Avionics Navigation Systems

I.GHOLIZADEH
Nov 11, 2019
IMUs
An IMU, inertial measurement unit, is a
sensor package containing 3 discrete
sensors that can be used to track
movement and orientation of objects

http://www.robo-dyne.com/en/shop/sparkfun-9dof-razor-imu-m0/

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 https://stanford.edu/class/ee267/lectures/lecture9.pdf

What can you use it for?

● Motion Capture
○ Gaming controllers for motion (Wii), VR Headsets

● Vehicle Tracking
○ IMU with GPS can keep track of moving ground
vehicles
Inertial Sensors - Dr. Kostas
Alexiswww.kostasalexis.com/inertial-sensors.html
● Attitude and Heading Reference System
○ Calculate a vehicle’s heading relative to magnetic
north

● Orientation Sensors
○ Phones, tablets, smart watches use to keep track of
their orientation
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What is in an IMU?
Fusion of three sensor types

Gyroscopes -> Angular Velocity (rad/s or deg/s)

Accelerometer -> Linear Acceleration (m/s^2 or g)

Magnetometer -> Magnetic field strength (micro-Tesla or Gauss)

Using a combination of multiple outputs allows us to build robust, complex

systems that can achieve higher levels of accuracy

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Degrees of Freedom
Typically, one sensor per type needed on each axis

● 6DOF - 3-axis accelerometer + 3-axis gyroscope

● 9DOF - 6DOF + 3-axis magnetometer
● 10DOF - 9DOF + barometric pressure sensor
● 11DOF - 10DOF + GPS

Some manufacturers make other combinations

(Digikey lists accelerometer+magnetometer 6-axis IMUs)
https://projects-static.raspberrypi.org/projects/generic-theory-pitch-roll-
yaw/1da6c9e518533fe8c1f70d7445fd6880d7dac12a/en/images/orientation
.png
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Gyroscope
Gives angular velocity in degrees/second

Has constant bias which is affected by

temperature

Bias changes over time (bias stability)

Gyroscope -
learn.sparkfun.comhttps://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/gyroscope/all?print=1

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Accelerometer
Essentially measuring displacement value of a
system for acceleration

Measured in terms of m/s2 or g

At rest an accelerometer measures the gravity

vector pointing up

Accurate long term (no drift) but not short term

(noise) roboticmagazine.com

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Magnetometer
Measures magnetic field strength on each axis

Measured in Gauss (unit of magnetic flux)

or µT ( unit of magnetic field strength)

Points generally towards magnetic north

Can be distorted by nearby metals or electronics

http://www.iconarchive.com/show/small-n-flat-icons-
by-paomedia/compass-icon.html

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Choosing an IMU
Principal considerations:
● Price
● Range and Resolution
● Degrees of Freedom
● Interface (Analog/Digital, which bus type)

More considerations:
● Noise distribution
● Power Consumption
● Gyro temperature offset

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Option A (Adafruit 9-DOF Option B (PhidgetSpatial
Absolute Orientation IMU) Precision)
Cost: ~$36 Cost: ~$140

https://www.phidgets.com/productfiles/1044/1044_0/Images/3
https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/145x109/2472-00.jpg 150x-/0/1044_0.jpg

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Inertial Measurement Units

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vertical reference unit

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Attitude and Heading Reference Systems

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Global Navigation Satellite System / inertial navigation system

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Inertial Measurement Units

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vertical reference unit

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Attitude and Heading Reference Systems

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Global Navigation Satellite System / inertial navigation system

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comparison

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 Interface

IEEE 754 (Floating Point Numbers)

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Development kit

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Microcontroller Units
(MCU)
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1. https://www.xilinx.com/products/silicon-devices/fpga.html
2. http://www.ti.com/microcontrollers/hercules-safety-mcus/overview.html
3. https://www.nxp.com/products/processors-and-microcontrollers/arm-processors/s32-
automotive-platform/safety-microcontroller-for-automotive-applications:S32S24
4. https://www.teledyne-e2v.com/products/semiconductors/pc5674f/ (DO-254)
5. https://www.nxp.com/products/processors-and-microcontrollers/power-
architecture/mpc55xx-5xxx-mcus/ultra-reliable-mpc56xx-mcus:MPC56XX
6. https://www.nxp.com/products/automotive-products:MC_50802
7. https://www.teledyne-e2v.com/products/semiconductors/processors/

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software

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IMUs
An IMU, inertial measurement unit, is a
sensor package containing 3 discrete
sensors that can be used to track
movement and orientation of objects

