Current Research Projects – Institute of Geodesy

Grant from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the state of Lower Saxony

In this project, a DAB-to-GNSS receiving module is developed that can receive and process GNSS corrections via DAB technology. It will be tested in comparison to mobile communications. The evaluation includes quantitative and qualitative investigation of the data stream and practical tests of the module in GNSS applications. The project is a cooperation with RFmondial GmbH.

Led by: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Steffen Schön

Team: Dr.-Ing. Thomas Krawinkel

Year: 2023

Funding: Grant from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the state of Lower Saxony in the funding scheme "Innovationsförderprogramm für Forschung und Entwicklung"

Gewinn eines grundlegenden Verständnisses der Mehrwege - Antennen - Empfänger - Interaktionen zur Standardisierung der Kalibrierung von Codephasenvariationen von GNSS-Empfangsantennen

Led by: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Steffen Schön, Dr.-Ing. Tobias Kersten

Team: Yannick Breva

Year: 2022

Funding: DFG, Project number: 470510446

5GAPS: 5G Access to Public Spaces

In this research project, the positioning capabilities of the latest mobile communication standard 5G NR are investigated. Due to the increasing demand for communication and the widespread installation of 5G NR networks, terrestrial signal sources can provide an alternative or complement to GNSS signals when GNSS signals are unavailable or a limited by the environment.

Led by: Prof. Dr.-Ing Steffen Schön

Team: Kai-Niklas Baasch, M.Sc.

Year: 2022

Funding: Bundesministerium für Digitales und Verkehr (BMDV) - 45FG121_F

Interferometric Fibre Links (CRC 1464, A05)

The overarching goal, to establish chronometric levelling as a routine tool for geodesy, requires research and developments for high precision frequency transfer in the areas of Interferometric Fibre Links (IFLs) and Global Naviation Satellite System - Frequency Transfer (GNSS-FT). The development of fieldable IFLs equipment, ultraprecise GNSS-FT and their use for chronometric levelling, are new areas of research and development, which will open up many applications of geodetic interest. We aim to realise an island-mainland chronometric levelling campaign using IFL and GNSS-FT, and the transportable optical clocks developed in A04.

Led by: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Steffen Schön, Dr. Jochen Kronjäger

Team: Ahmed Elmaghraby, Dr. Thomas Krawinkel, Dr. Alexander Kuhl, Shambo Mukherjee

Year: 2021

Funding: DFG

Correction of GNSS multipath effects for reliable autonomous localisation of highly automated vehicles in metropolitan areas (KOMET)

The code range (code measurement) used in automotive applications often cannot provide the required resolution of the location due to the high measurement noise. The complex GNSS signal propagation (signal shading, multipath effects) in urban environments makes the determination of an accurate and robust positioning solution a particularly challenging task - e.g. for positioning in narrow street canyons. The research project aims to develop and implement innovative correction methods to reduce multipath effects in order to improve carrier phase-based GNSS positioning.

Led by: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Steffen Schön, Dr.-Ing. Tobias Kersten

Team: Dr.-Ing. Tobias Kersten, M.Sc. Fabian Ruwisch

Year: 2020

Funding: BMWi / TÜV Rheinland Consulting GmbH

FIRST: Fingerprinting, Integrity Monitoring and Receiver Signal Processing Using Miniature Atomic Clock Technology

In order to improve the performance of the determination of position, velocity and time by means of GNSS measurements, nowadays Chip Scale Atomic Clocks (CSACs) are frequently used, which provide a highly stable frequency signal to the GNSS receiver. However, until now, the improvement of the navigation solution has only been algorithmic. In this project, the influence of the receiver clock on the quality of signal processing in a software receiver will be investigated by adapting the internal processing steps to the high frequency stability of the CSAC signal. In addition, the feasibility of fingerprinting with highly stable atomic clocks under different dynamic conditions will be investigated and additional integrity measures for GNSS-based time transfer will be developed.

Led by: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Steffen Schön

Team: Qianwen Lin, M. Sc.

Year: 2020

Funding: Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWi)

Collaborative Navigation for Smart Cities (GRK 2159)

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) is the only navigation sensor that provides absolute positioning. However, urban areas form the most challenging environment for GNSS to achieve a reliable position. Because of the reduced satellite visibility and disturbed signal propagation like diffraction and multipath, the resulting position has a reduced accuracy and availability. The overall research objective of this project is to reduce these shortcomings through collaboration. Therefore, similarity of multipath at different locations within streets will be studied.

Led by: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Steffen Schön

Team: Anat Schaper, Jingyao Su, Dennis Kulemann

Year: 2019

Funding: DFG

QGyro: Quantum Optics Inertial Sensor Research

The objective of this research programme is to develop and test high-precision quantum inertial sensors that support conventional inertial navigation sensors in order to expand these sensors to up to 6 degrees of freedom and use them for autonomous navigation in various further development stages.

Led by: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Steffen Schön

Team: M.Sc. Benjamin Tennstedt, Dr.-Ing. Tobias Kersten

Year: 2019

Funding: BMWi | German Aerospace Centre (DLR) - 50RK1957

Duration: 2019 - 2022

Integrity Monitoring for Network RTK Systems

From the advent of the satellite positioning techniques, civil users have always been trying to find a way to have more accurate and precise coordinates of their position. Differential concepts, from early days of GPS, have been considered. Applying the RTCM format, made the transmission of corrections possible from reference stations to the users. At first stage the corrections were casted to the users from one single station, which is called single RTK (Real Time Kinematic). This method is limited in some ways; degrading by increasing distance from CORS (Continuously Operating Reference Station), needed same signals at reference and rover and remaining the reference station errors. For compensating these shortages, the Network RTK concept appeared. In NRTK the corrections are produced using a network (at least three) of reference stations. The concept of Precise Point Positioning (PPP) is currently associated with global networks. Precise orbit and clock solutions are used to enable absolute positioning of a single receiver. However, it is restricted in ambiguity resolution, in convergence time and in accuracy. Precise point positioning based on RTK networks (PPP-RTK) overcomes these limitations and gives centimeter-accuracy in a few seconds.

Led by: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Steffen Schön

Team: Ali Karimidoona, M. Sc.

Year: 2018

Funding: DAAD