Error analyses and calibration methods with accelerometers for optical angle encoders in rotational inertial navigation systems.

By rotating a strapdown inertial navigation system (INS) over one or more axes, a number of error sources originating from the employed sensors cancel out during the integration process. Rotary angle accuracy has an effect on the performance of rotational INS (RINS). The application of existing calibration methods based on gyroscope measurements is restricted by the structure of the inertial measurement unit (IMU) and scale factor stability of the gyroscope. The multireadhead method has problems in miniaturization and cost. Hence, optical angle encoder calibration methods using accelerometers are proposed, on the basis of navigation error and accuracy requirement analyses for a single-axis RINS. The test results show that the accuracy of calibration methods proposed is higher than 4 arcsec (1σ).