The GNSS integer ambiguities: estimation and validation
The GNSS integer ambiguities: estimation and validation
The GNSS integer ambiguities: estimation and validation
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2.4.3 Cross-correlation <strong>and</strong> time correlation<br />
In equation (2.56) the assumption was made that there is no frequency dependent<br />
correlation. Several studies have shown, however, that this assumption may not be<br />
realistic, see e.g. (Bona 2000; Bona <strong>and</strong> Tiberius 2001; Liu 2002). It was shown that<br />
the stochastic model can be refined by performing receiver tests or variance component<br />
<strong>estimation</strong>, in order to determine the cross-correlation.<br />
It was also assumed that no time correlation is present, although the observations collected<br />
at different epochs may be correlated when the sampling frequency is high. In<br />
Borre <strong>and</strong> Tiberius (2000) significant time correlation was found for 5 Hz data. If, on<br />
the other h<strong>and</strong>, the sampling interval is larger than 30 s, according to Bona (2000) time<br />
correlation can be neglected. So, time correlation does not play a role for instantaneous<br />
applications.<br />
2.5 Least-squares <strong>estimation</strong> <strong>and</strong> quality control<br />
In sections 2.3 <strong>and</strong> s:stochastic, the <strong>GNSS</strong> functional models <strong>and</strong> stochastic models<br />
were presented. In order to solve the observation model, a least-squares adjustment is<br />
generally used, since it is simple to apply <strong>and</strong>, by definition, it has important optimality<br />
properties. For a model written as equation (2.26) the least-squares estimator is defined<br />
as:<br />
ˆx = arg min<br />
x y − Ax 2 Qy (2.65)<br />
<strong>and</strong> its solution is given by:<br />
ˆx = (A T Q −1<br />
y A) −1 A T Q −1<br />
y y<br />
ˆy = Aˆx (2.66)<br />
ê = ˆy − y<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>GNSS</strong> observations are generally considered to be normally distributed, <strong>and</strong> then<br />
least-squares <strong>estimation</strong> is equivalent to maximum-likelihood <strong>estimation</strong>, <strong>and</strong> to best<br />
linear unbiased <strong>estimation</strong> if the model is linear, (Teunissen 2000a).<br />
<strong>The</strong> estimator ˆx is a r<strong>and</strong>om vector since it is functionally related to the r<strong>and</strong>om vector<br />
y. Because of the linear relationship between the two vectors, ˆx will also have a normal<br />
distribution like y. <strong>The</strong>refore the distribution of the estimator can be characterized by<br />
its mean <strong>and</strong> dispersion, which are given as:<br />
E{ˆx} = x (2.67)<br />
D{ˆx} = Qˆx = (A T Q −1<br />
y A) −1<br />
(2.68)<br />
This shows that the estimator is unbiased, i.e. that the expectation of the estimator<br />
equals the unknown <strong>and</strong> sought for parameter vector x. <strong>The</strong> vc-matrix describes the<br />
precision of the estimator, which is independent of the observations, so that the precision<br />
is known without the need for actual measurements.<br />
22 <strong>GNSS</strong> observation model <strong>and</strong> quality control