Effect of different construction materials on propagation of GPS monitoring signals

The GPS carrier phase observations are widely used for the high precision static and kinematic positioning applications. However, GPS signals are seriously distorted when passing through walls and other obstructions. This paper focuses on this issue and outlines the research carried out to investigate the effects of some commonly used construction materials on the GPS signals. For the purpose of generating the multipath in a controlled manner, an experimental set-up is designed to test the effect of typical building surface materials (toughened glass, wood board, PVC board and ceramic tile) on positioning accuracy. The effects of signal attenuation on the accuracy of the positioning solution are explored by an improved particle filtering algorithm and some statistical methods, and reasons for these effects are further analyzed. The findings of the experimental results may be used to enhance the performance of GPS technology.

► Different materials were tested and the dielectric constants were obtained.
► A set of system for the GPS multipath signals generating and monitoring was devised.
► The distribution of GPS receiver’s noise was studied.
► The different materials on the propagation of GPS signals were investigated.
► The improved particle filtering algorithm has proven to be effective.