Modelling an accelerometer for robot position estimation

The article describes a new model of a MEMS accelerometer for usage in inertial measurement units (IMU). Such units allow to measure orientation and location of the sensor/system and therefore can be applied for systems positioning. The main purpose of the paper is to model pertinent accelerometer functions substantial in determination of the location of the sensor by means of double integration of acceleration. The model takes into account static and dynamic working conditions. Based on this model an estimator is constructed that allows us to test the developed system in terms of the effects of rotational dynamics. Computer simulations are applied to illustrate the performance of the estimator for simulated measurement signals. The results obtained show what conditions must be met in order to properly determine the linear acceleration with accelerometer measurements.