TY - JOUR

T1 - Predicting C/N0 as a Key Parameter for Network RTK Integrity Prediction in Urban Environments

AU - Karimidoona, Ali

AU - Schön, Steffen

N1 - Funding Information: This research was funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Graduate School Scholarship Program (GSSP) number 91750240 as part of the DFG funded research training group i.c.sens. The publication of this article was funded by the Open Access Publishing Fund of Leibniz Universität Hannover.

PY - 2023/10/7

Y1 - 2023/10/7

N2 - Autonomuous transportation systems require navigation performance with a high level of integrity. As Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) real-time kinematic (RTK) solutions are needed to ensure lane level accuracy of the whole system, these solutions should be trustworthy, which is often not the case in urban environments. Thus, the prediction of integrity for specific routes or trajectories is of interest. The carrier-to-noise density ratio (C/N (Formula presented.)) reported by the GNSS receiver offers important insights into the signal quality, the carrier phase availability and subsequently the RTK solution integrity. The ultimate goal of this research is to investigate the predictability of the GNSS signal strength. Using a ray-tracing algorithm together with known satellite positions and 3D building models, not only the satellite visibility but also the GNSS signal propagation conditions at waypoints along an intended route are computed. Including antenna gain, free-space propagation as well as reflection and diffraction at surfaces and vegetation, the predicted C/N (Formula presented.) is compared to that recorded by an Septentrio Altus receiver during an experiment in an urban environment in Hannover. Although the actual gain pattern of the receiving antenna was unknown, good agreements were found with small offsets between measured and predicted C/N (Formula presented.).

AB - Autonomuous transportation systems require navigation performance with a high level of integrity. As Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) real-time kinematic (RTK) solutions are needed to ensure lane level accuracy of the whole system, these solutions should be trustworthy, which is often not the case in urban environments. Thus, the prediction of integrity for specific routes or trajectories is of interest. The carrier-to-noise density ratio (C/N (Formula presented.)) reported by the GNSS receiver offers important insights into the signal quality, the carrier phase availability and subsequently the RTK solution integrity. The ultimate goal of this research is to investigate the predictability of the GNSS signal strength. Using a ray-tracing algorithm together with known satellite positions and 3D building models, not only the satellite visibility but also the GNSS signal propagation conditions at waypoints along an intended route are computed. Including antenna gain, free-space propagation as well as reflection and diffraction at surfaces and vegetation, the predicted C/N (Formula presented.) is compared to that recorded by an Septentrio Altus receiver during an experiment in an urban environment in Hannover. Although the actual gain pattern of the receiving antenna was unknown, good agreements were found with small offsets between measured and predicted C/N (Formula presented.).

KW - GNSS

KW - integrity monitoring

KW - network RTK

KW - urban navigation

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85174213719&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3390/rs15194850

DO - 10.3390/rs15194850

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85174213719

VL - 15

JO - Remote sensing

JF - Remote sensing

SN - 2072-4292

IS - 19

M1 - 4850

ER -