Search

The accuracy of the results of satellite measurements is influenced by many factors. One of them is the multipath phenomenon resulting from reflections of the satellite signal, mainly from objects in the vicinity of the GNSS antenna. The multipath remains a domain source of ranging errors in satellite positioning. Despite the groups of multipath mitigation methods, it is impossible to totally eliminate the influence of this error on the measurement results. This error has two main effects in the case of carrier phase differential positioning. First, the multipath increases the initial search space for correct ambiguities. Secondly, the accuracy of the vector solution between the reference station and the rover receiver is affected. The authors of this article analyzed the presence of multipath in the Polish network of permanent GNSS stations ASG-EUPOS. Data from the year 2021 were used for the analysis. Two computational strategies were adopted to determine the multipath. The pseudorange multipath observable combination (MP) for L1, L2 and L5 signals was used for code measurements. In the case of the carrier phase, multipath analyses of double-differenced L1, L2, and L5 carriers between neighbouring stations were performed. Based on the research, the average multipath level for the Polish GNSS reference stations network was determined. Stations where the levels of particular combinations exceed the assumed values were successively determined. Finally, multipath models in the form of sidereal maps were created. Based on these models, six stations were identified and recommended for further analysis concerning the impact of multipath on GNSS measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study introduces the concept of regional GPS orbit determination, whereby GPS satellite positions are determined using GPS measurements from locally or regional distributed stations. The importance and characteristics of regional GPS orbit are briefly discussed. The technique used to determine the regional GPS satellite position is coined Inverse Single Point Positioning (ISPP). Code-based pseudorange is used and improved using residual correction model. Two designs of station distribution are selected in this study, which only cover stations in Malaysia and stations situated 8000 km from a reference point in Malaysia. The root-mean-squared-error (RMSE) of ISPP when compared against final ephemeris were 660.65 m and 27.61 m, while the 3D RMSE of positioning were 1.612 m and 1.324 m for the first and second designs, respectively, lower than the accuracy of broadcast ephemeris. Three parameters are identified as factors affecting accuracy of ISPP, namely geometry of station distribution, nature of measurement used, and technique of orbit determination. Further research will be required to fully realize a functional regional GPS orbit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global community, with coordination from the United Nations, is energized to pursue the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a list of 17 important aspirations that summarize the key challenges of our era. The SDGs apply to every nation and represent an international effort to eliminate extreme poverty, ensure access to safe drinking water, strengthen food security, and produce clean and reliable energy, among other pursuits. Space technology is already being used around the world to advance progress toward the SDGs and monitor their related Indicators. This paper explores how six technologies related to space—satellite Earth observation, satellite communication, satellite navigation and positioning, human spaceflight and microgravity research, space technology transfer, and basic scientific research—are being used to realize the vision that the SDGs represent. The paper also discusses the obstacles that limit the application of these technologies for the SDGs and provides an overview of potential paths to overcome these barriers. The paper finally studies the historical and potential roles that four distinct types of entities involved in global sustainable development—governments, non- and inter-governmental organizations, entrepreneurial companies, and universities— have played or may play in the application of space technologies towards the SDGs. • Six space technology areas are shown to support the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. • Examples of space projects that support the SDGs are found in many sectors. • New designs for technology are needed to improve effectiveness of space applications for the SDGS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an innovative approach aimed at enhancing satellite position determination accuracy within a geostationary equatorial orbit (GEO) by integrating a regional navigation satellite system (RNSS) with a global navigation satellite system (GNSS). In a GEO, incoming GNSS signals are typically constrained to a specific direction on the other side of the Earth, resulting in a significant dilution of precision (DOP) and, consequently, a significant radial error. By incorporating an RNSS, signals from more diverse directions are available, improving observability and enhancing navigation precision. Taking the quasi-zenith satellite system (QZSS) as a representative RNSS, this paper demonstrates the feasibility of receiving