FAA Certification of a MEMS Attitude and Heading Reference System

Elecia White and Jose A. Rios

Abstract:	A low cost MEMS inertial measurement unit (IMU) has been developed to be submitted for FAA approval. The system is a part of the Crossbow Technology, Inc AHRS500GA family of inertial sensor products. The system is an unaided, high performance, solid-state attitude and heading reference system intended for General Aviation applications. The strap-down inertial system provides attitude and heading measurement with static and dynamic accuracy comparable to traditional spinning mass and directional gyros. The system has been designed to comply with the Federal Aviation Authority's (FAA) high standards of safety and reliability, including extensive built in test (BIT) capability. Crossbow will demonstrate to the certification authority all of the concepts and methodologies employed to produce reliable software per guidelines in DO-178B "Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification." Consideration will be given to all aspects of software production: planning, design, verification,management and quality control. Further, the system will provide an accurate inertial reference in avionic dynamic environments including altitude, temperature, shock, and vibration according to the guidelines in DO 160D "Environmental Conditions and Test Procedures for Airborne Equipment." The unit will be certified and manufactured according to the minimum performance standards described in: • TSO-C4c - Bank and Pitch Instruments • TSO-C3d - Turn and Slip Instrument • TSO-C6d - Direction Instrument, Magnetic (Gyroscopically Stabilized) In addition, a supplementary type certification (STC) will also be submitted for the unit as a primary flight instrument for Class I-III aircraft. The process of certification can be daunting, particularly the software certification effort.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 2002 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 28 - 30, 2002 The Catamaran Resort Hotel San Diego, CA
Pages:	158 - 169
Cite this article:	White, Elecia, Rios, Jose A., "FAA Certification of a MEMS Attitude and Heading Reference System," Proceedings of the 2002 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, San Diego, CA, January 2002, pp. 158-169.
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