3.4.7.1 - Trilateration
Enroll to start learning
You’ve not yet enrolled in this course. Please enroll for free to listen to audio lessons, classroom podcasts and take practice test.
Practice Questions
Test your understanding with targeted questions
What is trilateration?
💡 Hint: Think about how we find locations using satellites.
How many satellites are needed for a three-dimensional position fix?
💡 Hint: Consider how you can represent position in latitude, longitude, and altitude.
4 more questions available
Interactive Quizzes
Quick quizzes to reinforce your learning
What is the minimum number of satellites required for a three-dimensional GNSS position?
💡 Hint: Think about how many dimensions you need information in!
True or False: Trilateration can only determine a location using two satellites.
💡 Hint: Consider how many signals you need for different dimensions.
1 more question available
Challenge Problems
Push your limits with advanced challenges
Suppose you are receiving signals from three satellites positioned at known locations, and the signal times indicate distances of 500 km, 300 km, and 400 km from these satellites. Describe how you would calculate your exact position on Earth.
💡 Hint: Visualize how the spherical intersections would help locate you.
During a survey, your GNSS receiver suddenly loses signal from one satellite but has strong signals from two others. Discuss how this affects your position estimate.
💡 Hint: Think about how many dimensions are left unaccounted for!
Get performance evaluation
Reference links
Supplementary resources to enhance your learning experience.