Inertial measurement unit

About: Inertial measurement unit is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 13326 publications have been published within this topic receiving 189083 citations. The topic is also known as: IMU.

Radar-Inertial Ego-Velocity Estimation for Visually Degraded Environments

Abstract: We present an approach for estimating the body-frame velocity of a mobile robot. We combine measurements from a millimeter-wave radar-on-a-chip sensor and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) in a batch optimization over a sliding window of recent measurements. The sensor suite employed is lightweight, low-power, and is invariant to ambient lighting conditions. This makes the proposed approach an attractive solution for platforms with limitations around payload and longevity, such as aerial vehicles conducting autonomous exploration in perceptually degraded operating conditions, including subterranean environments. We compare our radar-inertial velocity estimates to those from a visual-inertial (VI) approach. We show the accuracy of our method is comparable to VI in conditions favorable to VI, and far exceeds the accuracy of VI when conditions deteriorate.

Optic Flow to Steer and Avoid Collisions in 3D

Abstract: Optic flow is believed to be the main source of information allowing insects to control their flight. Some researchers have tried to apply this paradigm to small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). So far, none of them has been able to demonstrate a fully autonomous flight of a free-flying system without relying on other cues such as GPS and/or some sort of orientation sensors (IMU, horizon detector, etc.). Getting back to the reactive approach suggested by Gibson (direct perception) and Braitenberg (direct connection from sensors to actuators), this chapter discusses how a few optic flow signals can be directly mapped into control commands for steering an aircraft in cluttered environments. The implementation of the proposed control strategy on a 10-g airplane flying autonomously in an office-sized room demonstrates how the proposed approach can result in ultra-light autopilots.

Motion state detection for mobile device

Abstract: Methods, apparatuses, and systems are provided to indicate whether a mobile device is at rest or in motion based, at least in part, on inertial sensor measurements obtained from one or more inertial sensors located on-board the mobile device. Inertial sensor measurements may be combined with navigation signals obtained from a satellite or terrestrial based navigation system in order to refine position, orientation, velocity, and/or acceleration estimates for the mobile device.

New surface micromachined angular rate sensor for vehicle stabilizing systems in automotive applications

Abstract: Current developments in vehicle dynamics control systems and future advanced high performance vehicle stabilizing systems demand higher performance of the inertial signals of the vehicle's dynamics, especially the angular rate signals: higher accuracy and better signal to noise ratio, high signal refresh rates, higher robustness and insensitivity against external interference, higher system availability and reliability, easier applicability (e.g. additional measuring axes). This paper presents a third generation angular rate sensor cluster MM3.x suitable for high volume production, meeting those demands. Design concepts of the core component - the new angular rate sensor module SMG - are unveiled, giving it outstanding functional performance compared to similar surface micromachined gyroscopes.