Advanced Mission Planning Tool For Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) GPS Surveying

Michael K. Hogan and Marcelo C. Santos

Abstract:	Conventional mission planning in GPS surveying involves locating a site with minimal obstructions and determining satellite availability at the location to be surveyed. Tools used in the planning process usually include topographic maps and satellite availability software. In recent years, with the advent of Real Time Kinematic (RTK) GPS surveying, it is possible to obtain centimetre level accuracy while in the field. One of the key factors in the RTK GPS technique is the data link between the reference station and rover. Without this link RTK GPS results are not attainable in the field. For this reason mission planning in RTK GPS surveying takes on another level of complexity: not only does the reference station have to visible to the satellites, but it must also be visible to the rover. However, available mission planning tools do not provide a means to predict the data link coverage of the reference station. The purpose of this investigation is to determine the best wave propagation model or models to be used in a RTK GPS survey mission planning tool. This study will present current wave propagation models being used by communications planning software and then use these models to predict data link coverage. The performance of these models was evaluated through field testing of two RTK GPS systems. This investigation concludes that there are three wave propagation models that could be used to accurately predict data link coverage by using only digital terrain information. The implementation of these models relies on available documentation and potential source code. In researching this project it was evident the availability of documentation varies between models. Based on performance criteria and implementation considerations, two models are recommended to be implemented into a mission planning tool for RTK GPS surveying: Parabolic Equation and TIREM.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 2005 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 24 - 26, 2005 The Catamaran Resort Hotel San Diego, CA
Pages:	480 - 488
Cite this article:	Hogan, Michael K., Santos, Marcelo C., "Advanced Mission Planning Tool For Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) GPS Surveying," Proceedings of the 2005 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, San Diego, CA, January 2005, pp. 480-488.
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