Capability:IMU Sensing
| IMU Sensing | |
|---|---|
| Type | Sensing |
| Measures/Controls | 3-axis acceleration (m/s²) and 3-axis angular velocity (°/s) |
| Common Hardware | MPU6050, BNO055, ICM-20948, LSM6DS3 |
| Enables Activities | Activity:Dead Reckoning Navigation (heading estimation), tilt detection, self-balancing robots |
| Status | Stub - Not yet implemented in BRS robots |
IMU Sensing is a sensing capability that measures acceleration and angular velocity in 3D space.
Overview
This is a stub page. This capability is not yet implemented in any BRS robot. This page exists to:
- Document the concept for future implementation
- Invite community members to add it to their robots
- Provide a starting point for hardware selection
What It Measures
3-axis acceleration (m/s²) and 3-axis angular velocity (°/s)
Common Hardware
MPU6050, BNO055, ICM-20948, LSM6DS3
Enables Activities
Adding this capability to your robot would enable:
Technical Considerations
- **Advantages**: Fast update rate, no external reference needed, multi-axis sensing
- **Disadvantages**: Gyro drift over time, accelerometer noise, requires sensor fusion for accurate heading
- **Typical cost**: $3-15 depending on accuracy
- **Interface**: I²C or SPI
- **Calibration**: Requires careful calibration for accurate results
- **Drift**: Gyro drift of 1-10°/min typical without correction
Contributing
Want to add this capability to your robot? Here's how:
- Select appropriate hardware (see "Common Hardware" above)
- Mount the hardware to your robot chassis
- Wire to your microcontroller
- Write driver code or use existing libraries
- Test and calibrate
- Document your implementation
- Update this page with your findings
- Share on Discord
See Also
- Capabilities - All capabilities
- Activities - What this capability enables
- Robotics Ontology - How capabilities fit into BRS knowledge structure