Inertial Labs’ three-axis MEMS system maintains stability under vibration, shock and high acceleration

Inertial Labs, a VIAVI Solutions Inc. introduced the IMU-H100, a micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) inertial measurement unit (IMU)developed to enhance tactical guidance and navigation capabilities of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), short-range missiles, and precision guidance munitions, as well as a variety of commercial applications.

As unmanned vehicle technology improves and personnel safety becomes a top priority, military and commercial sectors are accelerating adoption, driving strong demand for the IMUs that power their navigation and control systems. An IMU measures angular velocity and linear acceleration using MEMS gyroscopes and accelerometers, respectively. They have become essential in a wide range of guidance and navigation, orientation, and stabilization applications, particularly for short- and medium-range flight control systems. The IMU is also a component of higher-order systems such as inertial navigation systems (INS), attitude and heading reference systems (AHRS), and motion reference units (MRU). Applications include autonomous vehicles for land, sea, aerospace, and defense.

The tactical-grade IMU-H100 includes accelerometers and gyroscopes for all three axes and offers a gyro and accel bias of 1 deg/hr and 1 mg, respectively. The 5 in³, 160 g IMU also exceeds the performance of equivalent products on the market in terms of data rate, measurement range, stability, and repeatability over harsh environmental conditions, including vibration, shock, high acceleration, spinning, temperature, and acoustic noise.

In addition to its sophisticated capabilities, the IMU-H100 is designed for ease and speed of integration into customers’ operations. It supports the Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART) and Synchronous Data Link Control (SDLC) used in many legacy systems, making it ideal for retrofitting initiatives. It is also ITAR-free, available with a lead time of weeks rather than months, and is manufactured in the United States.