Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)
An Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) is a device that typically consists of gyroscopes to measure and report angular rate and accelerometers to measure and report specific force. In this section we delve deeper into the inner workings of an inertial measurement unit to explore all the relevant specifications and information required to select the correct IMU for your application.
What is an IMU?
An Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) is a device that can measure and report specific gravity and angular rate of an object to which it is attached. An IMU typically consists of:
-Gyroscopes: providing a measure angular rate.
-Accelerometers: providing a measure specific force/acceleration.
-Magnetometers (optional): measurement of the magnetic field surrounding the system.
The addition of a magnetometer and filtering algorithms to determine orientation information results in a device known as an Attitude and Heading Reference Systems (AHRS). You can learn more about how an AHRS works in Section 1.6 of the Inertial Navigation Primer.
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