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GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM AND ITS

APPLICATION IN HYDROGRAPHIC
SURVEY

PRESENTED BY

Ravi Kiran.K,
06C11A0571,
IV B.Tech,CSE.

ANURAG ENGINEERING COLLEGE,


KODAD.
ABSTRACT

Global Positioning System, popularly known as GPS, is one of the history’s


most exciting and revolutionary developments, and new uses for it are constantly
being discovered. GPS shows the position of any object exactly on earth, anytime, in
any weather and anywhere .The Global Positioning System consists of three parts –
space segment, control segment and user segment. The cost of maintaining the system
is approximately US $ 400 million per year, including the replacement of aging
satellites. The GPS satellites, 24 in all, 11000 nautical miles above the earth, transmit
signals that can be detected by anyone with GPS receiver. Using this receiver, we can
be able to determine the location of the object with great precision usually of about
several centimeters with the help of advanced technology.

Global navigation has demanded for the development of GPS. So, GPS is
mostly being used for navigation. As a part of this, it is being used in hydrographic
survey. For safe navigation, sufficient depth of water is required in any port. To
determine the depth available in the Port area, hydrographic surveys are required to be
conducted. The Global Positioning System has many more applications. These days
GPS is finding its way into cars, boats, planes, construction equipment, movie making
, farm machinery, even laptop computers . GPS is used to determine the routes for
planes, ships, etc. GPS has many uses in both military and civilian life. Soon GPS will
become almost as basic as the telephone, may be a universal utility system.
INTRODUCTION
GPS is an intermediate circular orbit (ICO) satellite navigation system
used for determining one’s precise location and providing a highly accurate time
reference almost anywhere on Earth and in Earth orbit. The GPS was designed by and
is controlled by the United States Department of Defence. About three crore people
around the world are using GPS. The utilization of this system is increasing year by
year due to increase in number of users of cell phones and vehicles. The availability
of this system for utilization by all for free is leading to the future developments of
this system.
Man has been trying to figure out a reliable way to tell where he is and to
help himself locate where he was going. Early man probably used stones and twigs to
mark the places and routes but these got washed out due to rain or snow. The problem
became still worse when he started to explore oceans. This created the need for GPS.
The principle behind the working of GPS is the measurement of distance
between the receiver and satellites. The high frequency radio transmitters, high above
the earth, sending a high frequency radio wave with a specific coded signal can cover
a large area and still overcome much of the noise, encountered on the way to the
ground. This forms one of the basic principles behind the development of GPS.
Two GPS developers have received the National Academy of Engineering
Charles Stark Draper prize year 2003. On February 10,1993, the National Aeronautic
Association selected the GPS Team as winners of the 1992 Robert J. Collier Trophy,
the most prestigious aviation award in the United States.

HISTORY OF GPS
The project NAVSTAR started in 1978 by the United States Department
of Defence later came to be known as GPS. This system which was designed for
military purposes, came into use by ordinary people in 1980. The launching of all 24
satellites used in this system was completed by the year 1994. The first GPS satellite
was launched in 1978.The first 10 satellites were developmental satellites, called
Block I. From 1989 to 1993, 23 production satellites, called Block II, were launched.
The first of 24 satellites that form the current GPS constellation (Block II) was placed
into orbit on February 14, 1989. The launch of the 24 th satellite in 1994 completed the
system. GPS started working at full swing on July 17,1995. The 50 th GPS satellite
since the beginning in 1978 was launched on March 21,2004 aboard a Delta II rocket.

GPS ELEMENTS AND ITS WORKING


The space segment consists of 24 satellites in 6 orbital planes. The control
segment consists of ground stations, five of them, located around the world and make
sure the satellites are working properly. The user segment consists of receivers. A
GPS receiver (GPSR) decodes time signal transmissions from multiple satellites and
calculates its position.
Space segment:
Each satellite circles the Earth twice every day at an altitude of 20,200 kilometers
(12,600 miles). The satellites carry atomic clocks and constantly broadcast the precise
time according to their own clock, along with administrative information including
the orbital elements of their own motion, as determined by a set of ground-based
observatories.
Control segment:
The GPS control or ground segment consists of unmanned monitor stations located
around the world.
They are at Hawaii and Kwajalein in the Pacific Ocean, Diego Garcia in the Indian
Ocean, Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean and Colorado Springs, Colorado and
four large ground antenna stations that broadcast signals to the satellites. The stations
also track and monitor the GPS satellites. The Master Control facility is located at
Schriever Air Force Base (formerly Falcon AFB) in Colorado. These monitor stations
measure signals from the space vehicles (SVs) which are incorporated into orbital
models for each satellites. The models compute precise orbital data (ephemeris) and
SV clock corrections for each satellite. The Master Control station uploads ephemeris
and clock data to the SVs. The SVs then send subsets of the orbital ephemeris data to
GPS receivers over radio signals.

User segment:
The GPS user segment consists of the GPSR and user community. GPSR
convert SV signals into position, velocity and time estimates. Four satellites are
required to compute the four dimensions of X, Y, Z (position) and time. GPSR is used
for navigation, positioning, time dissemination and other research.

