, instead of looking at them, today’s navigators GPS
equipment listen to the radio signals they send and are able to
range distance from them.

• The first successful navigation satellite system was the TRANSIT

Doppler System and we have been using it for over 20 years (1992).

• The US Defence Department (DoD) developed GPS as the ideal

navigation tool at a cost to the American taxpayers of over 10
billion US dollars.

• By the mid 1980s the second generation guidance system of the US

DoD – the navigation satellite timing and ranging (NAVSTAR)
Global positioning system had evolved to many of its present
capabilities.

• This system originally designed for military guidance and positioning

has attracted a wide variety of Civilian uses in the positioning and
navigation application fields (commercial aviation navigation,
boating and shipping navigation, trucking and railway positioning,
emergency routing, automobile dash-board electronic charts etc.
 GPS Satellites:
• The GPS satellite weighs approximately 2000 kilograms. They travel
incredibly fast, about four kilometres per second.

• The 24 satellites orbit at about 20200 kms from the earth surface
and they are in six equal space orbital planes with at least 4
satellites in each plane. The orbital planes are inclined at 55◦ to the
equator and the orbit time is 12 hrs (11hrs 58 mins).

• Each satellite is visible for 5 hrs if passing through the observer’s

zenith. The time-varying position of the satellites is known as its
EPHEMERIS, which is a list of co-ordinates defining the orbital
position.

• Other countries are developing their own systems. The entire scope
of satellite system using positioning is now referred to as Global
navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS).

• Receivers that use the GPS satellites and another system such as
GLONASS are known as GNSS receivers.

• These combined systems provide precise timing and positioning

information anywhere on earth with high reliability and low cost.
 GPS Satellites:

Satellites orbiting earth:

A GPS Satellite:
 GNSS:
Global Navigational Satellite System

• COMPASS: Chinese constellation

• BieDOU: Chinese constellation
• GlONASS: Russian constellation
• GPS: American constellation
• GALILEO: European constellation
 GPS Segments:
GPS is made up of three main ingredients:

Space Segment:
Consists of 24 Satellites orbiting the earth at approx. 20200km every 12
hours. GPS Satellites have very accurate atomic clocks on board.

Control Segment:
The Control Segment consists of one master control station (based in
Colorado Springs), 5 monitor stations and 4 ground antennas
distributed amongst 5 locations roughly on the earth’s equator. The
Control Segment tracks the GPS satellites, updates their orbiting
position, calibrates and synchronises their clocks.

User Segment:
The User Segment comprises of anyone using a GPS receiver to
receive the GPS signal and determine their position and/ or time.
Typical applications within the user segment are land navigation for
hikers, vehicle location, surveying, marine navigation, aerial
navigation, machine control etc.
 How GPS works?
• It uses Satellite signals, accurate time and sophisticated
algorithms to generate distances to ground receivers and
therefore provide ‘resectioned’ positions anyway on earth.
• GPS can also provide navigation data, such a speed and
direction of a mobile receiver as well as estimated arrival
times at specific locations.
• Satellite orbits have been designed so that ground positioning
can usually be determined at any location on earth at any
time of day or night.
• A minimum of four satellites must be tracked to solve the
positioning intersection equations dealing with (X, Y and Z
coordinates, which can be translated to easting, northern
and elevation) and with clock differences between the
satellites and ground receivers.
 How GPS works?
• In reality five or more satellites are tracked if possible, to
introduce additional redundancies and to strengthen the
geometry of the satellite array.
• This enables the 4 unknowns to be solved (Latitude,
Longitude, Height (elevation) and Clock Offset).
• Additional satellites can provide more accurate positioning
and also reduce the receiver occupation time at each survey
station.
 How GPS works?

The basis of GPS is "triangulation" from satellites however since no angles are
involved. it's really “Trilateration“. Trilateration is a method of determining the
relative positions of objects using the geometry of triangles.

