On‐the‐fly carrier phase ambiguity resolution for precise aircraft landing

Abstract

Successful GPS on‐the‐fly (OTF) carrier phase ambiguity resolution for precise positioning at the centimetre level has already been demonstrated. This has usually been in good observation conditions, e.g. over short distances, lots of satellites, P‐code pseudoranges available, and small unmodelled errors. In order for GPS to fulfil the rigorous ICAO Cat. III precise landing navigation requirements centimetre‐level accuracy must also be obtained in more realistic conditions, e.g. A‐S on, high‐unmodelled errors and less than six satellites. Integrating GPS with other sensors, e.g. INS, is likely to aid ambiguity resolution in such conditions, but there are limitations. After discussing critically the OTF methods, approaches are examined which will provide the precise accuracy, reliability and integrity required. Combining GPS with one, or more, pseudolites to provide an extra geometrical constraint to aid ambiguity resolution is described. Flight tests using different configurations of pseudolites are carried out and analysed.

New Methodology of Designation the Precise Aircraft Position Based on the RTK GPS Solution

“…Whereas work [ 14 ] presented the solution of aircraft positioning within the framework of a precision approach and landing category I, taking into account RTK positioning. In work [ 15 ], similarly as in publications [ 13 , 14 ], the problem of determining the position of the aircraft with the use of RTK GPS solution in the procedure of precise approach and landing was explored, but this time of category III according to technical standards of ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization). In addition, work [ 16 ] shows the solution of double phase differences (DD-Double Difference) in the RTK method for determining the position of the aircraft.…”

“…On the basis of the collected publications [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ], it can be seen that a lot of research work concerned the determination of positioning accuracy using the RTK-OTF technique. In order to better describe the research carried out in the works [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , ...…”

“…In order to better describe the research carried out in the works [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ], Table 1 presents a short summary of the obtained results of the accuracy parameter. The results in Table 1 show that in many research papers [ 11 , 20 , 22 , 23 , 25 , 29 , 33 , 34 , 36 , 41 , 42 ], the positioning accuracy for the vertical component was lower than 0.1 m. In [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 20 , 22 , 23 , 25 , 28 , 29 ,…”

“…On the basis of the presented state analysis based on the works [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ], it can be said that the application of the differential RTK-OTF technique is most reasonable and necessary. More so, as shown in works [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ,…”

“…Moreover, it can be stated that this positioning method is in the circle of interest of many research centers in the world. The analysis of the state of the art [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ] shows that the RTK-OTF method has the most applications in the area of aircraft positioning in air navigation. Therefore, the present work will also concern the area of RTK GPS positioning and, in particular, propose a new computational strategy to determine the resultant position of an aircraft in a stochastic process within the RTK-OTF differential technique.…”