Initial calibration and alignment of an inertial navigation

TLDR: In this paper, an efficient initial calibration and alignment algorithm for a six-degree of freedom inertial navigation unit is presented, which is able to obtain accurate position and velocity information for a significant period of time using an inertial measurement unit as the only sensor.

Abstract: This work presents an efficient initial calibration and alignment algorithm for a six-degree of freedom inertial navigation unit. The individual error models for the gyros and accelerometers are presented with a study of its effects in trajectory prediction. A full error model is also presented to determine the sensors needed for full observability of the different perturbation parameters. Finally, dead reckoning experimental results are presented based on the initial alignment and calibration parameters. The results show that the algorithm proposed is able to obtain accurate position and velocity information for a significant period of time using an inertial measurement unit as the only sensor.