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IMUs
An IMU, inertial measurement unit, is a
sensor package containing 3 discrete
sensors that can be used to track
movement and orientation of objects

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Calibration

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 Calibration

3-D Rotation Table

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Calibration

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Calibration

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Calibration

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 Magnetic Field Mapper (MFM)

There are a few situations in which the magnetometer in an IMU needs a re-
calibration. This re-calibration of a magnetometer can be done with our software
called; 'Magnetic Field Mapper' (MFM).
A few situations in which this is recommended:
● When you mount or un-mount a tracker on ferromagnetic material
● If strange orientations are observed in the avatar in MVN, even though a high
quality calibration was performed .An MFM is recommended when this
strange orientation sticks to the same tracker(s), also when calibrating at other
locations.

https://base.xsens.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000888529-How-to-perform-a-Magnetic-Field-Mapper-MFM-with-the-MVN-Awinda

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 In-run Compass Calibration (ICC)

In-run Compass Calibration (ICC) provides a solution to calibrate the

sensor for magnetic distortions caused by objects that move with the
sensor.
The magnetic norm can be used as an indicator for magnetic distortions.
Examples are the cases where the MTi is attached to a car, aircraft, ship
or other platforms that can distort the magnetic field. It also handles
situations in which the sensor has become magnetized. ICC is an
alternative for the offline MFM (Magnetic Field Mapper).

https://base.xsens.com/hc/en-us/articles/213588029-In-run-Compass-Calibration-ICC-and-Representative-Motion
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 Representative Motion (RepMo)

If the user is able to perform a calibration motion in a homogeneous magnetic field

or environment that is representative for the application, then it is possible to use
"Representative Motion" feature (RepMo). For example, in the case of a car trial,
the distortions caused by the running engine cannot be removed, however the user
can take care that during the "RepMo" trial recording the car does not drive past
large external magnetic distortions. This is a procedure similar to the offline MFM,
but embedded. When using the "RepMo" the user should be careful that the
calibration motion is performed in a homogeneous field (ideally, just the object
attached to the sensor should distort the magnetic field).

https://base.xsens.com/hc/en-us/articles/213588029-In-run-Compass-Calibration-ICC-and-Representative-Motion

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AHS

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AHS

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 Compass calibration

which tool to use for tackling magnetic field distortions

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Sensor Fusion

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 Sensor Fusion
Combination of multiple sensors to extract one measurement

Between IMU sensors: Attitude Heading Reference System (AHRS)

Can also fuse IMU with other sensors (e.g. GPS)

Helps to minimize effects of bias

Many approaches and types of filters/algorithms

Some sensors do these calculations onboard

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 Filter Type

Two common methods for Sensor Fusion

● Neural Networks
● complementary filter, Mahony filter , Madgwick filter, Kalman filter, Extended Kalman Filter

Why use filters?

In this context the problem is that the accelerometer is in general very noise when it
is used to measure the gravitational acceleration since the robot is moving back
and forth. The problem with the gyro is that it drifts over time – just like a spinning
wheel-gyro will start to fall down when it is losing speed.
In short you can say that you can only trust the gyroscope on a short term while
you can only trust the accelerometer on a long term.

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Many algorithms, each with their own strengths
Complementary Filter

Easy to visualize and implement

Kalman filter

High performance, but complex and computationally expensive

Madgwick Filter

Computationally efficient for use in low-resource systems

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Example: Real Time Navigation
Problem:

Plane navigation systems and local robots cannot rely on GPS to give them
accurate position

Goal:

Create a device that can process current data to get a sense of its direction
without the use of a dedicated GPS system

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Real Time Navigation
Data we have:
● Our last position
● Orientation measurements
● Velocity measurements

Let that be the data we input into a filter and let the output be our position now
● Such a filter is called a Kalman Filter

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Complementary Filter

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 Complementary Filter

There is actually a very easy way to deal with this by using a

complimentary filter, which basically just consist of a digital low-pass filter
on the accelerometer and digital high-pass filter on the gyroscope
readings. But it is not as accurate as the Kalman filter, but other people
have successfully build balancing robots using a fine-tuned
complimentary filter.

