Cooperative Differential GNSS Positioning: Estimators and Bounds
Abstract
In Differential GNSS (DGNSS) positioning, differencing measurements between a user and a reference station suppresses common-mode errors but also introduces reference-station noise, which fundamentally limits accuracy. This limitation is minor for high-grade stations but becomes significant when using reference infrastructure of mixed quality. This paper investigates how large-scale user cooperation can mitigate the impact of reference-station noise in conventional (non-cooperative) DGNSS systems. We develop a unified estimation framework for cooperative DGNSS (C-DGNSS) and cooperative real-time kinematic (C-RTK) positioning, and derive parameterized expressions for their Fisher information matrices as functions of network size, satellite geometry, and reference-station noise. This formulation enables theoretical analysis of estimation performance, identifying regimes where cooperation asymptotically restores the accuracy of DGNSS with an ideal (noise-free) reference. Simulations validate these theoretical findings.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2601.06012,
title = {Cooperative Differential GNSS Positioning: Estimators and Bounds},
author = {Helena Calatrava and Daniel Medina and Pau Closas},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.06012},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
The manuscript comprises a 13-page main paper and a 6-page supplementary appendix providing extended derivations and matrix expansions. The main body includes 5 figures and 5 tables