Calibration of Inertial Measurement Units Using Pendulum Motion

The utilization of micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) gyros and accelerometers in low-level inertial measurement unit (IMU) influences cost effectiveness in a positive way under the condition that device error characteristics are fully calibrated. The conventional calibration process utilizes a rate table; however, this paper proposes a new method for achieving reference calibration data from the natural motion of pendulum to which the IMU undergoing calibration is attached. This concept was validated with experimental data. The pendulum angle measurements correlate extremely well with the solutions acquired from the pendulum equation of motion. The calibration data were computed using the regression method. The whole process was validated by comparing the measurement from the 6 sensor components with the measurements reconstructed using the identified calibration data.