Angle estimation of a single‐axis rotation: a practical inertial‐measurement‐unit‐based method. Issue 7 (1st October 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zheng, Shuaiyong; Dong, Hongxin; Zhang, Ruifeng; Huang, Zhigang; Wang, Jiawu
• Is Part Of: IET science, measurement & technology. Volume 11:Issue 7(2017)
• Page Start: 892
• Page End: 899
• Publication Date: 2017-10-01
• Subjects: angular measurement -- rotation measurement -- units (measurement) -- interpolation -- displacement measurement; angle estimation -- single‐axis rotation measurement -- inertial‐measurement‐unit‐based method -- IMU -- unknown rotation angle measurement -- target rotation measurement -- interpolation algorithm -- complex environment -- angular displacement calculation -- rotating motor; Measurement -- Periodicals; Electrical engineering -- Periodicals; Electronics -- Periodicals; Nanotechnology -- Periodicals; Electromagnetism -- Periodicals; Medical instruments and apparatus -- Periodicals; 621.3
• DOI: 10.1049/iet-smt.2016.0459
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1751-8822

Abstract

Abstract : A practical inertial‐measurement‐unit‐based method is proposed to measure the angle of a single‐axis rotation, where the axis rotation is invisible or inaccessible. The proposed method utilises the angular velocities of an inertial‐measurement unit (IMU) to compute the orientation of the rotating axis. An equation with respect to the unknown rotation angle is first developed due to that the attitude angles of IMU vary as the measured target rotates. An interpolation algorithm is proposed to solve the equation, and simulations are performed. Finally, with a turntable and an IMU, comparative experiments are conducted to validate the proposed method. Results demonstrate the robustness to initial noise and the effectiveness under different situations.The proposed method is practical because of its simple structure, flexible installation and applicability in complex environments. Another more contributions of this study are a feasible approach to measure the orientation of the rotating axis. This method solves the problem of complex and difficult installation of angle measuring equipment in specific environments. It is simple and suited for use in the real‐time calculation of angular displacement. It can be used to measure the rotation angle of rotating motors or the rotating axis of some equipment.