Oct 17 2014
Sensors in Motion (SIM) is pleased to announce completion of the first ever MEMS Navigation Grade Inertial Navigation System (INS) with the potential to revolutionize the navigation and positioning market, enabling increased food production, energy development, autonomous cars and saving warfighters lives.
MEMs based Inertial Navigation System
This development promises to transform the $8 Billion/year inertial market with new products offering price/performance specifications radically superior to anything currently available. The first INS devices have been delivered to the Army CERDEC Night Vision Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD).
SIM,aspinoutfrom NASA’s famed Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL) and California Institute of Technology, is developing a family of inertial-grade, high-accuracy MEMS gyroscopes, accelerometers and Inertial Measurement Unit ( IMU) solutions. It has perfected unique MEMS structuresusing volume silicon wafer processing techniques and is now producing gyroscopes having ARW (Angle Random Walk) less than 0.0035 degree/root-hour and Bias instability less than 0.01 degree/hourwhichshow extraordinary vibration and temperature immunity. This performance is far better than any other MEMS gyro produced and is comparable to Ring Laser (RLG) andFiber Optic (FOG) gyros that are 20 times larger and 10-100 times more expensive. While other MEMS producers target the rate class sensors, SIM specifically developed its 4mm devices for the high performance market, believing true navigation grade capability matters. The technology uses an 8 fold symmetrical resonator mounted on a single node instead of the usual tuning-fork, spring mass or BAW resonator used in most MEMS gyroscopes.
These features are mandatory for a number of emerging applications where precision not available from GPS or vehicle position accuracy is requiredincluding autonomous vehicles, drones, mining asset tracking, dead reckoning, agricultural seed placement, oil and gas directional drilling,self-driving autos,fire fighternavigation,optical image stabilization, Industrial equipment azimuth, aerospace and defense products and most GPS denied environments in addition to entirely new applications.
SIM is sampling evaluation kits to strategic customers interested in partnering to develop sensor packages unique to their applications. The closely held company has been internally funded alongside several public corporations and government sources that require its level of performance
“We see ourselves as a firm that opens up an additional $2B sensor market needing size, weight, power, cost and performance that does not exist today. “said David Smukowski, CEO of SIM. With adequate resources the company says further performance gains are possible, even while shrinking the devices smaller for better economics.
Sensors in Motion is a leading creator of navigation grade, solid state silicon and quartz MEMS-based sensor solutions to revolutionize navigation, positioning, stabilization and control with best-in-class performance, size, weight, power and cost.
Please visit www.sensorsinmotions.com or write [email protected]