Epson Introduces Two New Ruggedized Inertial Measurement Units

Epson Electronics America (EEA) has developed two new inertial measurement units (IMU), the M-G550-PC and the M-G550-PR. The new products will be on display at Sensor + Test 2013, the world’s largest international fair for sensors to be held from May 14th – 16th in Nuremburg, Germany. Later this year, EEA will also be showing these two new products at AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems 2013, in Washington D.C., from August 12th – 15th, 2013.

“I believe that these IMUs, which will provide Epson’s customers with new value and give their products and services a competitive edge, are a strong first step toward achieving that mission.”

The new 6-DOF IMUs each have three axes of gyroscopes and accelerometers, plus provide built-in support for two widely-used industrial interfaces: CAN and RS-422 protocol. Packaged in metal enclosures equipped with IP67-level water and dust protection, the IMUs are capable of withstanding harsh, demanding environments. Samples of the products will be available for select customers beginning in May 2013. Volume production is slated to begin in July 2013.

Epson’s current IMU, the M-G350-PD11 (S4E5A0A0), has been enormously successful in a wide range of customer applications due to its small size, low weight and outstanding performance. The new M-G550-PC and M-G550-PR variants extend the capabilities of the M-G350-PD11 to offer customers truly ruggedized systems that are built to exceed Epson’s standard of high performance.

The new IMUs are simple to install and connect in vehicles, marine vessels, and a variety of other industrial products and systems, offering extremely accurate motion sensing for a wide range of applications, including attitude detection for unmanned systems.

The M-G550-PR’s RS-422 interface offers high noise immunity even in extremely remote installations (such as on the opposite end of a 200-meter cable), allowing customers to measure distant or otherwise-located motion such as subsea seismic activity.

The M-G550-PC’s CAN interface allows the IMU to be deployed as part of a node infrastructure, harnessing the sensing power of multiple IMUs for large area of complex structure monitoring applications. Specifically-designed for customers seeking robust, survivable motion sensing systems, the M-G550-PC is ideal for demanding applications in the construction, industrial, oil and manufacturing industries.

“Earlier this year, Epson announced the formation of a new sensing systems business unit with the mission of making high-precision sensors to create new value that improves people’s lives,” said Yoshiyki Moriyama, chief operating officer of Epson’s Sensing Systems Operations Division. “I believe that these IMUs, which will provide Epson’s customers with new value and give their products and services a competitive edge, are a strong first step toward achieving that mission.”