signals from GEO satellites across a substantial range. Link budget analyses were conducted using the precise side-lobe patterns of the QZSS, revealing that QZSS signals can be consistently observed across most arcs in a GEO. Two comprehensive simulations were conducted: a point solution and an extended Kalman filter-based orbit determination. The results affirm the anticipated improvement in navigation precision indicated by the DOP analysis. It is essential to note that whereas RNSS signals can be received from any longitude in a GEO, enhanced navigation precision relies on the distance from the satellite to the RNSS. Considering the availability of multiple RNSS options, the concept presented in this research can be adapted to any longitude within a GEO, thereby promoting stable, high-precision navigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite navigation positioning has become an indispensable component of everyday life, where precise pinpointing and rapid convergence are crucial in delivering timely and accurate location information. However, due to the damping of integer ambiguities and system residual errors, the rapid convergence of Precise Point Positioning (PPP) implementation is a significant challenge. To address this, this paper proposes a novel Carrier Phase Zero-Baseline Self-Differencing Precise Point Positioning (CZS-PPP) technique and its ionosphere-free fusion model. By employing the proposed CZS-PPP approach in separate scenarios involving BDS-3, GPS, and dual-system settings, we systematically validate the efficacy of the method. The experimental results indicate that the convergence time of the method is less than 4 min in a single-system scenario. Furthermore, in a dual-system scenario, the method can achieve rapid convergence in less than 3 min. The CZS-PPP technique presented demonstrates the elimination of integer ambiguities and the effective suppression of system residuals, in comparison to the conventional method. The proposed approach has demonstrated remarkable performance across different systems, offering a promising new pathway for achieving PPP fast convergence in BDS/GNSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the key challenges in Multi-Spectral Automatic Diagnostic (MAD) robot design is the precise targeting of narrow-angle cameras on a specific part of the equipment. The paper shows that a low-cost MAD robot, whose navigation system is based on open-source ArduRover firmware and a pair of low-cost Ublox F9P GNSS receivers, can inspect the 8 × 4 degree ultraviolet camera bounding the targeting error within 0.5 degrees. To achieve this result, we propose a new targeting procedure that can be implemented without any modifications in ArduRover firmware and outperforms more expensive solutions based on LiDAR SLAM and UWB. This paper will be interesting to the developers of robotic systems for power equipment inspection because it proposes a simple and effective solution for MAD robots' camera targeting and provides the first quantitative analysis of the GNSS reception conditions during power equipment inspection. This analysis is based on the experimental results collected during the inspection of the overhead power transmission lines and equipment inspections on the open switchgear of different power plants. Moreover, it includes not only satellite, dilution of precision, and positioning/heading estimation accuracy but also the direct measurements of angular errors that could be achieved on operating power plants using GNSS-only camera targeting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global navigation satellite system (GNSS) provides users with all-weather, continuous, high-precision positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services. In the operation and use of GNSS, the influence of the space environment is a factor that must be considered. For example, during geomagnetic storms, a series of changes in the Earth's magnetosphere, ionosphere, and upper atmosphere affect GNSS's positioning performance. To investigate the positioning performance of global satellite navigation systems during geomagnetic storms, this study selected three geomagnetic storm events that occurred from September to December 2023. Utilizing the global positioning system (GPS)/Beidou navigation satellite system (BDS) dual-system, kinematic precise point positioning (PPP) experiments were conducted, and the raw observational data from 100 stations worldwide was analyzed. The experimental results show that the positioning accuracy of some stations in high-latitude areas decreases significantly when using the conventional Geometry Free (GF) cycle-slip detection threshold during geomagnetic storms, which means that the GF is no longer applicable to high-precision positioning services. Meanwhile, there is no significant change in the satellite signal strengths received at the stations during the period of the decrease in positioning accuracy. Analyzing the cycle-slip rates for stations where abnormal accuracy occurred, it was observed that stations experiencing a significant decline in positioning accuracy exhibited serious cycle-slip misjudgments. To improve the kinematic PPP accuracy during magnetic storms, this paper proposes an adaptive threshold for cycle-slip detection and designs five experimental strategies. After using