Incorporating Obstructions in GDOP Mapping Through the use of LiDAR Data

Krista Amolins

Abstract:	A number of factors affect the positioning accuracy of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) including the configuration of visible satellites. Dilution of Precision (DOP) values are a measure of the strength of the satellite configuration, yet their computation often does not take into account obstructions such as buildings or trees that may block the satellite signal and hence increase DOP. Since it is sometimes necessary to place receivers at locations where there are obstructions, it is important to be able to determine when the best satellite configuration will be observable at a particular location. This requires identifying obstructions in the area and ascertaining when they might be blocking satellite signals. In this paper, a method is proposed which uses data collected using Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) to identify and quantify obstructions. Satellite positions are compared to the obstructions to identify visible satellites and GDOP values are mapped for a selected area over a user-specified time period.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 21st International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS 2008) September 16 - 19, 2008 Savannah International Convention Center Savannah, GA
Pages:	1631 - 1640
Cite this article:	Amolins, Krista, "Incorporating Obstructions in GDOP Mapping Through the use of LiDAR Data," Proceedings of the 21st International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS 2008), Savannah, GA, September 2008, pp. 1631-1640.
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