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Completed TRL 4 (started at 2, targeting 4)
The original proposal was to implement a point positioning technique that is different from the current state-of-the art in the sense that it will use every measurement at each frequency and for each GNSS satellite. In a current typical positioning approach a single linear combination is used for the phase observable and one for the range observable, and for a subset of the full GNSS constellation.
Since the inception of the project we started implementation of a PPP client. We have a beta version of this software, which we will deliver to Earth scope for testing.
Part of the underlying infrastructure is a software responsible for checking the continuity of the phase observable along each path. When the phase observable jumps (or has a ‘cycle slip’) one typically places a marker on the data and certain quantities need to be reset in the estimation process, leading to reduced accuracy for potentially tens of minutes.
The continuity editor is enhanced such that, in many cases, it is able to detect the precise amount of slipping in the phase and can correct for that. This means we no longer need to place the marker, and the accuracy does not need to diminish after such events. We have been able to employ this technique successfully and are able to perform centimeter-level positioning even when combined with the current standard positioning techniques.
This same continuity editor is used in an effort called ‘guardian’, where we monitor the ionospheric electron content along the signal path between a set of receivers and the GNNS satellites to detect disturbances that can then be corelated with hazardous events, such as earthquake, tsunami, or man-made events (such as the Beirut explosion). It will also enable high-accuracy PPP technology for civilian and government uses including anthropogenic hazard detection for DoE and DoD customers and provide improved tracking of low-earth orbiters for future flight infusion.
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