Gravity-based characterization of three-axis MEMS-accelerometers in terms of intrinsic accelerometer parameters

Published

July 13, 2017

Author(s)

Jon C. Geist, Muhammad Y. Afridi, Craig McGray, Michael Gaitan

Abstract

Cross-sensitivity matrices are used to translate the response of three-axis accelerometers into components of acceleration along the axes of a specified coordinate system. For inertial three-axis accelerometers, this coordinate system is often defined by the axes of a gimbal-based instrument that exposes the device to different acceleration inputs as the gimbal is rotated in the local gravitational field. Therefore, the cross-sensitivity matrix for a given three-axis accelerometer is not unique. Instead, it depends upon the orientation of the device when mounted on the gimbal. We define nine intrinsic parameters of three-axis accelerometers and describe how to measure them directly and how to calculate them from independently determined cross-sensitivity matrices. We propose that comparisons of the intrinsic parameters of three axis accelerometers that were calculated from independently determined cross-sensitivity matrices can be useful for comparisons of the cross-sensitivity-matrix measurement capability of different institutions because the intrinsic parameters will separate the accelerator-gimbal alignment differences among the participating institutions from the purely gimbal-related differences, such as gimbal-axis orthogonality errors, z-axis gravitational-field alignment errors, and angle-setting or angle- measurement errors.

Citation

Journal of Research (NIST JRES) -

Volume

122

NIST Pub Series

Journal of Research (NIST JRES)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.6028/jres.122.032

Keywords

accelerometer, calibration, characterization, gimbal, gravity, MEMS, three-axis.

Citation

Geist, J. , Afridi, M. , McGray, C. and Gaitan, M. (2017), Gravity-based characterization of three-axis MEMS-accelerometers in terms of intrinsic accelerometer parameters, Journal of Research (NIST JRES), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/jres.122.032 (Accessed October 10, 2025)