Quaternion Estimation for attitude determination using multiple L1 GPS receivers

Abstract

The use of GPS carrier-phase measurements from multiple receivers can be used in the determination of multiple baseline vectors. This can be used for the high precision determination of a vehicle attitude. The use of these measurements requires the determination of the integer carrier phase ambiguities, which is a problem usually addressed with dual-frequency receivers. However, the high cost of these receivers lead to a strong motivation regarding the development of techniques using low-cost single-frequency receivers. In this paper, a high precision attitude determination technique, using a quaternion-based Extended Kalman Filter, based on multiple baselines is proposed, using low cost single frequency L1 GPS receivers. Test results with real data are presented.