Epson Starts Shipping Two New IMUs Optimized for Autonomous Applications

OREANDA-NEWS. Seiko Epson Corporation (TSE: 6724, "Epson,") has developed and recently commenced shipping samples of two new, high-performance six-axis inertial measurement units (IMU)¹, the M-G370 and the M-G365. Both models are scheduled for volume production at the end of 2018.

Epson launched its first IMU in 2011. Since then, Epson IMUs have been used in a multitude of applications, earning an excellent reputation for outstanding performance and quality. Rapidly increasing demand from autonomous precision agriculture machinery, intelligent construction machinery and unmanned vehicle applications has fueled demand for high-accuracy positioning in a compact, cost-effective package. Epson's new IMUs were developed to offer outstanding quality and productivity with the FOG²-class performance needed to realize practicable autonomous driving and navigation. In addition, the new IMUs maintain backward compatibility with the earlier M-G364 and M-G354, making it easy to upgrade performance.

Product features

The M-G370 and M-G365

• Newly developed high-performance sensors that offer higher stability and lower noise in a wide dynamic range.
• Outstanding dynamic performance (scale factor non-linearity) for high-precision measurement, from static states to high-speed motion.
• Backward compatibility with the earlier M-G364 and M-G354, sharply reducing customer development costs and evaluation time.
• Low current consumption (16 mA, compared to 18 mA for the M-G364 and M-G354).

M-G370

• Epson's top-of-the-line IMU provides FOG-class performance in a 1-inch package.
• Ideal for inertial navigation and other applications that require excellent position measurement accuracy, such as autonomous and unmanned applications.
• A newly-developed gyroscopic sensor³ provides sharply improved in-run bias instability⁴ (0.8°/hr), angular random walk⁵, and noise performance.
• A newly-developed accelerometer provides dramatically improved in-run bias instability performance of 6 uG (compared to 50 uG for the M-G364) and initial bias error of 2 mg (1?).

M-G365

• The standard for the next generation, this IMU has a new attitude angle output function and supports a wide variety of applications.
• An original high-speed DSP⁶ with an extended Kalman filter⁷ provides highly accurate real-time attitude angle output (Roll/Pitch/Yaw)⁸ at low power consumption.
• Eliminates the need for high-speed calculation of dynamic attitude angle on the system end, thus reducing system load and power consumption.

Application examples

• Autonomous driving and unmanned control of precision agriculture and construction machinery.
• Unmanned equipment such as industrial drones, ground and subsea vehicles.
• Navigation systems (GNSS⁹, INS¹⁰, high-precision locators).
• Gimbaled camera and antenna stabilization.
• Vibration, angle and path measurement of industrial equipment and vehicles.

Glossary

1. An inertial measurement unit (IMU) is a device that is used for sensing inertial motion. It is comprised of 3-axis angular rate sensor and triaxial accelerometers.
2. A fiber optic gyro (FOG) is a type of gyroscopic sensor based on optical fiber and the properties of light interference that can be found in some high-performance IMUs.
3. A gyroscopic sensor (angular rate sensor) measures the rotation angle (angular rate) of an object versus a reference axis per unit of time.
4. Gyro bias instability is a measure of random variation in gyro output bias as computed over a specified sample time and averaging time interval, the variation of the bias being characterized by 1/f noise density.

   

5. Angle random walk is a measure of random variation in gyro output bias as computed over a specified sample time and averaging time interval, the variation of the bias being characterized by random noise density.
6. A digital signal processor (DSP) is an arithmetic circuit for high-speed processing of digital signals.
7. The extended Kalman filter, which uses model-based estimates and actual observed values to sequentially calculate the most probable values, are used to more accurately predict information from observed values that include filter errors.
8. Orientation angle (roll, pitch, and yaw):
   
   • Roll: Angle of rotation of an object along its longitudinal axis
   • Pitch: Angle of rotation of an object along its lateral axis
   • Yaw: Angle of rotation of an object along its vertical axis
9. A global navigation satellite system (GNSS) is a satellite system that is used to pinpoint a geographic location anywhere in the world.
10. Inertial navigation system (INS)