See current research theme 'Multi-Sensor Integration'

Addressing Mining & Industrial Positioning Applications Using Combined GPS and
Glonass Measurements, and Their Augmentations

The project was concerned with the development of a precise navigation system for a range of positioning, guidance and robotic applications in the mining, minerals processing and offshore engineering industries. These include driverless and driver-aided open cut mine operations as well as surface plant positioning and guidance, port operations, offshore applications and general surveying/mapping. Apart from testing GPS-only solutions, other enhancements will be developed and tested such as integrated GPS + Glonass systems, pseudolites, multiple reference stations and inertial sensors.

An important strategy adopted by SNAP researchers is to develop and test navigation/positioning technologies on a 'test platform' such as the autonomously-controlled electric vehicle developed by UTS student Ben Meldrum. )Further development on the control algorithms was undertaken in 2000-2001 by final year UTS student Elspeth Hurley.)

Commencing in 1999, new software for the combined processing of GPS + Glonass data has been developed by Liwen Dai, and has been tested with data collected using a pair of Ashtech GG24 GPS + Glonass receivers, as well as with dual-frequency 'Javad Positioning System' (JPS) GPS + Glonass receivers loaned to SNAP researchers. Investigations into the use of pseudolite technology were also commenced at this time, and first results were obtained for pseudo-range-based (by Ip Ki Choi) and carrier phase-based positioning (Liwen Dai and Jinling Wang).

Studies on the integration of GPS with an inertial sensor commenced in 2001 under the direction of Jinling Wang.

Realistic testing is vital because of the need to satisfy sub-decimetre accuracy requirements, in real-time, while the vehicle-mounted receiver is moving about an environment where satellite coverage is very uneven. The Industry Partner, the Land Technologies Division, HATCH Engineering, have provided researchers with access to a variety of applications and test areas in Australia. One example of this field testing is 'train tracking' at BHP's Port Kembla Steelworks, where investigations have been made by Michael Moore into the performance of integrated GPS and Dead Reckoning (DR) systems.

The ARC-SPIRT project "An Integrated GPS and Pseudolite Surveying System for Steelworks Applications" (2001-2003) extended the work in kinematic GPS/Glonass studies to incorporate pseudolites.

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