KVH Industries has expanded its line of photonic integrated chip (PIC) technology IMUs (inertial measurement units) with the new P-1750 and P-1725. Along with the previously released P-1775, these new units feature high-performance accelerometers and compact housing, and offer more dynamic and accurate sensor performance with improved navigation capability and resistance against vibration and shock. The new IMUs are ideal for challenging UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) and autonomous systems applications.
KVH’s PIC technology features an integrated planar optical chip that replaces individual fiber optic components, resulting in simplified production and increased reliability. The accelerometers used in the P-series IMUs offer greater sensitivity and accuracy in their dynamic ranges, providing an order of magnitude better drift (bias instability) and noise (velocity random walk) performance than prior products and more than 10 times higher accuracy than less expensive MEMS inertial measurement units.
KVH P-series IMUs feature easy integration with flexible power and communications interfaces, excellent repeatability unit-to-unit, and increased product life as a result of the PIC technology. They are ideal for a wide variety of challenging applications on land, at sea, and in the air, including autonomous trucks and people movers, drones, AUVs (autonomous underwater vehicles), ROVs (remotely operated vehicles), and platform stabilization.
The expanded line of P-series IMUs provides multiple options for autonomous engineers seeking improved performance and a choice of low-noise, high-performance accelerometers. The P-1775 IMU is KVH’s premier IMU in terms of accuracy and is offered with 10g or 30g accelerometers to meet autonomous platform specifications. The P-1750 IMU is a versatile high-performance IMU featuring a choice of 10g or 30g accelerometers for autonomous and manned platforms. The P-1725 IMU is a compact, commercial IMU featuring PIC technology and 10g accelerometers for excellent performance and serves as an affordable alternative to lower performing MEMS products.
Martin Kits van Heyningen, CEO of KVH, commented: “We are pleased to continue integrating our groundbreaking PIC technology into our inertial navigation products for use in the large and growing autonomous market. KVH has been active in autonomous technology developments for more than 15 years going back to the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge for self-driving vehicles up to the autonomous shuttles and trucks currently being tested on the road with our inertial products. Our PIC technology is the latest example of our innovation.”
