GPS Carrier-Phase Multipath Model Validation

S.K. Kalyanaraman, M.S. Braasch

Abstract:	It is well known that carrier-phase multipath is one of the limiting error sources in high-precision differential GPS applications. A thorough understanding of carrier-phase multipath is the first step in the course of mitigating its impact in the relevant high precision applications. Complete characterization of carrier-phase multipath error requires a fundamental theoretical description and mathematical modeling. However, the theory and models must be validated against real data. The purpose of this paper is to provide a thorough validation of carrier-phase multipath theory. Bench test data will be compared to theoretical predictions. Special attention will be given to the differences in performance between standard and narrow-correlator receiver architectures. A first-order analysis indicates that both receiver architectures behave similarly with regard to carrier-phase multipath. However, high fidelity modeling reveals differences for medium delay multipath (i.e., delays on the order of 1 PRN chip). This paper will describe the phenomenon and validates it through bench test results. The paper will also explain the limitations inherent in several of the carrier-phase multipath models published over the past decade.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 59th Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation and CIGTF 22nd Guidance Test Symposium (2003) June 23 - 25, 2003 Hyatt Regency Hotel Albuquerque, NM
Pages:	363 - 371
Cite this article:	Kalyanaraman, S.K., Braasch, M.S., "GPS Carrier-Phase Multipath Model Validation," Proceedings of the 59th Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation and CIGTF 22nd Guidance Test Symposium (2003), Albuquerque, NM, June 2003, pp. 363-371.
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