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Complementary Filter

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Kalman Filter

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Kalman Filter
● A recursive algorithm to predict current state by combining real time
measurements, a mathematical model of the system, and our previous states

○ Kalman(last position, current_orientation, current_velocity, mathematical

model) → current position

● This prediction algorithm is more accurate than just taking one single variable
(i.e. just our previous trajectory or just current measurements)

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 Kalman Filter: Algorithm Overview
http://www.bzarg.com/p/how-a-kalman-filter-works-in-pictures/

Step 1:
At t0, keep track of a
previous state distribution
(estimation of location and all
possible locations) -- blue
Step 2:
At t1, create a new
probability distribution of
location based off your
previous state (mathematical
model) -- pink
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 Kalman Filter: Algorithm Overview
http://www.bzarg.com/p/how-a-kalman-filter-works-in-pictures/

Step 3:
At t1, take measurements
and create probability
distribution of a location
based on the data
(measurement model)

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 Kalman Filter: Algorithm Overview
http://www.bzarg.com/p/how-a-kalman-filter-works-in-pictures/

Step 4:
At t2, create a new distribution
that is intersection of the two
models

Pink: probability model

Green: measurement model
White: intersection of models

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 Kalman Filter: Algorithm Overview
http://www.bzarg.com/p/how-a-kalman-filter-works-in-pictures/

Step 5:
At t2, the new distribution is
now the previous state and
repeat steps 1 - 4

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 Kalman Filter

https://blog.tkjelectronics.dk/2012/09/a-practical-approach-to-kalman-filter-and-how-to-implement-it/
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 Kalman Filter

https://blog.tkjelectronics.dk/2012/09/a-practical-approach-to-kalman-filter-and-how-to-implement-it/
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Kalman Filter

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Kalman Filter

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 Complementary Filter as Kalman Filter

As you can see the signals filtered are very similarly. Note that in the presence of vibrations, the
accelerometer (red) generally go crazy. The gyro (green) has a very strong drift increasing int
the time.
https://robottini.altervista.org/kalman-filter-vs-complementary-filter

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Example

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Mahony&Madgwick Filter

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Mahony&Madgwick Filter

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Mahony&Madgwick Filter

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 GPS
● Digital GPS Compass

GPS+COMPASS

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 SES DGNSS SYSTEM
● Satellite Earth Stations(SES)

● Differential GNSS (DGNSS)

● Real Time Kinematics (RTK)

● Wide Area RTK(WARTK)

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 SES DGNSS SYSTEM
Differential GNSS (DGNSS) is a kind of GNSS Augmentation system based on an
enhancement to primary GNSS constellation(s) information by the use of a
network of ground-based reference stations which enable the broadcasting of
differential information to the user – also named rover – to improve the accuracy
of his position – the integrity is not assured. There are several DGNSS
techniques, such as the classical DGNSS (or DGPS), the Real Time Kinematics
(RTK) and the Wide Area RTK (WARTK).

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SES DGNSS SYSTEM

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 IMU/VRU/AHRS/INS/GNSS

Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) for UAV Applications

IMU producing companies

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IMU/VRU/AHRS/INS/GNSS

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IMU/VRU/AHRS/INS/GNSS

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IMU/VRU/AHRS/INS/GNSS

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IMU/VRU/AHRS/INS/GNSS

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IMU/VRU/AHRS/INS/GNSS

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IMU/VRU/AHRS/INS/GNSS

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IMU/VRU/AHRS/INS/GNSS

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IMU/VRU/AHRS/INS/GNSS

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IMU/VRU/AHRS/INS/GNSS

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IMU/VRU/AHRS/INS/GNSS

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IMU/VRU/AHRS/INS/GNSS

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IMU/VRU/AHRS/INS/GNSS

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IMU/VRU/AHRS/INS/GNSS

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IMU/VRU/AHRS/INS/GNSS

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 Thank You for listening!

We are happy to answer questions

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Sources
● https://www.samba.org/tridge/UAV/madgwick_internal_report.pdf
● https://stanford.edu/class/ee267/lectures/lecture9.pdf
● https://www.navlab.net/Publications/Introduction_to_Inertial_Navigation_and_Kalman_Filtering.pdf
● http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/magnetic/MagEarth.html
● https://electroiq.com/2010/11/introduction-to-mems-gyroscopes/
● https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/accelerometer-basics/all
● https://www.vectornav.com/support/library/gyroscope
● https://www.sparkfun.com/pages/accel_gyro_guide
● https://www.adafruit.com/product/2472
● https://www.phidgets.com/?tier=3&catid=10&pcid=8&prodid=1038
● http://www.bzarg.com/p/how-a-kalman-filter-works-in-pictures/
● http://www.pieter-jan.com/node/11

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