Integrated MEMS Inertial Measurement Unit for Air-Launched Munitions

MEMS integration is proposed as the solution for a miniature Inertial MeasurementUnit (IMU) for air-launched munitions in order to satisfy the requirements for lowcost, high performance and launch survival capability. An IMU requiring assembly andalignment does not take full advantage of MEMS technologies. Integration alsocontributes to the IMU performance as the gyros and accelerometers are from a commonfabrication technology and related designs. Modeling to achieve optimum performancewould be possible. Integration also causes a paradigm shift in that the instrumentdesigner also becomes the IMU designer. The commercial intent is to developintegrated IMUs that can be included in systems that are intuitive to users outsideof the guidance community to bolster applications in new areas.The military, industrial and consumer applications for precision motion measurementand control are broad and valuable. These applications span missile guidance, virtual reality simulation & training, oil drilling, vehicle safety and navigation, andpersonal navigation. OEMs that supply these applications are constrained by the lackof affordable sensors with adequate performance. A low-cost integrated MEMS IMU with tactical-grade performance would enable OEMs to migrate a host of military andindustrial products into much larger consumer markets, and to expand the number ofapplications that deliver economic value based on low-cost precision motionmeasurement. The resultant economies of scale in production and application wouldyield significant benefit for the military programs that spawned the enablingtechnology.