the GF adaptive threshold, the station positioning accuracy improved significantly. It achieved the accuracy level of the quiet period, while the cycle-slip incidence reached the average level. During magnetic storms, the ionosphere changes rapidly, and the use of the traditional GF constant threshold will cause serious cycle-slip misjudgments, which makes the dynamic accuracy in high latitude areas and some mid-latitude areas uncommon, while the use of the GF adaptive threshold can alleviate this phenomenon and improve the positioning accuracy in the high-latitude regions and some of the affected mid-latitude areas during the magnetic storms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining multiple devices for localization has important applications in the military field. This paper exploits the land-based short-wave platforms and satellites for fusion localization. The ionospheric reflection height error and satellite position errors have a great impact on the short-wave localization and satellite localization accuracy, respectively. In this paper, an iterative constrained weighted least squares (ICWLS) algorithm is proposed for these two kinds of errors. The algorithm converts the nonconvex equation constraints to linear constraints using the results of the previous iteration, thus ensuring convergence to the globally optimal solution. Simulation results show that the localization accuracy of the algorithm can reach the corresponding Constrained Cramér–Rao Lower Bound (CCRLB). Finally, the localization results of the two methods are fused using Kalman filtering. Simulations show that the fused localization accuracy is improved compared to the single-means localization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Seafloor Geodetic Observation–Array (SGO-A), operated by the Japan Coast Guard, relies on the Global Navigation Satellite System–Acoustics combination (GNSS-A) technique, which integrates satellite positioning systems and undersea acoustic ranging to determine seafloor crustal deformation at the centimeter level for earthquake disaster prevention. Recently, we found distortion in the SGO-A 10-kHz carrier wave that degraded the accuracy. Carrier wave distortion can cause errors on the scale of several centimeters to twenty centimeters, which greatly impedes centimeter-level observations. This study investigated this carrier wave degradation by an underwater acoustic communication experiment conducted in 2022, using a transducer similar to that used by SGO-A. Also, we reproduced degraded waveforms through a grid search-like method for quantitatively evaluating the extent to which the interior of the equipment contributed to deterioration. Our results underscore the importance of careful consideration in signal processing, as the observed waveform degradation is not solely attributed to hardware structures but also to internal electrical circuits. The findings suggest that conventional signal identification methods may lead to errors, providing motivation for a shift towards experimental and experiential timing-based waveform identification approaches to enhance accuracy in GNSS-A systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of robotics has great implications for future food security, sustainable agricultural development, improving resource efficiency, reducing chemical pesticide use, reducing manual labor, and maximizing field output. Aiming at the problems of high labor intensity and labor shortage in the fields of pesticide application, weeding, and field information collection, a multifunctional and electric field management robot platform is designed, which has four switching steering modes (Ackermann steering, four-wheel steering, crab steering, and zero-radius steering), and its wheel-track can be automatically adjusted. Commonly used spraying booms, weeders, crop information collectors, and other devices can be easily installed on the robot platform. A multi-sensor integrated navigation system including a satellite positioning system, an RGB camera, and a multi-line lidar is designed to realize the unmanned driving of the robot platform in a complex field environment. Field tests have shown that the robot can follow the set route, and tests under simulated conditions have indicated that it can also dynamically correct paths based on crop rows by using a visual system. Results from multiple trials showed that the trajectory tracking accuracy meets the requirements of various field management operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Space-based opportunistic positioning is a crucial component of resilient positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) systems, and it requires the acquisition of orbit information for non-cooperative low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. Traditional methods for orbit determination (OD) of non-cooperative LEO satellites have difficulty in achieving a balance between reliability, hardware costs, and availability duration. To address these challenges, this study proposes a framework for single-station orbit determination of non-cooperative LEO satellites. By utilizing signals of opportunity (SOPs) captured by a single ground station, the system performs initial orbit determination (IOD), precise orbit determination (POD), and orbit prediction (OP), enabling the