Micromechanical Inertial Swors for Commercial and Military Applications

John M. Elwell

Abstract:	Anew industry, which will provide low cost silicon based inertial sensors to the commercial and military markets is being created. Inertial measurement units, are used exten- sively in military systems and new versions are expected to find their way into commercial products, such as automo- biles, as production costs fall as technology advances. An automotive inertial measurement unit can be expected to perform a complete range of control, diagnostic, and navi- gation functions. These functions are expected to provide significant active safety, performance, comfort, convenience, and fuel economy advantages to the automotive consumer. An inertial measurement unit applicable to the automobile industry would meet many of the performance requirements for the military in important areas such as antenna and im- age stabilization, autopilot control, and the guidance of smart weapons. Such a new industrial base will significantly re- duce the acquisition cost of many future tactical weapons systems. An alliance, consisting of the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory and Rockwell International, has been created to develope inerial products for this new industry.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 50th Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (1994) June 6 - 8, 1994 Antlers Doubletree Hotel Colorado Springs, CO
Pages:	381 - 386
Cite this article:	Elwell, John M., "Micromechanical Inertial Swors for Commercial and Military Applications," Proceedings of the 50th Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (1994), Colorado Springs, CO, June 1994, pp. 381-386.
Full Paper:	ION Members/Non-Members: 1 Download Credit Sign In