José Luis Berné Valero

Kinematic GNSS-PPP results from various software packages and raw data configurations

In this study, kinematic precise point positioning (PPP) was tested. The raw data were taken from permanent stations, two airplane trajectories, a car trajectory and a walking trajectory. International GNSS Service (IGS) final products were used in the post-processing phase. The observations were processed using four different on-line software packages: the Canadian Spatial Reference System Online Global GPS Processing Service (CSRS-PPP), the GPS Analysis and Position Software (GAPS), the Automatic Precise Positioning Service (APPS) and the Magic Global Navigation Satellite System (MagicGNSS). The results and comparisons are described in detail. The main conclusion is that an accuracy better than 10 cm for the planimetric measurements and better than 20 cm for the altimetric measurements can be achieved using the kinematic PPP method in any of the proposed tests. However, at present, the success of the technique is affected by the software used, and differences at the 0.5 m level can be found for the same specific epoch.

Atmospheric Attenuation and Scintillation Effects on the Range of EDM Instruments

AbstractThis investigation aimed to study the range of various electronic distance measurement (EDM) instruments used in survey engineering, assuming different weather conditions and different terrain altitudes, by controlling every parameter influencing the measurements and contrasting the results with the information provided by the manufacturers. The first step consisted of determining the EDM real optical wavelength to be used for control against the manufacturers’ provided values. Consequently, a spectroscopy test of the lasers installed in every EDM instrument was carried out at the ESA-VSC [European Space Agency (ESA) and Val Space Consortium (VSC)] laboratory. The second step was to study the total measurement range of each instrument in different weather conditions and at different altitudes. Three experimental tests were carried out at three different locations in eastern Spain, separated by distances of less than 90 km, and altitudes ranging from sea level to about 2,000 m. Owing to the influen...