long-term determination of satellite positions and velocities. Under the proposed framework, the reliability and real-time performance are dependent on the initial orbit determination and the orbit calculation based on the dynamical model. To achieve initial orbit determination, a three-step algorithm is designed. (1) An improved search method is employed to estimate a coarse orbit using single-pass Doppler measurements. (2) Data association is conducted to obtain multi-pass Doppler observations. (3) The least squares (LS) is implemented to determine the initial orbit using the associated multi-pass Doppler measurements and the coarse orbit. Additionally, to enhance computational efficiency, two fast orbit calculation algorithms are devised. These algorithms leverage the numerical stability of the Runge–Kutta integrator to reduce computations and exploit the strong correlation among nearby time intervals of orbits with small eccentricities to minimize redundant calculations, thereby achieving orbit calculation efficiently. Finally, through positioning experiments, the determined orbits are demonstrated to have accuracy comparable to that of two-line elements (TLE) updated by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations have emerged as an effective alternative for the provision of high-accuracy positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) solutions which are based on high-precision orbit and clock information. Determining an orbit with high precision is dependent on the number and distribution of ground tracking stations. Therefore, it is important to investigate methodologies that can ensure the adequate observing coverage of LEO navigation constellations. In this study, an evolutionary algorithm is applied to optimize the number and deployment of ground stations for tracking LEO constellations. According to the distribution area, two schemes of study are analyzed: (a) global deployment—the ground stations are deployed throughout the globe; (b) regional deployment—a selected region is used for deployment. For global deployment, the optimization objectives are focused on the ground station and observing rate for k-heavy observing coverage (HC), while the sole objective for the regional deployment scheme is the satellite position dilution of precision (SPDOP). It is shown that a deployment of 95 ground stations is optimal for achieving 3-HC with an observing rate of 97.37% and 4-HC with an observing rate of 92.01%. For regional distribution, 15, 20 and 25 ground stations are used for three optimal configurations of SPDOP at 2.058, 1.399 and 1.330, respectively. The results are significantly enhanced using intersatellite links for SPDOP evaluation, from 2.058, 1.399 and 1.330 to 0.439, 0.422 and 0.409, with 15, 20 and 25 ground stations, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the autonomous navigation of mobile robots, precise positioning is crucial. In forest environments with weak satellite signals or in sites disturbed by complex environments, satellite positioning accuracy has difficulty in meeting the requirements of autonomous navigation positioning accuracy for robots. This article proposes a vision SLAM/UWB tightly coupled localization method and designs a UWB non-line-of-sight error identification method using the displacement increment of the visual odometer. It utilizes the displacement increment of visual output and UWB ranging information as measurement values and applies the extended Kalman filtering algorithm for data fusion. This study utilized the constructed experimental platform to collect images and ultra-wideband ranging data in outdoor environments and experimentally validated the combined positioning method. The experimental results show that the algorithm outperforms individual UWB or loosely coupled combination positioning methods in terms of positioning accuracy. It effectively eliminates non-line-of-sight errors in UWB, improving the accuracy and stability of the combined positioning system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the availability of affordable multi-constellation multi-frequency receivers has broadened access to accurate positioning. The abundance of satellite signals coupled with the implementation of ground- and satellite-based correction services has unlocked the potential for achieving real-time centimetre-level positioning with low-cost instrumentation. Most of the current and future applications cannot exploit well-consolidated satellite positioning techniques such as Network Real Time Kinematic (RTK) and Precise Point Positioning (PPP); the former is inapplicable for large user bases due to the necessity of a two-way communication link between the user and the NRTK service provider, while the latter necessitates long convergence times that are not in keeping with kinematic application. In this context, the hybrid PPP-RTK technique has emerged as a potential solution to meet the demand for real-time, low-cost, accurate, and precise positioning. This paper presents an Internet of Things (IoT) GNSS device developed with low-cost hardware; it leverages a commercial PPP-RTK correction service which delivers corrections via IP. The main target is to obtain both horizontal and vertical decimetre-level accuracies in urban kinematic tests, along with other requisites such as solution