GPS

Dr.K.ANANTHANARAYANAN
PROFESSOR
Department of Civil Engineering
IIT Madras Chennai
 What is GPS?
Global Positioning System or GPS, is a technology
that can give your accurate position anywhere on
earth (latitude/longitude).
 GLOBAL POSITIONING
SYSTEM
Developed by the United States Department of
Defense
It is officially named NAVSTAR GPS (NAVSTAR is simply a name
given by Mr. John Walsh, a key decision maker when it came to the budget for the GPS
program)

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is the only

fully functional Global Navigation Satellite System
(GNSS).
The system enables a GPS receiver to determine its
location, speed/direction, and time.
 Who owns this system?
The Global Positioning System is owned and operated by United States
Department of Defense. But it is available freely to anyone in the
world for use.
GLONASS Russia's global navigation system. Fully operational
worldwide.
GALILEO a global system being developed by the European Union
and other partner countries, planned to be operational by 2014
BEIDOU People's Republic of China's regional system, currently
limited to Asia and the West Pacific
COMPASS People's Republic of China's global system, planned to
be operational by 2020
IRNSS India's regional navigation system, planned to be operational
by 2012, covering India and Northern Indian Ocean
QZSS Japanese regional system covering Asia and Oceania
Many modern receivers are capable of using signals from all these
systems.
 Principle of GPS
The principle of GPS is to determine the
position based on the signals from GPS
satellites.
GPS receivers determine position, velocity,
and time from signals transmitted by the
satellites.
Signals from 4 satellites are needed to
determine x,y,z (position) and time
While most clocks are synchronized to
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the
Atomic clocks on the satellites are set to
GPS time
 Can civilians use GPS?

Yes it is allowed for civilian use, with no restriction.

There are two kind of GPS signals,
C/A code: which is the civilian signals and given
acuracy about 8-15m
P code - which is military signal and only US
military can use that, which is more accurate.
There are high-end civilian receivers available,
called dual-frequency receivers, which uses part
of P-code, not the full signal, and gives higher
accuracy than single frequency receivers.
How accurate is the position given
by GPS?
Accuracy varies depending on the type of GPS
unit.
In general, you can expect the position to be
within 15m of its true position on earth.
Techniques like Differential GPS (D-GPS) can
give accuracy less than 3m.
Advanced techniques like satellite
augmentation, carrier-phase GPS are used for
very accurate surveys and can be accurate
within centimeters.
 Global Positioning System (GPS)
The U.S. Air Force develops, maintains, and operates the space and control
segments

space segment
control segment

user segment
GPS Global Positioning System
Space segment

24 satellites in 6 orbits 55 deg. to each

22,200 km altitude orbit time 11hr.58min.

L1 (1575.42MHz) & L2 (1227MHZ)

C/A ( Course acquisition) code

P (Precise ) code
Satellite Orbits
There are 24 satellites orbits earth at
20,200 km altitude in 6 different
orbital paths
The orbits of GPS path are inclined at
550 to equator; spaced 600 apart in
longitude, so that 4 - 6 satellites are
always in view.

Each satellite circles the Earth twice a

day.
The satellites in the GPS constellation
are arranged into six orbital planes,
each containing four primary
satellites.
This 24-slot arrangement ensures there
are always at least four satellites in
view from virtually any point on the
planet.
 GPS satellite system
GPS satellites are powered by solar energy.
The first GPS satellite was launched in 1978.
A full constellation of 24 satellites was
achieved in 1994.
Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Comparison_satellite_navigation_orbits.svg
GPS as a fast surveying tool
GPS and EDMs

Orthometric height (Cartesian co-ordinate

system)
Geodetic co-ordinates

Different modes of GPS

Static mode

Rapid static mode

Stop and Go mode
Kinematic mode
 Performance Standard
1. GPS Standard Positioning Service (SPS): civilian GPS service

2.GPS Precision Positioning Service (PPS) : military GPS service.

3.Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) supports aircraft

navigation across North America .

4.Global Differential GPS (GDGPS)

