APN-080: SPAN data collection recommendations

INS overview

SPAN’s deeply coupled Inertial Navigation System (INS) provides accurate real time position, velocity, and attitude solutions. The accuracy of the solution depends on multiple factors, including the IMU being used, quality of alignment and initialization, kinematics of the use case, and more. This application note is intended to go through proper INS collection techniques as well as some common pitfalls that could hinder the quality of the SPAN output.

IMU selection

Inertial accuracy is largely determined by the quality of the IMU. It is important to select the right IMU for your application and performance requirements. IMUs contain a triad of accelerometers and gyroscopes that are used to measure the specific forces exerted on the IMU (acceleration & rotation rates). See the SPAN brochure for information on accuracy specifications for each IMU supported by SPAN. For detailed information about the performance of each IMU with SPAN INS filter for typical ground vehicle application, refer to the product sheet for the individual IMU (available on the NovAtel website).

Note that proper configuration, system (or inertial) initialization and solution convergence are required to meet the specifications stated within the product sheets.