York-NovAtel Ionospheric Modelling Project

Project Overview

This project focuses on the monitoring and modelling of global and regional ionospheric conditions to support next-generation high-precision GNSS positioning services. The primary objective is to develop advanced ionospheric modelling techniques that enable centimeter-level Precise Point Positioning with Ambiguity Resolution (PPP-AR) for real-time and near-real-time applications.

The project is conducted in close collaboration with Hexagon NovAtel, leveraging their global GNSS infrastructure and expertise in high-precision positioning systems.

Technical Contributions

• Leading the development of real-time PPP-AR GNSS processing software with support for multi-station, multi-site architectures.
• Achieved horizontal positioning accuracy better than 2.5 cm at the 95th percentile using IGS GNSS station data.
• Designed and implemented multi-model ionospheric delay estimation frameworks combining:
  • PPP-AR strategies
  • Geometry-free and geometry-based modelling approaches
  • External ionospheric constraints
• Developed global and regional ionospheric delay products, including:
  • Global Ionospheric Models (GIMs)
  • Regional Ionospheric Models (RIMs)

  Key Outcomes

• Real-time PPP-AR software system capable of supporting large-scale GNSS networks.
• High-resolution global and regional ionospheric products suitable for operational PPP-RTK services.
• Demonstrated feasibility of centimeter-level positioning performance under realistic global GNSS network conditions.
• Provided a strong technical foundation for commercial-grade high-precision GNSS services based on NovAtel infrastructure.