New-Tech Europe Digital Magazine | Feb 2016

A Motion Tracking Module for Your Application

Marcel van Hak and Arun Vydhyanathan, Fairchild Semiconductor

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sensors have better performance under vibration, some have a good long-term stability and others may have low noise. The key is to find the sensor that best fulfills the need. Simply understanding the sensor level specifications needed for a certain application can pose the biggest challenge. Often an application oriented development team can state (and get) requirements in terms or orientation accuracy needed or other high level functional specifications. Breaking these down to sensor level specifications is often much more difficult because of lack of time to dive into the specifics of the underlying technology. There are several ways to find the best sensor, from comparing data sheets to doing a full characterization. As data sheets are not uniform and data is not always available for all conditions (e.g. vibrations, lateral acceleration), a full characterization targeted to your functional level

very counter-productive for a team and the execution of the project. Opting for a MEMS-based IMU with the desired specifications and developing peripherals from scratch can take time and resources away from the actual development of the target product. This blog explains the thought processes that go into delivering a state-of-the-art motion tracking module with different integration possibilities designed to suit your application needs. Sensor characterization and sourcing Integration of inertial sensing starts with finding the right technology for the application. MEMS-based IMU motion sensors are available in chips at far less than $1 per axis, but the price range can exceed more than $100,000 per axis for optical inertial sensors. Next to the cost, there is also the aspect of suitability for an application. Even when considering MEMS-only inertial sensors, there is a huge variety of sensors. Some

motion tracker with advanced motion sensing technology

is ubiquitous in applications from image stabilization in miniature cameras to control and navigation applications for UAVs. A MEMS-based IMU is the preferred motion sensing technology in industrial applications. The MEMS-based IMU’s increasing adoption rate and ever growing list of possible applications is a direct result of the technology’s versatility – high achievable target performance, highly reliable solid state technology in a very small form factor with very competitive pricing. The technology is also very attractive for high-volume consumer applications. The various facets of the MEMS-based IMU motion sensing technology offer a plethora of possibilities – it can be both a boon and a bane! While a wide range of sensing components with varying grades of performance, size, integration levels and costs is very attractive, it can be

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