Microelectromechanical System (MEMS) Gyroscope Noise Analysis and Scale Factor Characterization over Temperature Variation
Abstract
Positioning, navigation, and timing estimation are critically important to Army systems from munitions to mounted and dismounted Soldiers. Gyroscopes provide information about angular orientation and are thus a necessary part of inertial measurement units for navigation systems. Because of noise and temperature changes, the sensor output can drift until the sensor data are no longer correlated to the systems orientation. If sensors provide inaccurate information, the location and orientation of the system are essentially unknown. To determine the reliability of gyroscopes orientation information, we created methodologies to experimentally test and evaluate current and developing microelectromechanical system gyroscopes. The methodologies evaluate key metrics including angle random walk, bias instability, bias, and scale factor, and determine how each metric changes with environmental temperature. The results were verified by testing a commercial off-the-shelf gyroscope. These programs will be valuable for quantifying the magnitude of improvement in gyroscope stability and temperature sensitivity, and for performing thermal calibration.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1011588
Entities
People
- Angela Maio
- Ryan Knight
- William Nothwang
Organizations
- United States Army Research Laboratory