The NASA Global Differential GPS (GDGPS) System is a complete,

highly accurate, and extremely robust real-time GPS monitoring and
augmentation system.
 What's the signal?
GPS satellites transmit two low power radio signals,
designated L1 and L2. Civilian GPS uses the L1
frequency of 1575.42 MHz in the UHF band. The signals
travel by line of sight, meaning they will pass through
clouds, glass and plastic but will not go through most
solid objects such as buildings and mountains .
.
 GPS signal
A GPS signal contains three different bits of
information - a pseudorandom code,
ephemeris data and almanac data.
EPHEMERIS DATA,
ALMANAC DATA
PSEUDORANDOM CODE constantly transmitted
tells the GPS receiver
by each satellite,
where each GPS satellite
The pseudorandom code contains important
should be at any time
an I.D. code that identifies information about
throughout the day.
which satellite the status of the satellite
Each satellite transmits
is transmitting information. (healthy or unhealthy),
almanac data showing
You can view this number current date and time.
the orbital information
This part of the signal
for that satellite
is essential
and for every
for determining
other satellite in the system.
a position
Differential GPS (DGPS)
Differential GPS positioning uses two receivers picking up signals
from the same set of satellites. One receiver is at a fixed location
with known coordinates, and the other receiver is at an unknown
location or may even be moving.
 Differential GPS
Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) is an
enhancement to Global Positioning System that provides
improved location accuracy, from the 15-meter nominal
GPS accuracy to about 10 cm in case of the best
implementations.
DGPS uses a network of fixed, ground-based reference
stations to broadcast the difference between the
positions indicated by the satellite systems and the
known fixed positions. These stations broadcast the
difference between the measured satellite pseudoranges
and actual (internally computed) pseudoranges, and
receiver stations may correct their pseudoranges by the
same amount.
The digital correction signal is typically broadcast locally
over ground-based transmitters of shorter range.
 RTK system
RTK systems use a single base station receiver and a number of
mobile units.
The base station re-broadcasts the phase of the carrier that it
measured, and the mobile units compare their own phase
measurements with the ones received from the base station.
There are several ways to transmit a correction signal from base
station to mobile station. The most popular way to achieve real-time,
low-cost signal transmission is to use a radio modem, typically in the
UHF band.
In most countries, certain frequencies are allocated specifically for
RTK purposes. Most land survey equipment has a built-in UHF band
radio modem as a standard option.
This allows the units to calculate their relative position to millimeters,
although their absolute position is accurate only to the same
accuracy as the position of the base station. The typical nominal
accuracy for these dual-frequency systems is 1 centimetre 2 parts-
per-million (ppm) horizontally and 2 centimetres 2 ppm vertically.
 Universal Transverse Mercator
(UTM)
The Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM)
geographic coordinate system is a grid-based
method of specifying locations on the surface of
the Earth that is a practical application of a 2-
dimensional Cartesian coordinate system.
It is a horizontal position representation, i.e. it is
used to identify locations on the earth
independently of vertical position, but differs
from the traditional method of latitude and
longitude in several respects.
 The GPS receiver uses a theoretical sea
level estimated by a World Geodetic
System (WGS84) ellipsoid, which does not
perfectly follow the theoretical MSL.
UTM ZONES
Advantages of GPS
Intervisibility
Inaccessible and remote area
Night survey
All weather system
Time saving
Accuracy
Applications of GPS
Navigation
Transportation
Environmental Science
Topographic survey
Control Survey for GIS
Natural Resource Management
MARINE SURVEYING

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/showallphotos.aspx
 Marine Surveying
Scope:
Land survey Above water (Total station /
Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS))
Hydrographic survey Below water (DGPS / Echo
sounder)
Stages
Initial Survey
Check Survey
Joint Survey
Crane / Barge Positioning
 Hydrographic Surveying
Scope:
Establishment of Survey network
The Real Time Kinematic [RTK] processing
techniques
Carried out at 10 m intervals for Breakwater
Hull mounted transducer on the survey vessel
records the acoustic data
As the vessel sails along, the echo sounder logs on
the data for processing
Equipped with software, for generation of cross
sections, which shall be checked with the required
theoretical profile
View of Pondicherry Coast

IIT Madras
Crane Positioning System
 Depth Measurement
Depth soundings are obtained with an echo sounder

A sound signal is sent from a transducer which bounces

off sea bed and distance calculated according to time
taken for the sound to return

Readings are recorded 10 times every second Transducer

dr

Soundings sent from the transducer are calibrated a d

before and after every survey

a = depth measured by transducer
dr = draft transducer
d = depth from water surface

d = dr+a
 Depth Measurement
Calibration is carried out by hanging a steel plate below
the transducer at known depths and readings adjusted
accordingly Known as a Bar Check

Checks on the echo sounder are carried out in every 2m

depth of water

The setting that can vary are:-

Speed of Sound (Varies with temperature and
salinity)
Vessel Draft (Varies depending on the dead weight
on board)
 Vertical Control
VHF Aerial
Tide transmitted to
office monitoring PC.

Due to influence of the tides the level of the vessel

is constantly varying
VALEPORT TIDE
GAUGE

Tide Gauge cable (20m)

10mm rod welded across to Height above Chart Datum 5.063 metres
suspend vertical rod

To overcome this height of tide above Chart Datum

is considered when calculating absolute depth
readings
10mm Rod

Rod holder plate (90mm Dia)

A tide gauge was set up in Smugglers Cove to

monitor and transmit tide heights Water level

Chart Datum
a

Gravel b
5mm Holes around the
Pipe upto height of 50cms

a = raw water level

b = reduced water level
t = height of tide
 Vertical Control
Height of tide is recorded with a pressure sensor
placed in a stilling well below water which transmits
readings by VHF

The Tide Gauge used on site records data 4 times a

second and averages these readings over a minute
before transmitting this result

The tide Gauge (Valeport VTM 710) is factory

calibrated and it is also calibrated and physically
checked on site
 Corrections
Because the survey vessel is moving through waves and
swell recorded depth readings are dependant on the sea
state

Since the sea state is almost never completely flat - this is

overcome with the use of a heave compensator

The heave compensator is a very sophisticated piece of

equipment which sends appropriate corrections to the echo
sounder
Sources of GPS signal errors

Factors that can degrade the GPS signal and

thus affect accuracy include the following:
Ionosphere and troposphere delays
Signal multipath
Receiver
clock errors
Orbital errors
Number of satellites visible
Satellite geometry/shading
Intentional degradation of the satellite signal
 DGPS signals Corrections
data to correct its own measurements and calculations.
The two most common sources of corrective DGPS signals currently
are:
(1) Coast Guard, land-based beacon transmitters,
broadcasting the data at no charge to the public, covering all
coastal areas and much of the inland USA as well;
(2) FM radio sub carrier transmissions available both in
coastal and inland areas, but limited to paid subscribers.
In order to receive the DGPS correction data from the Coast Guard
beacon transmitters, the mobile GPS unit requires a separate
beacon receiver.
And to receive FM sub carrier DGPS signals from local subscriber
radio stations,
the GPS unit requires a separate FM receiver, normally the size of a
pager. Naturally, your GPS unit must have the
capability to both receive and process DGPS data.
THANK YOU