GPSR can be hand carried or installed in vehicles. These GPSRs detect, decode and
process GPS satellite signals. More than 100 different GPSR models are already in
use.
Working of GPS:
Here's how GPS works in five logical steps:
1. The basis of GPS is "triangulation" from satellites.
2. To "triangulate," a GPS receiver measures distance using the travel time of
radio signals.
3. To measure travel time, GPS needs very accurate timing, which it achieves
with some tricks.
4. Along with distance, you need to know exactly where the satellites are in
space. High orbits and careful monitoring are the secret.
5. Finally you must correct for any delays the signal experiences as it travels
through the atmosphere.
The receiver does not need a precise clock, but does need to have a clock with good
short-term stability and received signals from four satellites in order to find its own
latitude, longitude, elevation, and the precise time. The receiver computes the distance
to each of the four satellites by the difference between local time and the time the
satellite signals were sent (this distance is called a pseudo range). It then decodes the
satellites' locations from their radio signals and an internal database. The receiver
should now be located at the intersection of four spheres, one around each satellite,
with a radius equal to the time delay between the satellite and the receiver multiplied
by the speed of the radio signals. The receiver does not have a very precise clock and
thus cannot know the time delays. However, it can measure with high precision the
differences between the times when the various messages were received. This yields 3
hyperboloid of revolution of two sheets, whose intersection point gives the precise
location of the receiver. This is why at least four satellites are needed: fewer than 3
satellites yield 2 hyperboloids, whose intersection is a curve; it's impossible to know
where the receiver is located along the curve without supplemental information, such
as elevation. If elevation information is already known, only signals from three
satellites are needed (the point is then defined as the intersection of two hyperboloids
and an ellipsoid representing the Earth at this altitude).
In order to measure the time delay between satellite and receiver, the satellite sends a
repeating 1,023 bit long pseudo random sequence; the receiver knows the seed of the
sequence, constructs an identical sequence and shifts it until the two sequences match.

HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEY USING GPS

Hydrographic surveys are conducted to determine the depth available in


the port. For safe navigation, sufficient depth of water is required in any port. For safe
navigation, sufficient depth of water is required in any port. For this, position fixing is
an essential requisite. Earlier, this was done by means of shore transits and sometimes
using sextants. The position of the craft was determined by taking the sounding. In
this process, human error in reading was very much significant. With the
advancement of technology, the accuracy with which the surveys are being conducted
is improving. With advance electronic systems and with the help of satellite signals,
the position fixing of the craft, taking the data with computer to edit programs, is
now-a-days introduced so that the echo sounder values are also linked up with the
position fixing data.
With the advent of satellite technology, the position fixing has further improved by
Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS). With this sophisticated positioning
system, the navigation of vessels has become easier and safer. The accuracy has
helped in optimizing the dredging and maintenance costs. GPS was introduced at the
ports, initially for the cargo service for exporting and importing (like manganese, oil,
coal, etc.). Whenever the ships enter into the port channel, sufficient depth of water
that is around 10 meters to 11 meters depth is required. The floating water entering
the channel carries sand along with it. For dredging this sand the port uses the
hydrographic survey using GPS. This GPS uses worldwide 24 satellites and whereas
in a ground station, it contains an ashtech and delta link at signaling station. Delta link
works as transmitter at signaling station. Ashtech unit will work as mobile station (in
the survey launch). Receiver with delta link serves as a receiver and receives data
from signaling station and gives differential data to computer in survey launch.
Ashtech unit will work as a receiver only. It receives data from satellites for ashtech
data on computer. Delta link unit can be used as transmitter and receiver also by
providing transmits or receives mode. The antenna connected to ashtech unit is disc
antenna and that connected to delta link unit is rod type antenna.
Receiver signal LED should glow continuously when ON. Data LED
should flicker when differential signals are being received. In ashtech, LED will glow
as green, amber and red. Green LED indicates number of satellites which are
transmitting signals at that place. Red LED indicates gap between satellites. Thus,
Hydrographic surveys are conducted every time the port needs in the similar manner.

APPLICATIONS

The primary military purpose is to allow improved command and control of forces
through an enhanced ability to accurately specify target locations for cruise missiles
or troops. The satellites also carry nuclear detonation detectors. Countless civilians
use the system as well, who can use the GPS's Standard Positioning Service
worldwide free of charge. Low cost GPS receivers (price $100 to $200) are widely
available. The system is used as a navigation aid in airplanes, ships and cars.
Computer-controlled harvesters, other vehicles and mine trucks can use the system.
Hand held GPSRs are used by mountain climbers and hikers. Glider pilots use the
logged signal to verify their arrival at turnpoints in competitions.
European concern about this and commercial issues has resulted in the planned
GALILEO positioning system. Russia already operates an independent system called
GLONASS (global navigation system), although with only 12 active satellites as of
2004 the system is of limited usefulness.

GPS is also helping to save lives. Many police, fire, and emergency medical service
units are using GPSRs. Mapping and surveying companies use GPS extensively.
Vehicle tracking is one of the fastest growing GPS applications. Not only these, there
are several other numerous applications exist today and are increasing year by year.

LIMITATIONS

The GPS also suffers some limitations. The signals are weak under shade
of trees, etc. There are errors due to ionosphere, clocks, etc. Research is being done to
overcome these limitations. For this purpose, techniques like Wide and Local areas
Augmentation Systems are being used.

CONCLUSION

GPS is finding its place in every corner of our life. Today, we find many
applications of GPS all around us. In fact, with advanced forms of GPS, you can make
measurements to better than a centimeter. Its like giving every square meter on the
planet a unique address. In future, the airplanes with GPSRs will be able to land even
in dark and in moist conditions. The studies on GPS conducted by the Colorado
University showed that this system could be to know about earthquakes. With
advanced technology, GPSR has been miniaturized to just a few integrated circuits
and so are becoming very economical and that makes this accessible to everyone
virtually. In no time GPS will be a complete part of our life, just as a mobile we have
today.

BIBILOGRAPHY

1. www.bambooweb.gps
2. www.trimble.com
3. Data collected from Visakhapatnam port trust.

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