Verification of a special inertial measurement unit using a Quadrotor aircraft

Abstract

Purpose

Calibration and 6-DOF test of a unique inertial measurement unit (IMU) using a Quadrotor aircraft. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the above issue.

Design/methodology/approach

An IMU with the special capability of measuring the angular acceleration was developed and tested. A Quadrotor aircraft is used as 6-DOF test platform. Kinematics modeling of the Quadrotor was used in the determination of the Euler angles, while Dynamics modeling aided in the design the closed loop controller. For safety, the flight test was performed on a 6-DOF constrained reduced-gravity test stand.

Findings

The developed IMU is suitable for measuring states and its time derivatives of mini UAVs. Not only that but also a simple control algorithm can be integrated in the same processing unit (a 32 microcontroller in this case).

Originality/value

The tested IMU as well as the safety constrained test techniques are unique.

Citation

Flores-Abad, A., Xie, P., Martinez-Arredondo, G. and Ma, O. (2014), "Verification of a special inertial measurement unit using a Quadrotor aircraft", International Journal of Intelligent Unmanned Systems, Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 40-55. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJIUS-03-2013-0016