The World’s First MEMS Navigation Grade Inertial Navigation System

K. Shcheglov, D. Smukowski, K. Ezal, G. Johnson

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	Sensors in Motion (SIM) has produced the world’s first prototype demonstrator of a low-cost, high performance, and more compact Inertial Navigation System (INS) with navigation grade (less than 0.05 deg/hr drift/0.005 ARW) performance using proprietary SRG gyroscopes and control algorithms. The effort spanned over two decades from a Jet Propulsion Laboratory vision that improving navigation and azimuth determination accuracy with small, lightweight, low power and cost technologies is not only the most effective means for accurate navigation and positioning for space and military applications, but opens up enormous innovations for increased crop yields, oil and gas production and the seminal control for autonomous vehicles. The system contains MEMs devices for a 6 DOF INS with demonstrable results and includes shock and thermal isolation techniques. At its core are batch fabricated silicon, 5 mm gyroscopes measured by Allan Variance analysis, 0.002 deg/rt-hour Angular Random Walk (ARW) and less than 0.01 deg/hr Bias instability. A MEMs based approach is promising technology to achieve navigation grade inertial sensing requirements for new innovations due to: 1) an overwhelming cost and size advantage; 2) decreased power consumption and weight; 3) Simple thermal compensation and control, and 4) use of non-mechanical auto-calibration.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 2015 International Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 26 - 28, 2015 Laguna Cliffs Marriott Dana Point, California
Pages:	588 - 592
Cite this article:	Shcheglov, K., Smukowski, D., Ezal, K., Johnson, G., "The World’s First MEMS Navigation Grade Inertial Navigation System," Proceedings of the 2015 International Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, Dana Point, California, January 2015, pp. 588-592.
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