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. 2021 Jul 16;21(14):4851.
doi: 10.3390/s21144851.

Performance Enhancement of Consumer-Grade MEMS Sensors through Geometrical Redundancy

Giorgio de Alteriis  1   2 , Domenico Accardo  1 , Claudia Conte  2 , Rosario Schiano Lo Moriello  1
Affiliations

Performance Enhancement of Consumer-Grade MEMS Sensors through Geometrical Redundancy

Giorgio de Alteriis et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

The paper deals with performance enhancement of low-cost, consumer-grade inertial sensors realized by means of Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology. Focusing their attention on the reduction of bias instability and random walk-driven drift of cost-effective MEMS accelerometers and gyroscopes, the authors hereinafter propose a suitable method, based on a redundant configuration and complemented with a proper measurement procedure, to improve the performance of low-cost, consumer-grade MEMS sensors. The performance of the method is assessed by means of an adequate prototype and compared with that assured by a commercial, expensive, tactical-grade MEMS inertial measurement unit, taken as reference. Obtained results highlight the promising reliability and efficacy of the method in estimating position, velocity, and attitude of vehicles; in particular, bias instability and random walk reduction greater than 25% is, in fact, experienced. Moreover, differences as low as 0.025 rad and 0.89 m are obtained when comparing position and attitude estimates provided by the prototype and those granted by the tactical-grade MEMS IMU.

Keywords: Allan variance; GNSS/INS; MEMS; accelerometer; gyroscope; inertial measurement unit; inertial navigation systems; integrated navigation; sensor redundancy; unmanned aircraft systems.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Allan deviation: characteristics parameter [16].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Flow chart of the measurement procedure.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Operations of sensing axes alignment procedure.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Initial bias estimation procedure.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Prototype developed.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Test equipment.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Allan deviation of accelerometers along the three sensing axes of the prototype.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Allan deviation of gyroscopes along the three sensing axes of the prototype.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Allan deviation of accelerometers, axis z: single SensorTile vs. prototype.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Allan deviation of gyros, axis z: single SensorTile vs. prototype.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Nominal car route travelled in tests for position and attitude estimation.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Heading angle comparison.
Figure 13
Figure 13
Comparison of position results provided by the proposed prototype and the reference IMU.
Figure 14
Figure 14
Position comparison.
Figure 15
Figure 15
Differences of position in 1 s (red) and 10 s (blue) of outages.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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