Calibration of Low Cost Inertial Measurement Units without Laboratory Equipment

Nogueira, L. M. Mechanical Engineering, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, São Cristovão, SE, Brasil

Brum, R. Laboratório de Vibrações e Acústica, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brasil

Mendes, P. J. C. Laboratório de Vibrações e Acústica, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brasil

Rizzatti, R. S. Laboratório de Vibrações e Acústica, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brasil

Lenzi, A. Laboratório de Vibrações e Acústica, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brasil

Abstract

The popularization of MEMS sensors has enabled the development of low-cost data acquisition technologies. Among the most varied types of sensors, such as accelerometers, microphones and barometers, one of the devices that has stood out is the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), which commonly combines accelerometers and gyroscopes in a single package. This makes it possible for the IMU to measure the dynamic behavior of rigid bodies through sensor fusion. One of the main obstacles of these low-cost sensors is an adequate calibration, since the mass production process makes this procedure unfeasible in the production chain. Several authors have committed themselves to proposing a methodology for sensor calibration, although most of these studies still make use of some specific bench-top equipment, such as a rotary table or a 6-axis controlled platform. The present work proposes the elaboration of a static/quasi-static calibration procedure using only a simple template part, which can be manufactured through 3D printing. For this, the values of average acceleration measured in static condition are compared to the acceleration of gravity for the two directions and each direction that the IMU is able to measure. In the gyroscope calibration process, the sensor, coupled to the template, is subjected to a predetermined rotation by the template geometry. Then, the angular velocity values obtained from the MEMS gyroscope are cumulatively integrated and compared to the value of the rotation applied to each sensor axis.

Keywords:

Calibration

MEMS

IMU.

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