SUR 455Precise Positioning Systems

3 credits · Surveying · Penn State

The course provides a background on stellar coordinate systems and reviews the main geodetic reference coordinate systems used with GNSS technology. Satellite orbital theory provides the basis for understanding GNSS operation. GNSS concepts that are also covered include pseudo-ranging, GNSS error sources, and GNSS vector adjustment. The mathematical and field techniques that are followed to eliminate and/or reduce GNSS errors (e.g., satellite orbits and clocks, troposphere and ionosphere, receiver clock, multipath and noise) are presented and re-enforced through practical problems with real data. The GNSS static and kinematic techniques for setting control points and perform surveying mapping tasks are demonstrated. Students collect their own data, and they use standard industry software to adjust their measurements, and to demonstrate that uncertainty is sufficient for the project application at hand. The course also covers inertial sensors and inertial navigation for modern surveying technologies, as well as the integration of GNSS and inertial sensors for mobile mapping.