Impact of BeiDou Observations on the Accuracy of Multi-GNSS PPP in a Function of Observing Session Duration within Europe—Analysis Based on Open-Source Software GAMP

Abstract

This study aims to verify whether the open-source software may provide Precise Point Positioning (PPP) with high accuracy. In this way, we address a question on the potential usability of open-source software for PPP analysis. On 31 July 2020, the full constellation of BeiDou satellites (SV) was announced. Over the European area, however, the number of visible BeiDou SVs is significantly smaller than in Asian-Pacific regions. Additionally, the system is in a modernization process, which may result in difficulties in utilizing its full potential. Ten days of multi-GNSS data were processed using the open-source software GAMP to determine how the accuracy of a derived three-dimensional PPP coordinates depends on observation session length and satellite systems used. The time series of position components of selected EUREF Permanent Network (EPN) stations generated from sub-daily (30 min and longer) solutions were analyzed. The obtained results prove that adding BeiDou observations, even in the case of using an incomplete constellation, leads to visible improvements, which can be observed both in the reduction of differences between estimated and true coordinates, as well as in the reduction of the standard deviation (SD). Improved accuracy caused by adding BeiDou data is especially noticeable for short observation sessions (in the range of 0.5 to 2.0 h) and in the case of a joint solution with GLONASS or Galileo observations. Finally, the open-source software GAMP proved to be a useful tool for multi-GNSS data processing and analysis.