Performance Analysis of GPS/BDS Dual/Triple-Frequency Network RTK in Urban Areas: A Case Study in Hong Kong

Network Real Time Kinematic (NRTK) positioning with instantaneous ambiguity resolution (AR) is currently one of the most popular techniques for real-time precise positioning using Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) carrier phase observations. Although NRTK has been successfully applied in many fields in surveying and navigation, the initialization speed, accuracy, and ambiguity successfully fixed rate of NRTK in urban areas (Hong Kong, for instance) would be significantly affected by blocked satellite signals. To address these problems and analyze the performance of GPS/BDS dual/triple-frequency NRTK in urban areas, we developed a new Hong Kong GNSS Network RTK Service Platform. Based on this platform, the performance of NRTK in urban areas was examined through a series of experiments. The results showed that: (1) The initialization time of the NRTK varied with the number of the visible satellite and the quality of the observation. (2) Centimeter-level NRTK service could be provided for users over Hong Kong using the Hong Kong GNSS Network RTK Service Platform. (3) In urban areas, GPS/BDS NRTK services for static, walking, and driving users significantly improved the ambiguity successfully fixed rate of the NRTK service when compared with that using the GPS signal alone. The NRTK ambiguity successfully fixed rate in Hong Kong was better than 99% in good environment. In typical urban environment, the RTK ambiguity successfully fixed rate with GPS/BDS was 33.4–72.4%, which was about 12.7–32.4% with GPS only. (4) BDS triple-frequency observation improved the initialization speed and positioning accuracy of RTK in Hong Kong.