TUMSAT GNSS Lab

Our laboratory has been focusing on GPS since Dr. Yasuda and Dr. Namie, who is currently teaching at the National Defense Academy.   GPS, which started as a military application in the U.S., is now evolving into GNSS (GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, and COMPASS), and is expected to continue its gradual development on a global scale.   In Japan, a system of four domestically produced Quasi-Zenith Satellites “Michibiki” has been successfully implemented in 2017.

 For those who are interested in building your own GPS receiver, satellite communications, software (not only GPS/GNSS), or location-based applications, this lab is the place for you.  GPS is a good subject to study communication in general.  We also study the ionosphere and troposphere.  We will connect you to someone who is skilled in this field.  Those who are interested in navigation, maps, and various sensors (gyros, etc.) are also welcome.  It may be a lot of copying at first, but soon, you will gradually be able to come up with your own ideas.  Our goal is for students to become people who can contribute to society in the future in the field of satellite positioning, including the peaceful use of space and the oceans, and of course in other fields as well.

 In order for the graduate students in our laboratory to have not only intellectual curiosity but also as broad a perspective as possible, we encourage them to make presentations overseas as much as possible. In this sense, the graduate students are expected to be proactive in learning English.  Seminars are held every week, and each student gives a progress report approximately once a month.  As for employment, students who wish to work for ship-related companies often find employment in the undergraduate program, while those who wish to work in IT related fields often go on to graduate school.  Students who go to graduate school most likely to work for GPS/GNSS manufacturers, electronics manufacturers, and software companies.  The employment situation has been good for the past two to three years, but it seems to depend largely on the basic academic ability and communication skills of the student.

Research Focus

Below is a list of current and continuing research themes.  If you are interested in satellite positioning or related topics, please feel free to contact us (there are some areas that we do not cover depending on the semester.)

1. Research using software GPS/GNSS receivers
2. Algorithms for integrated RTK positioning with multi-GNSS
3. Performance evaluation of near-future SBAS and evaluation of ionospheric delay error
4. Evaluation of the reliability of GNSS-based positioning results
5. Around GIS and GNSS (application to traffic accident prevention, environmental monitoring, etc.)
6. Creation of small robots (radio-controlled, UAV, boats) that integrate GNSS and sensors
7. Addressing the challenges of satellite positioning in urban areas
8. Multipath error reduction technology
9. Evaluation of antennas for GNSS
10. Improving the convenience of RTK with low-cost receivers
11. Simulation using 3D map data and its application
12. Utilization of simulations using GPS Studio (National Institute for Structural Planning), etc.
13. Quasi-zenith satellite related items
14. Determination of railroad position and calculation of reliability
15. Research and application of PPP and PPP-AR for improving the accuracy of single positioning
16. Research in mid-baseline RTK (ionospheric error estimation)

GNSS Base Station

Our laboratory has been broadcasting differential Information of Multi-GNSS (Rtcm3/RINEX) from the antenna installed on the roof of the 4th experimental building at Etchujima campus since 2012.  We use “Trimble NetR9” for the receiver and “Trimble Zephyr2 Gepodetic” for the attached antenna.   If you are conducting GNSS experiments in Tokyo and want to try DGNSS, RTK, etc., or if you need observation data information for post-processing, please contact us anytime.   

Due to security reasons at the university, you cannot see this receiver directly at the moment.  However, we do have some observation data available that we are sending to an external server.