Prototype System for Unmanned Reference Point Determination at the Sub‐Millimeter Level
Abstract The determination of reference points for telescopes is crucial for obtaining the local‐tie vector for a multi‐technology co‐located station. Traditional methods suffer from labor‐intensive fieldwork, long execution cycles, and systematic errors due to the incident angle of the total statio...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Earth and Space Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EA003210 |
| _version_ | 1797290150678495232 |
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| author | Zhibin Zhang Zhikang Wang Xiaohui Ma Zhengxiong Sun Dezhen Xu Chengli Huang Guangli Wang Zhaoxiang Qi |
| author_facet | Zhibin Zhang Zhikang Wang Xiaohui Ma Zhengxiong Sun Dezhen Xu Chengli Huang Guangli Wang Zhaoxiang Qi |
| author_sort | Zhibin Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The determination of reference points for telescopes is crucial for obtaining the local‐tie vector for a multi‐technology co‐located station. Traditional methods suffer from labor‐intensive fieldwork, long execution cycles, and systematic errors due to the incident angle of the total station's laser beam on the prism. In this paper, we propose an algorithm aligning the prism pointing vector with the prism‐to‐total station vector and introduce a pan‐tilt platform and the Tianma VGOS telescope for sub‐millimeter unmanned reference point monitoring. Our results show that the prototype system based on the pan‐tilt achieves a formal error of ±100 μm (1σ) in reference point positions with just 2.5 hr of automated monitoring. The consistency of reference point positions is comparable to the local control network accuracy. Single‐direction observations may introduce a deviation of ±1 mm in the reference point compared to multiple direction observations. Preliminary experiments on the Tianma VGOS telescope have also shown that this system can efficiently automate the monitoring of prism scatter points (one measurement every minute) and achieve sub‐millimeter horizontal precision in reference point positions within a single day. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T19:16:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-96f9b39255af43d2b6d930c249b12652 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2333-5084 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T19:16:17Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Earth and Space Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-96f9b39255af43d2b6d930c249b126522024-02-29T13:15:57ZengAmerican Geophysical Union (AGU)Earth and Space Science2333-50842024-02-01112n/an/a10.1029/2023EA003210Prototype System for Unmanned Reference Point Determination at the Sub‐Millimeter LevelZhibin Zhang0Zhikang Wang1Xiaohui Ma2Zhengxiong Sun3Dezhen Xu4Chengli Huang5Guangli Wang6Zhaoxiang Qi7State Key Laboratory of Geo‐Information Engineering Xi'an ChinaShanghai Astronomical Observatory Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai ChinaState Key Laboratory of Geo‐Information Engineering Xi'an ChinaShanghai Astronomical Observatory Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai ChinaBeijing Institute of Tracking and Telecommunications Technology Beijing ChinaShanghai Astronomical Observatory Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai ChinaShanghai Astronomical Observatory Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai ChinaShanghai Astronomical Observatory Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai ChinaAbstract The determination of reference points for telescopes is crucial for obtaining the local‐tie vector for a multi‐technology co‐located station. Traditional methods suffer from labor‐intensive fieldwork, long execution cycles, and systematic errors due to the incident angle of the total station's laser beam on the prism. In this paper, we propose an algorithm aligning the prism pointing vector with the prism‐to‐total station vector and introduce a pan‐tilt platform and the Tianma VGOS telescope for sub‐millimeter unmanned reference point monitoring. Our results show that the prototype system based on the pan‐tilt achieves a formal error of ±100 μm (1σ) in reference point positions with just 2.5 hr of automated monitoring. The consistency of reference point positions is comparable to the local control network accuracy. Single‐direction observations may introduce a deviation of ±1 mm in the reference point compared to multiple direction observations. Preliminary experiments on the Tianma VGOS telescope have also shown that this system can efficiently automate the monitoring of prism scatter points (one measurement every minute) and achieve sub‐millimeter horizontal precision in reference point positions within a single day.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EA003210reference pointVLBIunmannedprototype system |
| spellingShingle | Zhibin Zhang Zhikang Wang Xiaohui Ma Zhengxiong Sun Dezhen Xu Chengli Huang Guangli Wang Zhaoxiang Qi Prototype System for Unmanned Reference Point Determination at the Sub‐Millimeter Level Earth and Space Science reference point VLBI unmanned prototype system |
| title | Prototype System for Unmanned Reference Point Determination at the Sub‐Millimeter Level |
| title_full | Prototype System for Unmanned Reference Point Determination at the Sub‐Millimeter Level |
| title_fullStr | Prototype System for Unmanned Reference Point Determination at the Sub‐Millimeter Level |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prototype System for Unmanned Reference Point Determination at the Sub‐Millimeter Level |
| title_short | Prototype System for Unmanned Reference Point Determination at the Sub‐Millimeter Level |
| title_sort | prototype system for unmanned reference point determination at the sub millimeter level |
| topic | reference point VLBI unmanned prototype system |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EA003210 |
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