Drone Height from Ground Determination Using GNSS-R Based on Dual-Frequency GPS/BDS Signals
Conventional techniques to measure drone heights from the ground, including global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs), barometers, acoustic sensors, and LiDAR, are limited by their measurement ranges, an inability to directly obtain the height from the ground, or poor concealment. To overcome thes...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/10/1722 |
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| author | Li Zhang Weiwei Qin Fan Gao Weijie Kang Yue Zhu |
| author_facet | Li Zhang Weiwei Qin Fan Gao Weijie Kang Yue Zhu |
| author_sort | Li Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Conventional techniques to measure drone heights from the ground, including global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs), barometers, acoustic sensors, and LiDAR, are limited by their measurement ranges, an inability to directly obtain the height from the ground, or poor concealment. To overcome these shortcomings, we propose the use of GNSS reflectometry (GNSS-R) to determine a drone’s height from the ground. We conducted experiments over farmland and an urban road using a drone that carried an upward-looking right-hand circularly polarized (RHCP) antenna, a downward-looking left-hand circularly polarized (LHCP) antenna, and an intermediate frequency (IF) data collector to test the performance. Three flights were conducted in a bare soil scenario, a sparse apple orchard scenario, and an urban road scenario. A software-defined receiver was used to process the IF signal data to compute the one-dimensional time-delay-dependent power peak positions of the direct and reflected GNSS signals. Based on these peak positions, the path delay measurements between the direct and reflected signals were derived per second based on the BDS B1C and B2a, GPS C/A, and L5 signals. The drone heights were then retrieved. The results showed that the drone height retrieval accuracy could reach approximately 0.5–2 m. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ff12f8b51dfb43b1b0319cf45dea00a5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj-art-ff12f8b51dfb43b1b0319cf45dea00a52025-08-20T03:47:58ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922025-05-011710172210.3390/rs17101722Drone Height from Ground Determination Using GNSS-R Based on Dual-Frequency GPS/BDS SignalsLi Zhang0Weiwei Qin1Fan Gao2Weijie Kang3Yue Zhu4Rocket Force University of Engineering, Xi’an 710025, ChinaRocket Force University of Engineering, Xi’an 710025, ChinaSchool of Space Science and Technology, Shandong University, Weihai 264209, ChinaRocket Force University of Engineering, Xi’an 710025, ChinaSchool of Space Science and Technology, Shandong University, Weihai 264209, ChinaConventional techniques to measure drone heights from the ground, including global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs), barometers, acoustic sensors, and LiDAR, are limited by their measurement ranges, an inability to directly obtain the height from the ground, or poor concealment. To overcome these shortcomings, we propose the use of GNSS reflectometry (GNSS-R) to determine a drone’s height from the ground. We conducted experiments over farmland and an urban road using a drone that carried an upward-looking right-hand circularly polarized (RHCP) antenna, a downward-looking left-hand circularly polarized (LHCP) antenna, and an intermediate frequency (IF) data collector to test the performance. Three flights were conducted in a bare soil scenario, a sparse apple orchard scenario, and an urban road scenario. A software-defined receiver was used to process the IF signal data to compute the one-dimensional time-delay-dependent power peak positions of the direct and reflected GNSS signals. Based on these peak positions, the path delay measurements between the direct and reflected signals were derived per second based on the BDS B1C and B2a, GPS C/A, and L5 signals. The drone heights were then retrieved. The results showed that the drone height retrieval accuracy could reach approximately 0.5–2 m.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/10/1722GNSS-Raltimetrydrone heightBDS-3GPS |
| spellingShingle | Li Zhang Weiwei Qin Fan Gao Weijie Kang Yue Zhu Drone Height from Ground Determination Using GNSS-R Based on Dual-Frequency GPS/BDS Signals Remote Sensing GNSS-R altimetry drone height BDS-3 GPS |
| title | Drone Height from Ground Determination Using GNSS-R Based on Dual-Frequency GPS/BDS Signals |
| title_full | Drone Height from Ground Determination Using GNSS-R Based on Dual-Frequency GPS/BDS Signals |
| title_fullStr | Drone Height from Ground Determination Using GNSS-R Based on Dual-Frequency GPS/BDS Signals |
| title_full_unstemmed | Drone Height from Ground Determination Using GNSS-R Based on Dual-Frequency GPS/BDS Signals |
| title_short | Drone Height from Ground Determination Using GNSS-R Based on Dual-Frequency GPS/BDS Signals |
| title_sort | drone height from ground determination using gnss r based on dual frequency gps bds signals |
| topic | GNSS-R altimetry drone height BDS-3 GPS |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/10/1722 |
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