GNSS Measurements Based Attitude Determination

Attitude determination (AD) is essential for determining accurate orientation of aerial platforms like unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or satellites. Traditional attitude sensors are expensive and suffer from biases and errors over time, prompting the exploration of GNSS-based solutions. This paper investigates GNSS-based AD techniques using only GNSS measurements without external aiding. In this context, the measurements used are code-phase measurements, carrier-phase measurements, and Doppler measurements. Each technique is analyzed for its accuracy in determining attitude angles: yaw, pitch, and roll. Results indicate that carrier-phase measurements offer the most accurate results, albeit with increased computational complexity due to ambiguity resolution. Doppler measurements provide a viable alternative with simpler processing requirements, while code-phase measurements exhibit relatively lower accuracy. The findings contribute to understanding the efficacy of GNSS-based methods for AD, aiding in the development of cost-effective and reliable navigation systems for aerial platforms.