Precise Point Positioning using Multi-Constellation GNSS Observations for Kinematic Applications

Abstract Traditional precise point positioning (PPP) is commonly based on un-differenced ionosphere-free linear combination of Global Positioning System (GPS) observations. Unfortunately, for kinematic applications, GPS often experiences poor satellite visibility or weak satellite geometry in urban areas. To overcome this limitation, we developed a PPP model, which combines the observations of three global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), namely GPS, GLONASS and Galileo. Both un-differenced and between-satellite single-difference (BSSD) ionosphere-free linear combinations of pseudorange and carrier phase GNSS measurements are processed. The performance of the combined GNSS PPP solution is compared with the GPS-only PPP solution using a real test scenario in downtown Kingston, Ontario. Inter-system biases between GPS and the other two systems are also studied and obtained as a byproduct of the PPP solution. It is shown that the addition of GLONASS observations improves the kinematic PPP solution accuracy in comparison with that of GPS-only solution. However, the contribution of adding Galileo observations is not significant due to the limited number of Galileo satellites launched up to date. In addition, BSSD solution is found to be superior to that of traditional un-differenced model.