Testing multi-frequency low-cost GNSS receivers for geodetic monitoring purposes

Hamza, Veton (author), Stopar, Bojan (author), Ambrožič, Tomaž (author), Turk, Goran (author), Sterle, Oskar (author)

Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technology is widely used for geodetic monitoring purposes. However, in cases where a higher risk of receiver damage is expected, geodetic GNSS receivers may be considered too expensive to be used. As an alternative, low-cost GNSS receivers that are cheap, light, and prove to be of adequate quality over short baselines, are considered. The main goal of this research is to evaluate the positional precision of a multi-frequency low-cost instrument, namely, ZED-F9P with u-blox ANN-MB-00 antenna, and to investigate its potential for displacement detection. We determined the positional precision within static survey, and the displacement detection within dynamic survey. In both cases, two baselines were set, with the same rover point equipped with a low-cost GNSS instrument. The base point of the first baseline was observed with a geodetic GNSS instrument, whereas the second baseline was observed with a low-cost GNSS instrument. The results from static survey for both baselines showed comparable results for horizontal components; the precision was on a level of 2 mm or better. For the height component, the results show a better performance of low-cost instruments. This may be a consequence of unknown antenna calibration parameters for low-cost GNSS antenna, while statistically significant coordinates of rover points were obtained from both baselines. The difference was again more significant in the height component. For the displacement detection, a device was used that imposes controlled movements with sub-millimeter accuracy. Results, obtained on a basis of 30-min sessions, show that low-cost GNSS instruments can detect displacements from 10 mm upwards with a high level of reliability. On the other hand, low-cost instruments performed slightly worse as far as accuracy is concerned.

• Language: English
• Keywords: geodesy, monitoring, low-cost instrumentation, displacements, GNSS
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FGG - Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2020
• Number of pages: 16 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 20, iss. 16, art. 4375
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-120998
• UDC: 528.5
• ISSN on article: 1424-8220
• DOI: 10.3390/s20164375
• COBISS.SI-ID: 25761539
• Publication date in RUL: 28.09.2020

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Sensors
• Shortened title: Sensors
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 1424-8220
• COBISS.SI-ID: 10176278

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 05.08.2020

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: geodezija, monitoring, cenovno ugodni inštrumenti, premiki, GNSS

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P2-0227
• Name: Geoinformacijska infrastruktura in trajnostni prostorski razvoj Slovenije

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P2-0260
• Name: Mehanika konstrukcij