Geodetic Deformation Analysis with Respect to Observation Imprecision

The significance of estimated point and object movements in geodetic deformation analysis depends essentially on the quality of the observations and analysis techniques. A comprehensive modeling of the complete analysis process from the original observations to the parameters of interest requires an adequate consideration and propagation of all sources of uncertainty. In this study, the uncertainty budget of the observations is assumed to comprise two independent types of uncertainty: random variability and imprecision. The first one is well known; it is described by random variables. The second one is due to remaining systematic deviations between the observations and the geodetic model; it is modeled using fuzzy intervals. In order to take observation imprecision into account, both types of uncertainty are superposed to consistently extend the standard analysis techniques which are exclusively based on random variables: fuzzy intervals serve now as basic quantities; their midpoints are random variables representing the classical observations.