Precise velocity and acceleration determination using a standalone GPS receiver in real time

Precise velocity and acceleration information is required for many real time applications. A standalone GPS receiver can be used to derive such information; however, there are many unsolved problems in this regard. This thesis establishes the theoretical basis for precise velocity and acceleration determination using a standalone GPS receiver in real time. An intensive investigation has been conducted into the Doppler effect in GPS. A highly accurate Doppler shift one-way observation equation is developed based on a comprehensive error analysis of each contributing factor including relativistic effects. Various error mitigation/elimination methods have been developed to improve the measurement accuracy of both the Doppler and Doppler-rate. Algorithms and formulae are presented to obtain real-time satellite velocity and acceleration in the ECEF system from the broadcast ephemeris. Low order IIR differentiators are designed to derive Doppler and Doppler-rate measurements from the raw GPS data for real-time applications. Abnormalities and their corresponding treatments in real-time operations are also discussed. In addition to the velocity and acceleration determination, this thesis offers a good tool for GPS measurement modelling and for design of interpolators, differentiators, as well as Kalman filters. The relativistic terms presented by this thesis suggest that it is possible to measure the geopotential directly using Doppler shift measurements. This may lead to a foundation for the development of a next generation satellite system for geodesy in the future