Razor M0 IMU - Sensors Integrated?

Help & Support Robot Parts
1

Does the Rqazor M0 IMU combine the gyro, accelerometer and magnetic sensor data into a coherent whole (e.g. Kalman filter or some other method) or is the platform just three independent sensors?

Thanks,
John-

2

Hey!

The platform is three independent sensors + an atmel microcontroller with the arduino bootloader already on it.
You can probably integrate your own kalman filter if you want

Here is also a quick guide on how to operate the device:
https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/9dof-razor-imu-m0-hookup-guide

3

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I should refine my inquiry. The device is said to supply Euler angles, which is fine. Gyros measure rotation rate, so to get angles one integrates over the sample time. Apparently the device does this. Since the summation is over finite time steps, the angles drift in time, a well known effect of gyros. Accelerometers don’t have that problem. On the other hand, they can be noisy, responding to vibration. A magnetometer, unlike the gyro and accelerometer, supplies a reference to the outside world. These three sensors then compliment each other. There are methods, including Kalman filters, that combine the three sensors to provide the best values of angle, acceleration and magnetic flux. My question is, does this breakout use some mathematical technique to reduce the errors inherent in each of the sensors. My suspicion is it does, especially if it is programmable, which may also provide a way to weight the relative sensor contributions.

Thanks,
John-