A new approach to GPS carrier-phase ambiguity resolution using a reference receiver network

A new approach is presented for performing carrier-phase ambiguity resolution and precise positioning using a network of reference receivers. In this approach, a least-squares condition adjustment is performed which "encapsulates" the information from all of the reference receivers into corrected code and carrier-phase measurements of a single reference receiver. As a result, there is only one set of carrier-phase ambiguities to be estimated. Standard carrier-phase ambiguity resolution can then be performed between the single corrected reference receiver and a mobile receiver, with an improvement in results due to the use of the reference network. This method is tested using a network of four dual frequency reference receivers separated by 25-120 km. Applying the network-derived measurement corrections to the reference receiver reduces by about 50% the time required to correctly resolve the integer ambiguities. A discussion of the strengths, limitations, and potential applications of this method is also presented.