availability and the provision of connection ports for interfacing an IoT network. A vehicle-borne kinematic test has been conducted to evaluate the device performance. The results show that (i) the IoT device can deliver horizontal and vertical positioning solutions at decimetre-level accuracy with the targeted solution availability, and (ii) the provided IoT ports are feasible for gathering the position solutions over an internet connection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, there has been a drastic increase in navigation satellites. Due to the computational limitations of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver, such as limited tracking channels, bandwidth, and high-power consumption, selecting an optimal subset of satellites with a better geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) has become increasingly difficult. Moreover, the computation load on the receiver increases with multi-channel observation. However, a reduced subset of used satellites will significantly increase the receiver computation performance without compromising the positioning accuracy. This paper presents an end-to-end neural network (NN) architecture based on PointNet and VoxelNet to provide an optimal satellite subset from a multi-constellation with a minimum GDOP. The architecture is based on per-satellite parameters obtained from the global positioning system (GPS) and navigation with the Indian Constellation (NavIC) satellites. Experimental results indicate that the input channel with satellite positions, Doppler, acquisition peak metric, elevation, and azimuth angles provides the best outcome in terms of performance. This method can reduce the computation burden and time by 40–50% when used in the receiver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For users of Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Multi-GNSS Advanced Orbit and Clock Augmentation PPP signals provide corrective data. When using the PPP approach and/or PPP-Ambiguity Resolution (AR) method, the QZSS signal provides globally applicable error corrections on satellite orbit, clock offset, and code/phase biases. In addition, from FY2024, as a part of the MADOCA-PPP technology demonstration, wide-area ionospheric correction data will be provided for the Asia-Oceania region. A software estimator of precise satellite information developed by JAXA, Multi-GNSS Advanced Demonstration Tool for Orbit and Clock Analysis (MADOCA), allows u-blox CO99-ZED-F9P and MSJ 3008-GM4-QZS utilizing MADOCA-PPP to be used in GNSS applications that need sub-decimetre precision but don't have to be expensive. Errors caused by positioning satellites are computed by using observation data from domestic and overseas GNSS monitoring station networks such as IGS and MIRAI, and obtained correction data is transmitted from QZSS signal to provide highly precise positioning augmentation services that can be used in the Asia-Oceania Region. Users may utilize the PPP technique for high-precision locating by employing a GNSS receiver that supports the QZSS signals. This paper describes an experiment carried out with the static method to combine GPS, GLONASS, and QZSS signals in the project site (ISHI, USUD and MIZU stations in Japan). This paper examines the GPS/GLONASS/QZSS obtainable accuracy. These obtained results indicate that integrating GPS system with GLONASS and QZSS is favoured for surveying applications. It appears that integrating GPS/GLONASS/QZSS (MADOCA precise ephemeris file) static measurements in the study area between 0-4 millimetres accuracy can be guaranteed on all occasions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the near future, a much larger scale of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites will be deployed, and satellite selection is an effective way to overcome challenges to processing capability and channel limitation of receivers caused by superabundant satellites in view. However, existing algorithms do not take into account the fact that a large-scale LEO constellation satellite selection subset can be closer to the theoretical optimal configuration than the traditional brute force search and recursive algorithm computational overhead is too large for end devices. In this study, the solution of the minimum optimization problem of the GDOP (Geometric Dilution of Precision) under the condition of limited elevation angle is first analyzed to determine the optimal ratio configuration scheme of top and bottom satellites under the optimal geometric satellite positioning problem. Subsequently, a fast satellite selection algorithm is proposed, which selects a subset of satellites that meet the different numbers of observation satellites and is close to the optimal geometric configuration by geometric method. The comparative simulation shows that, in the 1586 LEO constellation system, the proposed algorithm has an average GDOP of 1.52 when the satellite subset size is 10 and 0.95 when the subset size is 30. Compared with the recursive, the Rotating Partition algorithm and the Quasi-optimal algorithm, the proposed algorithm achieves better accuracy when its size is not close to the total number of observable satellites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An optimal nutation reduction method based on a flexible contactor is proposed. • A highly efficient