Analysis of GNSS Baseline Length Effects on LiDAR-Based UAV Topographic Survey Accuracy Using CORS

Ahmed Mostafa, Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University, Cairo, EgyptFollow
Mohamed El Tokhey, Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
Yasser Mogahed, Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
Tarek Hassan, Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

Corresponding Author

Ahmed Mostafa

ORCID

Mostafa: 0009-0004-1940-9284 Tokhey : 0000-0001-7817-0083 Mogahed : 0000-0001-5501-351X Hassan : 0000-0002-6776-1758

Subject Area

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Article Type

Original Study

Abstract

The field of land surveying has evolved considerably with the tremendous advancements in the capabilities of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The integration of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology has further enhanced this process by providing an efficient and high-precision solution for topographic surveying. High-precision georeferencing in UAV-LiDAR surveys is constrained by Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) baseline length and flight configurations. In remote or operationally restricted areas, where establishing a local GNSS base station is difficult or impossible, Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) represent an alternative solution for ensuring reliable positioning corrections. This study investigates the effect of GNSS baseline length on topographic survey accuracy. UAV-LiDAR data were collected over a site with complex topography. After optimizing the flight altitude, GNSS data from five CORS, with varying baseline distances, were processed with the UAV-LiDAR data. The terrain model was generated for each baseline configuration to assess the degradation in accuracy. The findings demonstrate that baselines shorter than 8km maintain a mean error of less than . In addition, the mean error increases to at 70km, highlighting that UAV-LiDAR surveys can still deliver promising results. For longer baselines, accuracy degrades more substantially, reaching a mean error of 45cm at 230km. Nevertheless, such results may still be suitable for applications with less stringent accuracy requirements, particularly under harsh operational conditions where establishing a nearby GNSS base station is not feasible.

Keywords

UAV, LiDAR, GNSS, Baseline Length, CORS.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Mostafa, Ahmed; El Tokhey, Mohamed; Mogahed, Yasser; and Hassan, Tarek (2026) "Analysis of GNSS Baseline Length Effects on LiDAR-Based UAV Topographic Survey Accuracy Using CORS," Mansoura Engineering Journal: Vol. 51 : Iss. 6 , Article 17.
Available at: https://doi.org/10.58491/2735-4202.3562

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