Inertial sensor withstands harsh environments for drones

The IMU has a 16bit digital, triaxial accelerometer and a 16bit digital, triaxial gyroscope to measure orientation and detect motion along three orthogonal axes. It offers acceleration ranges of ±3g to ±24g and gyroscopic slew rates up to ±2,000°/s.

The sensor can suppress vibrations, which contributes to smoother navigation and to avoid crashes in drones. Other features are vibration-quelling speed and 16bit accuracy for low drift maximum bias drift of 2°/hour.

The sensor is vibration robust and temperature stable, even under sudden temperature fluctuations, says the company, to enhance steering and navigation accuracy even in the most naturally high-vibration environments. The device is compatible with other Bosch sensors to simplify integration into existing designs. It is supplied factory calibrated and ready to use in a compact 3.0 x 4.5 x 0.95mm package.

An accompanying  shuttle board enables designers to gain easy access to the sensor’s pins via a simple socket. All Bosch Sensortec sensor shuttle boards have identical footprints, so they can interface with its other development tools.