On-site scale factor linearity calibration of MEMS triaxial gyroscopes

Abstract

The calibration of MEMS triaxial gyroscopes is crucial for achieving precise attitude estimation for various wearable health monitoring applications. However, gyroscope calibration poses greater challenges compared to accelerometers and magnetometers. This paper introduces an efficient method for calibrating MEMS triaxial gyroscopes via only a servo motor, making it well-suited for field environments. The core strategy of the method involves utilizing the fact that the dot product of the measured gravity and the rotational speed in a fixed frame remains constant. To eliminate the influence of rotating centrifugal force on the accelerometer, the accelerometer data is measured while stationary. The proposed calibration experiment scheme, which allows gyroscopic measurements when operating each axis at a specific rotation speed, making it easier to evaluate the linearity across a related speed range constituted by a series of rotation speeds. Moreover, solely the classical least squares algorithm proves adequate for estimating the scale factor, notably streamlining the analysis of the calibration process. Extensive numerical simulations were conducted to analyze the proposed method's performance in calibrating a triaxial gyroscope model. Experimental validation was also carried out using a commercially available MEMS inertial measurement unit (LSM9DS1 from Arduino nano 33 BLE SENSE) and a servo motor capable of controlling precise speed. The experimental results effectively demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed calibration approach.