Hi Everyone,
I am working on a project which involves a motion sensor which contains
a 3-axis accelerometer. My goal is to determine the position of the
sensor in 3D space relative to some starting point.
At first I thought that just the accelerometer was all that I needed
but after thinking about it some more it appears that this solution
is not adequate. Of course determining position from acceleration
is simple a double integral estimation which is not terribly complicated.
My concern is that the position is relative to the accelerometer itself.
I am imagining a scenario where you move the sensor in the +Z direction
(for simplicity assume it is in the direction opposite gravity) and
then rotate the sensor about either the X or Y axis 180 degrees and then move
the sensor in the -Z (in the direction of gravity). In both cases the
sensor will register +Z acceleration but really the sensor is moving in
2 different directions.
It seems that the issue is the sensor is not aware of angular movement.
So my question is.....In order to determine position in 3D space do I
need both an accelerometer AND a 3-axis gyro? And related to that
can I get away with a 2-axis gyro?
Thanks,
Victor
