New algorithm to calculate the strapdown inertial measurement unit parameters

A new calibration procedure was proposed for strap down inertial measurement unit (IMU) in a body reference frame which was independent of the turntable. The proposed methodology required no precise mechanical platform for the calibration of the accelerometer and the rate-gyros. Error models of IMU parameters were derived from the physical characteristic of three accelerometers and three rate gyros, which taked into account the sensor axis misalignments, scale factor, gyro constant drifts, and biases inherent in the manufacture of IMU. Least squares method was used to evaluate the accelerometers and gyros model coefficients. According to the experimental results, we can see that the proposed algorithms is less affected by turntable's accuracy, process is simplified.