Evaluation of Single-Frequency Precise Point Positioning Performance Based on SPARTN Corrections Provided by the SAPCORDA SAPA Service

Fields of high-precision positioning applications are growing fast across the mass market worldwide. Accordingly, the industry is focusing on developing methods of applying State-Space Representation (SSR) corrections on low-cost GNSS receivers. Among SSR correction types, this paper analyzes Safe Position Augmentation for Real Time Navigation (SPARTN) messages being offered by the SAfe and Precise CORrection DAta (SAPCORDA) company and validates positioning algorithms based on them. The first part of this paper introduces the SPARTN format in detail. Then, procedures on how to apply Basic-Precision Atmosphere Correction (BPAC) and High-Precision Atmosphere Correction (HPAC) messages are described. BPAC and HPAC messages are used for correcting satellite clock errors, satellite orbit errors, satellite signal biases and also ionospheric and tropospheric delays. Accuracies of positioning algorithms utilizing SPARTN messages were validated with two types of positioning strategies: Code-PPP using GPS pseudorange measurements and PPP-RTK including carrier phase measurements. In these performance checkups, only single-frequency measurements have been used and integer ambiguities were estimated as float numbers instead of fixed integers. The result shows that, with BPAC and HPAC corrections, the horizontal accuracy is 46% and 63% higher, respectively, compared to that obtained without application of SPARTN corrections. Also, the average horizontal and vertical RMSE values with HPAC are 17 cm and 27 cm, respectively.