Lecture-3

6.5 Accurracy and Reccording Timee

Accuracy y and precision: It is referrred to the clo

oseness of obsservation to thhe real value.. Precision referred
to the closseness of repeeated observaation to the mean value of a group of obbservation sam mple.

Figure 6.5: Accuracy

A vs. P
Precision

Orbital Biases:
B Thesse are the sy ystematic erroors, which aare responsibble for the cchange in thee true
measurem ments from thee observed vaalue by a consstant amount, in a predictaable and systeematic mannerr.
DOP (Dillution of Preecision); In caase of navigattion applicatiion, DOP is ddefined as an effect of geometry
related to satellite conffiguration. It is
i also expressed as the rattio of positionnal to measureement accuraacy.

GPS coorrdinates has been calculaated via Userr Equivalent Range Errorrs (UERE) w which is relatted to
satellite and
a receiver clocks,
c orbits, satellite orb
bits, position geometry annd atmospheriic conditions. This
condition occurs when a clustered close togethher and thus suffer from DOP (Dilutiion of
n satellites are
Precision)). The DOP concludes the values rangess from 1 to 200 (Table 6.1)..

 GPS
G receiverss comprise off two compon nents i.e. HD
DOP (Horizonntal Dilutionn of Precisionn) and
VDOP
V (Verticcal Dilution of
o Precision). A combinatiion of this viia three-dimeensional posittion is
caalled PDOP (Position Dilu ution of Precission).

Componeents of GDOP P:-
 Position Dilutiion of Precisioon or Sphericcal DOP havinng 3-Dimensiion (PDOP).
 Horizontal
H Dilution of Precision with Laatitude and Loongitude (HD
DOP).
 Vertical
V Dilution of Precisio
on with heighht (VDOP).
 Time
T Dilution of Precision with time (TDDOP).
 Table 6.1: Impact of DOP values over GPS survey

Value Range Capability Conclusions

DOP = 1 Ideal Maximum confidence level
1 < DOP < 2 Excellent Exact measurements must be met
2 < DOP < 5 Good Lowest level of confidence with respect to
business decisions
5 < DOP < 10 Moderate Measurements computed would be
accurate but can be improved
10 < DOP < Fair Low confidence level but must be treated
20 with caution
DOP > 20 Poor Significant levels of inaccuracy and error

Accuracy of GPS observations can be varying from some meter level to sub centimeter level, depending
upon the method of GPS survey adopted and capability of GPS receiver used, and also for the type of
uses whether it is used for military purpose or civilian use, accuracy differs.
Lower the recording time, higher will be the data recorded which will boost the accuracy of observation
so generally it is kept 1seconds. But lower recording time increases the memory uses also hence some
time it causes trouble.

The main factors affecting the accuracy of GPS observation can be listed as below;

 Error related to orbital biases and measurement

 Positioning Mode based on absolute and relative or differential positioning
 Satellite and Receiver Position Geometry
 Pre and Post data processing algorithms
Error related to orbital biases and measurement: All GPS measurements including pseudo range, carrier
phase & Doppler frequency are very sensitive to the biases and errors; their combined effect alters the
positioning results. For high accuracy work biases must be accounted in processing step of GPS data
processing. Sources of biases may be grouped depending upon their characteristics such as magnitude,
periodicity, satellite and receiver dependencies. Manly biases can introduced by effects i.e. atmospheric
effects and signal propagation, but they can also introduced in the data processing stage due to poor
knowledge of fixed constants (like satellite orbit, station coordinates, velocity of light) to the user. By
considering errors we can consider the biases, which are correlated in space and time. .
Positioning Mode based on absolute and relative or differential positioning: Both the mode of positioning,
absolute or point positioning and relative positioning, are fundamental to consideration of error /biases in
datum related to GPS results. Point positioning is defined with respect to well defined coordinate system
(WGS84 Cartesian reference system). This coordinate system is direct realized to the monitoring station
coordinates and transferred to all users on the basis of coordinated of GPs satellite. User position and any
error or biases computation is basically done by satellite coordinates which directly changes the accuracy
as well as precision of results.

Higher accuracies can be obtained by the relative positioning mode using the two receivers at different
positions, tracing the same satellites, because of absolute positioning of two GPS receivers is affected by
many errors at same extent which will be subtracted in differential or relative positioning mode.

Satellite and Receiver Position Geometry: Accuracy of satellite measurements also act as a function of
geometry of satellite receiver. Lesser the DOP, value higher will be the accuracy of GPS observations and
errors associated with measurements are not so much amplified. Higher values of DOP make the position
a point too much unreliable, called outage. DOP varies with time and geography of an area, although for
same area it is same in ideal condition. DOP plays a vital role in point positioning, although its role is
limited in the relative positioning.