Here's how GPS works in five logical steps:

• To "triangulate," a GPS receiver measures distance using the travel time of

radio signals.
• To measure travel time, GPS needs very accurate timing which it achieves
with very accurate clocks (atomic clocks).
• Along with distance, you need to know exactly where the satellites are in
space. High orbits and careful monitoring are the secret.
• Finally you must correct for any delays the signal experiences as it travels
through the Ionosphere and the earths atmosphere.
 Why GPS:

• Trying to figure out where you are and where you're going is
probably one of man's oldest pastimes.
• Navigation and positioning are crucial to so many activities and yet
the process has always been quite cumbersome.
• Over the years all kinds of technologies have tried to simplify the
task but every one has had some disadvantage. Finally, the U.S.
Department of Defense decided that the military had to have a
super precise form of worldwide positioning.
• And fortunately they had the kind of money ($12 billion!) it took to
build something really good. The result is the Global Positioning
System, a system that's changed navigation forever.
 GPS field procedures
• In practice field procedures employed on surveys depend on
the capabilities of the receiver's and the type of survey. Some
specific field procedures currently being used include static,
rapid static, and real-time kinematic methods.

• For topographic or GIS surveys, low order (sub-meter) Rover

receivers will be adequate however for construction layout in
real-time, high-end Rover receivers capable of centimeter or
millimeter accuracy must be selected.

• A traditional Real-time RTK setup comprises of a GPS base

station and Rover receiver as illustrated below:-
GPS Base and Rover receiver
 GPS field procedures
• To start a GPS survey one would need to setup the GPS base
station (reference station) on a known point (Trig beacon,
TSM, Reference mark, working point) and carry out the
necessary checks by staking out to at least one other known
point to ensure that the base station position is correct and
that the required accuracy is acceptable before
proceeding.

• The Rover receiver is then moved from point to point and the
required control points are fixed by observing for a certain
period of time on each point.

• The co-ordinates are stored a Survey Controller or a Data

logger device which is then downloaded in the office for
record purposes. The stored coordinates can be viewed on
the field and additional co-ordinates can be inputted
manually onto the Controller. Data can also be uploaded
into the Survey controller before departing for the field.
GPS field procedures
Trimble Survey controller:
Trimble Survey controller is an
electronic device used to store
and manage survey data on
the field. It is fully equipped
with a Windows mobile
operating system that can also
process and perform real-time
field computations thereby
saving time and increasing
productivity.
 RTK field set-up procedure:

Internet reference source:

http://www.ee.co.za/article/vrs-technology-densification-rtk-gpsgnss.html
RTK field set-up procedure:
GPS Pictures:
GPS Pictures:
 CORS & TrigNET:
• A ‘CORS’ is a Continuously Operating Reference
Station.
• CORS can take the place of a traditional base
station used in differential GNSS positing.
• They can give an instant position to an accuracy of
± 20 mm and are used in many industries including
Precision, Agriculture, Construction, Mining,
Surveying, Geomatics and in Scientific Research.
• Typically, the maximum distance between a base
station and rover GNSS set up is around 10 - 15 km.
This is due to the effect of the atmosphere on the
GNSS signals as they travel from the satellite to a
GNSS receiver.
• With CORS Network, the distance between the base
and the rover can be extended.
 CORS & TrigNET:
• An ‘Active control’ survey network could be
considered as one in which the reference points
(beacons or marks), actively and continuously
determine their positions and/or heights.
• In South Africa, ‘TrigNet’ is a network of continuously
operating GNSS base stations covering South Africa
all managed and controlled by a single control
centre situated in the offices of National Geospatial
Information (NGI).
• The first stations in the network were installed in 1999
and by September 2010 consisted of more than 55
operational stations.
• Further stations are planned to expand the network.
 CORS & TrigNET:
• Traditionally, in order to achieve centimetre
positioning accuracy using GNSS, users must operate
at least two receivers one of which must be placed
on a point of known position which implies that users
must purchase two or more GNSS receivers.
• TrigNet effectively provides the second receiver thus
eliminating the need for the user to purchase more
than one receiver which reduces the capital outlay
to get started in high accuracy GNSS positioning.
 Sources of error in GPS positioning:

The chief sources of error in GPS are listed below:

 Clock areas of the receiver's.

 Ionospheric and tropospheric refraction.
 Multipath interference.
 A weak geometric figure of four satellite locations.
 Errors associated with the satellite orbital data.
 Set up errors
 Selective availability (SA)
 Conclusion:

There is an abundance of reading material on this

topic in the library for any interested student as well
as a number of websites offering exciting and
informative topics relating to GPS/GNSS. GPS will be
dealt with in much greater detail in
Control Surveying 2A.