IMU for calculating distance/position in space

Help & Support Robot Parts
1

Hi,

In my application I would like to throw an object in the air/water and to be able to record the trajectory of the object in space. Imagine a ball that contains an IMU powered by a battery. The IMU is recording its own trajectory.

For the moment I would like to avoid GPS (just inertial navigation). The initial position of the ball is known.

The motion of the object will take maximum 30s-1min.

I would like to know the attitude, the acceleration (x,y,z), the speed and the position of the object in space.

I am concerned by the fact that a 6 DOF IMU will not be enough because of the drift/integration errors.
I do not know what distance errors to expect in a such short duration.

Did some of you guys did such an application?
What is the accuracy of the position computing?
What IMU/or other sensor do you recommend ?

Regards,

2

Hi,

With such a project in mind, you most certainly want to read more about dead reckoning first and see what has been done already.

What you really need is not just an IMU but something closer to a inertial navigation system.

As for accuracy for this, see this and this.

We hope this helps.

Sincerely,

3

Thank You for your input!