MTR 100: Xsens

Posted by Irina Tabakina

Pantheon 6, Enschede
OV, Netherlands 7416 BB
T: +31 88 97367 00
E: [email protected]
W: http://www.xsens.com
CEO/President: Casper Peeters
Number of Employees: 60

 

The Company
Xsens, acquired by Fairchild Semiconductor in 2014, is a supplier of 3D motion tracking technology and products. The company develops and supplies Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) and Attitude and Heading Reference Systems (AHRSs) to a large customer base in the maritime industry. The products in various accuracy and integration levels finds its way into e.g. surveying applications, ROV/AUV control and navigation, ship state estimation and USBL systems.  Xsens employs 30 highly-educated researchers and developers (50% PhD), with a total of 60+ employees. Xsens is participating in European research projects as well as carrying out independent research. The recent acquisition by Fairchild allows the Xsens-technology to be integrated in even smaller and more cost-effective sensor modules.     

The Tech
Xsens’ products portfolio consists of two separate product ranges, the MTi 10-series and MTi 100-series. The MTi 10-series is available as MTi-10 IMU, MTi-20 VRU and MTi-30 AHRS, featuring various integration levels. The IMU outputs sensors data (acceleration, rate of turn and magnetic field), the VRU outputs roll and pitch as well and the AHRS outputs stabilized yaw. The MTi 10-series is a cost-effective solution for stabilization applications. The high-performance MTi 100-series is an excellent alternative to higher grade (optical) IMUs. With an IMU, VRU, AHRS in the product range, the MTi 100-series can be interchanged with the MTi 10-series without any software or hardware modification. Next to the IMU, VRU and AHRS, there is an extra product in the MTi 100-series: the MTi-G-700 additionally outputs position and velocity information using a GPS receiver. GPS data is also used to improve the orientation output. The products of Xsens sample the inertial sensors at a rate of 10 kHz. This high sample rate and the carefully designed strap down integration (SDI) algorithm allow high accuracy motion tracking, even under vibration. Synchronization features include polling, SyncIn, SyncOut and clock synchronization. The high accuracy is independent from the output rate, a low output rate relieving the host CPU.  Free-to-use source code and drivers are available for many platforms and programs.
 

(As published in the July/Aug 2014 edition of Marine Technology Reporter - http://www.marinetechnologynews.com/Magazine)

Marine Technology Magazine, page 65, Jul 2014

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