BDS–GPS inter-system bias of code observation and its preliminary analysis

Navigation applications will benefit significantly from the improved reliability, availability, and accuracy offered by combining BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) and Global Positioning System (GPS). In the BDS/GPS navigation data fusion model, the effect of inter-system bias (ISB) must be considered. We present a detailed analysis of the pseudorange measurements for BDS and GPS and demonstrate the existence of code ISB in BDS/GPS measurements. The ISB mainly consists of the time system offset, the coordinate system difference, and the inter-system hardware delay bias. A method based on statistical hypothesis testing is proposed to assess the stability and difference of the BDS–GPS ISB. Real data from 18 stations equipped with six types of receivers are used to compute the ISB. The results illustrate that (a) receiver-dependent ISBs are evident and comparatively consistent, with the maximum ISB observed in our experiments being −1516 ns, (b) these receiver-dependent ISBs exhibit great stability in terms of their standard deviation and intra-day variation, and (c) the estimated ISBs for each BDS satellite type with respect to GPS are consistent.