data-driven model is established to describe the contact process. • The nutation of a tumbling satellite can be reduced efficiently in the early stage of the de-tumbling tasks. Stabilizing tumbling satellites is a crucial step in ensuring safe on-orbit capture. A new de-tumbling method has been proposed that uses a flexible device, such as a brush or rod, to make contact with the target object and avoid potential collisions. However, this method faces two challenges: (i) The complex rotary motion makes it very difficult to determine the contact position on the target satellite, which is crucial to reduce nutation during de-tumbling. (ii) The conventional finite-element-based dynamic model of the flexible contactor is high-dimensional, leading to unacceptable computing time for on-orbit simulation. To address these problems, this paper proposes an optimal method to efficiently reduce the nutation by predicting the initial contact position for each contact process. Additionally, a fast computation model of the de-tumbling system is established based on a data-driven approach to support real-time prediction. Finally, numerical simulations are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness and high efficiency of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the analysis of single-point GPS positioning results obtained from smartphones, using code observations on the L1 and L5 frequencies. In this research we used two Huawei P30 Pro mobile phones and one geodetic receiver (Javad Alpha) acting as the reference receiver. Smartphones were placed at an equal distance of 0.5 m from this receiver. Such a close distance was specially planned by the authors in order to achieve identical observation conditions. Thus, it was possible to compare the accuracy of GPS positioning using pseudoranges on the L1 and L5 frequencies for individual observation epochs. The analysis was carried out from static GPS positioning, using the results from the open-source RTKLib software. In general, the usefulness of code measurements on the L5 frequency to determine the GPS position made it possible to increase the accuracy by several times with respect to the positions determined using the C/A code on the L1 frequency. Average errors of horizontal and vertical coordinates were about 70 % lower for the GPS solution using the L5 code observations than using the L1 code observations. Based on statistical analysis, a horizontal accuracy of about 0.45 m and vertical accuracy of about 1.8 m (STDEV) with only five GPS satellites may be obtained using a smartphone with L5 code observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The search for optimal time intervals for satellite operations performance is based on verifying specific conditions of a geometric or physical nature. Several conditions are combined in a situational problem. To be able to solve different situational problems, it is necessary to develop program codes for verifying different situational conditions in advance. Two situational conditions for determining if the satellite is in the sunlit zone or the umbra based on the conical models of the earth's shadow are presented. Necessary (but not sufficient) conditions are introduced to locate the satellite in the umbra or the sunlit zone, respectively. These conditions simplify the calculations and increase the computational efficiency for a large part of the satellite orbit. Problems with one or more conditions are solved by a developed parallel solver for situational analysis. Conditions checking the position of a satellite relative to the Earth's shadow can be combined with other situational conditions. A model of description of situational conditions is shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, there has been an increase in the availability of GNSS satellites for observation, which poses new challenges in the computational process of precise satellite positioning. Ambiguity resolution is a crucial step in achieving accurate relative positioning. In this regard, an improved version of a searching procedure in a three-dimensional coordinate domain has been proposed and tested. The method starts with a float solution, similar to classic methods like the LAMBDA. However, the subsequent step, the search procedure, is conducted in the coordinate space instead of the ambiguity space. This shift to a three-dimensional coordinate space leads to reduced computation time. A computational experiment was performed to validate the proposed method, which demonstrated a significant reduction in processing time. The advantages of this method are particularly prominent when dealing with a large number of satellites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LabOSat-01 is a payload designed to perform characterization experiments on electronic devices in hostile environments. Both Commercial-Off-The-Shelf components and custom nano and micro devices were studied in the last decade with this platform. The Total Ionizing Dose (TID) received by small satellites in Low Earth Orbit was measured with LabOSat-01 using p-MOSFET COTS and the results are presented in this work. Measurements were performed on two satellite missions, each totaling 1100 days, launched three years apart. Dosimeters were integrated in different satellite positions, with different shielding, and the measured