GNSS Base Station Antenna Height Adjustment for Vertical Accuracy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional RTK grade control systems face challenges in maintaining vertical accuracy, particularly as the distance between the dynamic GNSS rover and the stationary reference station increases, due to errors introduced by atmospheric effects like troposphere and ionosphere variations.
Innovation Solution
A system where a GNSS base station adjusts its antenna height based on real-time error measurements from a reference station, transmitting correction data to both the reference station and dynamic rover to reduce vertical error, thereby improving the accuracy of the dynamic rover's position measurements across a wider area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a stationary GNSS rover is deployed to monitor RTK GNSS elevation data, then vertical accuracy is improved relative to the stationary reference station, but accuracy decreases as the distance between the dynamic GNSS rover and stationary reference station increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the reference station mobile rather than stationary. The reference station can move to different locations to provide correction data to multiple dynamic rovers, allowing the system to maintain high vertical accuracy across a larger geographic area. This dynamic positioning capability resolves the contradiction by enabling the reference station to adapt its location based on the positions of the rovers it serves.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a server as an intermediary that receives correction data from the reference station and distributes it to multiple rovers. This intermediary enables the reference station's corrections to be effectively applied across a wider area, maintaining accuracy even when rovers are at varying distances from the reference station.
2Device complexity
If RTK relies on a single reference base station, then the setup is simple, but atmospheric effects like troposphere and ionosphere variations introduce errors in position data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the reference station continuously monitors its own position using RTK corrections and uses this information to adjust its correction outputs. The system processes real-time position data and atmospheric error measurements to generate updated correction data, creating a closed-loop feedback system that maintains accuracy despite atmospheric variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the vertical position parameter of the reference station's antenna based on measured atmospheric errors. By adjusting the antenna height to compensate for tropospheric and ionospheric delays, the system maintains accurate position data despite atmospheric effects. This dynamic parameter adjustment resolves the contradiction between simple setup and high precision.
Data Source
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AI summary
A system for vertical accuracy improvement includes a reference station, a rover, and a base station in communication with the reference station and the rover. The base station includes a GNSS antenna, an actuator coupled to the GNSS antenna, a wireless transceiver, a processor, and non-transitory computer readable media comprising instructions executable by the processor. The instructions may be executed to cause the base station to receive a first vertical error from the reference station. The base station may further be configured to determine a second vertical position at which the first vertical error is reduced, and adjust the GNSS antenna to be in the second vertical position. The base station may further be configured to generate correction data based at least in part on the phase of the carrier wave signal at the second vertical position, and transmit the correction data to the rover.