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Use of the Magnetic Field for Improving Gyroscopes' Biases Estimation.
Estefania Munoz Diaz1, Fabian de Ponte Müller2, Juan Jesús García Domínguez3
1German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Communications and Navigation, Oberpfaffenhofen, 82234 Wessling, Germany. estefania.Munoz@dlr.de.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|April 12, 2017
Summary
Magnetic field measurements effectively estimate gyroscope biases for improved pedestrian navigation orientation. This method works even in perturbed magnetic fields, though it can be slow in complex environments.
Area of Science:
- Navigation Systems
- Sensor Fusion
- Robotics
Background:
- Accurate orientation is essential for pedestrian navigation, but gyroscope biases introduce significant errors.
- Current methods for bias estimation are insufficient, and the use of magnetic field measurements remains unproven.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of magnetic field measurements for estimating biases in medium-cost micro-electromechanical sensors (MEMS) gyroscopes.
- To analyze the impact of magnetic field characteristics on bias estimation accuracy.
Main Methods:
- Experiments using quasi-error-free and medium-cost MEMS turn rate and magnetic measurements.
- Analysis of homogeneous and perturbed magnetic field environments.
- Assessment of bias subtraction impact on orientation and trajectory estimation.
Main Results:
- Magnetic field measurements are beneficial for accurate gyroscope bias estimation.
- Different magnetic field distributions impact the estimation process variably.
- Bias estimation is successful even in perturbed magnetic fields, but is slow in indoor/urban settings.
Conclusions:
- Magnetic field sensing is a viable method for improving gyroscope bias estimation in navigation systems.
- Environmental magnetic field conditions significantly influence the performance and speed of bias estimation.
- Further research is needed to optimize the speed of bias estimation for real-world applications.