Implementation of Low Cost Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) Integrated with a Global Positioning System (GPS) Receiver- A Study

This paper focuses on developing a Low Cost IMU integrated with GPS for vehicle state estimation. Knowledge of vehicle states can help design control systems which take these states as an input. Technological advancements in Micro-Electro-Mechanical Sensors (MEMS) have made accelerometers and gyroscopes economical. However, these MEMS based low cost sensors have inherent noise which accumulates with the passage of time and therefore makes their output unreliable. GPS measurements can be used to rectify the inertial sensor errors. Calibration as well as hardware implementation has been discussed in detail. Emphasis is on measurement of body slip angle. Simulations as well as actual results are being presented. Conclusion is being made on the performance of this system.