Validation of 3-Space Wireless Inertial Measurement Units Using an Industrial Robot

Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) are beneficial for motion tracking as, in contrast to most optical motion capture systems, IMU systems do not require a dedicated lab. However, IMUs are affected by electromagnetic noise and may exhibit drift over time; it is therefore common practice to compare their performance to another system of high accuracy before use. The 3-Space IMUs have only been validated in two previous studies with limited testing protocols. This study utilized an IRB 2600 industrial robot to evaluate the performance of the IMUs for the three sensor fusion methods provided in the 3-Space software. Testing consisted of programmed motion sequences including 360° rotations and linear translations of 800 mm in opposite directions for each axis at three different velocities, as well as static trials. The magnetometer was disabled to assess the accuracy of the IMUs in an environment containing electromagnetic noise. The Root-Mean-Square Error (RMSE) of the sensor orientation ranged between 0.2° and 12.5° across trials; average drift was 0.4°. The performance of the three filters was determined to be comparable. This study demonstrates that the 3-Space sensors may be utilized in an environment containing metal or electromagnetic noise with a RMSE below 10° in most cases.