TID after 1100 days ranged from 5 Gy to 19 Gy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Sports watches provide coordinates in the WGS84 reference system. • The majority of sports watches can track only two GNSS systems simultaneously. • The positioning accuracy is not always better for multi-GNSS watches. • The accuracy in sports watches for 2D positions is robust at the few-meter level. • The accuracy of height measurements in sports watches is low and unstable in some cases. Sports watches come equipped with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers capable of tracking GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo, and thus, can be considered low-cost GNSS receivers. In our research, we conducted three distinct experiments to evaluate the accuracy of 1) positioning, 2) distance determination, and 3) height determination based on sports watches using different GNSS combinations: GPS, GPS + GLONASS, and GPS + Galileo. For positioning, a professional GNSS receiver served as the reference. To determine height, we used a laser rangefinder. The assessment of distance measurement utilized a full-size athletics track. A noteworthy outcome of this study is that the increased cost of sports watches does not consistently correlate with higher GNSS positioning accuracy. The most accurate 2D results are achieved by the Polar M430 for the GPS case with the mean positioning error of 1.74 m, and the Garmin Fenix 6 PRO for GPS + GLONASS case with the mean error of 1.43 m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The definition of the shoreline position from satellite imagery is of great interest among coastal monitoring techniques. Understanding the reality mapped by the resulting shorelines and defining their accuracy is of paramount importance. The assessment described in this paper constitutes a validation of the shorelines obtained by using the novel tool SAET (Shoreline Analysis and Extraction Tool) for automatic shoreline extraction. The resulting shorelines applying the different parameters available in SAET are assessed in 9 test sites with diverse morphology and oceanographic conditions along the Atlantic European and Western Mediterranean coasts. The reference data is obtained along large coastal segments (covering up to about 240 km) from nearly coincident very high-resolution satellite images. Different image processing levels and extraction methods have been tested, showing their key role in the accuracy of shoreline position. When defining the approximate shoreline position the Automated Water Extraction Index for images without shadows (AWEInsh) with a 0 threshold generally constitutes the best segmentation method. In turn, the employment of the mathematical morphological operations of dilation or erosion considerably improves the results in certain coastal typologies. On the contrary, the employment of atmospherically-corrected images has a smaller influence on the accuracy of the SDSs. Results support the idea that the magnitude of the errors is strongly related to the specific coastal conditions- In general, the lowest errors appear in low-energetic microtidal sites, contrary to the energetic and mesotidal coasts with gentle slopes. The shoreline errors range between 3.7 m and 13.5 m RMSE (root-mean-square error) among the different coastal types when selecting the most appropriate extraction parameters. The shoreline position identified with SAET shows a similar or better accuracy to that obtained by other tools. • Automatically S2 extracted shorelines compared against simultaneous from VHR images. • Shoreline errors vary in the different coastal typologies ranging 3.7–13.5 m RMSE. • AWEInsh = 0 threshold is the best-performing segmentation method overall. • Morphological operations enable to improve the accuracy in certain coastal typologies. • S2 atmospherically corrected images do not improve shoreline accuracy substantially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A framework based on road mileage nodes can enhance the flexibility of maps. • Lightweight maps can be constructed using only sparse feature and elevation information. • Lightweight maps will not significantly reduce matching and positioning accuracy. • Mini-matching method achieves sub-meter level dynamic positioning. In the global navigation satellite positioning denial environment, the matching localization based on a high-definition map is a well-recognized method to assist autonomous vehicles in achieving continuous, stable, and reliable navigation and positioning in complex scenes. However, due to the complexity, density, and richness of the typical high-definition point cloud map, there are high technical thresholds in the process of localization production, application, and maintenance. As a result, referring to the idea of traverse survey in geodesy, we design a priori lightweight point cloud feature map structure based on road mileage nodes as the main line to increase the flexibility of map segmentation, splicing, retrieval, and communication transmission. At the same time, an efficient and practical mini-matching positioning method is proposed. Finally, using the real datasets of various urban canyon scenes for verification, the proposed method can achieve stable sub-meter level localization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]