UPWr student Piotr Patynowski: – I see my future in geodesy

Although Piotr Patynowski's time with the University of Environmental and Life Sciences in Wrocław is slowly coming to an end, the most important exam is still ahead of him – defending his master's thesis. It was for this thesis that Piotr received his scholarship in the "Implementation Master" program. He thinks very highly of the university’s initiative, which recognises young scientists’ efforts with interesting projects.

– This is a great opportunity to stand out both on the national and international arena. We have presented our work at various conferences – says Piotr.

Piotr’s work concerned the improvement of satellite precision positioning methods with the use of low-cost multi-GNSS receivers. The low-cost receivers that Piotr uses are simply cell phones. The cost of the models he uses range from PLN 1,200 to PLN 2,600 – which is not much compared to professional receivers, which can cost as much as PLN 90,000.

– Cell phones have been able to record raw GNSS data for about four years. This allows them to be processed and for the user position to be determined based on them. Professional equipment can determine the position with accuracy to one milimetre, while the phones we use can do so with accuracy to one decimetre. Cell phones are therefore a great alternative to expensive equipment for people who need to accurately determine their location – explains Piotr Patynowski, adding that using a phone as a GNSS receiver is very simple. You do not need to interfere with the structure or software of the phone, for which you would need special rights, as you only need to register observation files using the application, and then use a dedicated computer program to process the data. 

Such receivers can be used in navigation, in supplying geographic information system (GIS) databases with field measurements, in precise agriculture, and even in archeology, where it is important to precisely mark excavations.

During his studies at the UPWr, Piotr Patynowski was also a finalist of the Student Nobel Prize competition. He was among the top 10 in the "activist" category, among others for his master's thesis, original research on the impact of the accuracy of invar patches on the measurement of precision leveling, as well as for the organisation of events such as Wrocław GIS Day 2018 or science camps. The Student Nobel Prize is a competition organised by the Independent Students' Association, under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. It promotes and rewards the most talented students in the country, helps them start their careers, publicises pro-social activities, and promotes science and entrepreneurship.

During the last year of his studies, Piotr also worked on the EPOS-PL + project. It consists of building a multilayer, multidisciplinary and interpretive research infrastructure focusing on the areas of mining exploitation. The team of the University of Environmental and Life Sciences in Wrocław, of which Piotr Patynowski was a part, is responsible, among others, for the establishment of the Center for Research Infrastructure of Satellite Data (CIBDS) and the development of an IT platform for terrain deformation research. The team also deals with the construction of the Global Geodetic Observation System in Poland (GGOS-PL ++), and is expanding the infrastructure for gravimetric measurements, which are used, among others, to study the gravitational field of the Earth.

Privately, Piotr is interested in sports: – I played handball before my studies, and I also trained volleyball at the UPWr. We even managed to create a handball league at the university, but unfortunately the pandemic ruined our plans, and only recently, in April, did we manage to get back to the idea.

Although the future graduate does not rule out the possibility of continuing his studies at the Doctoral School, after defending his master's thesis his initial plans are to develop his own company with two lines of business – I definitely see my future in geodesy. I plan to give business a go and I hope that I will be able to set up a company related to my education and GNSS receivers – emphasises Piotr Patynowski. 

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