Inertial Measurement Units

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Sébastien Ferrand

Program Manager

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UmiX Series is a range of high-performance Inertial Measurement Units (IMU) designed for demanding applications. The sensor core provides rotation and acceleration vectors from 3 Fiber-Optic Gyroscopes (FOG) and 3 iXal-S Vibrating Beam Accelerometers (VBA), all of which are designed in-house.

UmiX offers north-seeking grade FOG capabilities, with a long-term stability suitable for navigation within GNSS-denied environments. The solid-state technology is also suitable for high-end stabilization systems.

Embedded processing makes UmiX a ready to use and calibration-free system. No additional processing is required before attitude computation.

The Most Compact High Performance IMU in the World

UmiX is a true game-changer as it brings the high performance and reliability associated with iXblue’s renowned FOG technology to a miniaturized, ITAR-free device.

Miniaturized Fiber-Optic Gyroscope (FOG) inside

After pioneering and enhancing the FOG technology for over 40 years, iXblue once again leaves a durable footprint on its field with UmiX Series. While the nature of Fiber-Optic Gyroscopes allows for virtually unlimited performance by altering the length and diameter of the coil, the next barrier was to miniaturize the gyroscopes.

With UmiX Series, this barrier has been breached. This IMU is half the size, half the power consumption, and twice the performance of equivalent performance FOG systems. UmiX Series comes equipped with brand new FOG40 gyros, designed specifically for it. Combining north seeking performance level with a high compacity form factor, this new gyroscope pushes even further the technology’s possibilities.

Miniaturized Accelerometers

UmiX series relies on in-house developed iXal-S accelerometers. iXal-S is based on Vibrating Beam Accelerometer (VBA) technology which uses the change in the resonance frequency of a vibrating beam under the inertial loading of a proof mass when subjected to acceleration.

The iXal-S accelerometer includes 2 identical VIA transducers mounted in a push-pull configuration in order to reduce all common parasitic sensitivities e.g. temperature, pressure, ageing. Two oscillator circuits continually maintain the 2 beams at their resonance frequencies and the opposite variations of the two frequencies directly provide the applied acceleration.

This architecture provides high dynamic input range and navigation grade performances for bias and scale factor drift.

Easy to integrate

Thanks to its compact size and high performance, UmiX Series can easily be integrated upon a large array of platforms, and is fit for a wide range of applications.

ITAR-free

iXblue designs and produces all critical components in-house, including the fiber-optic coils. This means that military grade UmiX Series isn’t subject to regulations other than French export control.

The Ideal System for Gyrostabilization

UmiX Series is particularly suitable for high end stabilization and pointing within airborne and land sensor payloads.

Tactical & Short-Term Navigation-grade IMUs

With an in-run bias of 0.03°/h and a bias residual of 0.2°/h, UmiX Series fit in both tactical and short-term navigation classes of IMUs. In addition, its vibrating quartz accelerometers have a dynamic range of ~100 g max, with navigation grade bias and scale factor, mostly unrivaled on such class of IMUs.

This extends furthermore the potential uses for UmiX.

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Field-Proven Technology

Newly released range, UmiX Series relies on a miniaturized and boosted version of fiber-optic gyroscopes. This solid-state technology has proven its reliability over the years. It is trusted by over 60+ navies and armies worldwide, in the form of our ranges of naval Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) and land Inertial Navigation Systems.

Smart Range Covering a Wide Array of Applications

UmiX’ story starts with two distinct versions, U5 and U9, covering respectively civilian and military applications. Both versions are high-performing IMUs, making it an easy to understand, two products range fit for all applications.

Fiber-Optic Gyroscopes

  UmiX U5 UmiX U9
Dynamic ± 490°/s max ± 3000 °/s max
Angular Random Walk 0.01 °/√h 0.01 °/√h
Bandwidth 5 kHz 5 kHz
Latency 250 µs 250 μs
In Run Bias 0.02°/h 1σ 0.02 °/h 1σ
Residual Bias 0.05°/h 1σ 0.05 °/h 1σ
Scale Factor Error 40 ppm 1σ 40 ppm 1σ
 
  UmiX U5 UmiX U9
Dynamic ± 490°/s max ± 3000 °/s max
Angular Random Walk 0.01 °/√h 0.01 °/√h
Bandwidth 5 kHz 5 kHz
Latency 250 µs 250 μs
In Run Bias 0.02°/h 1σ 0.02 °/h 1σ
Residual Bias 0.05°/h 1σ 0.05 °/h 1σ
Scale Factor Error 40 ppm 1σ 40 ppm 1σ
 

Vibrating Quartz Accelerometers

  UmiX U5 UmiX U9
Dynamic ±30 g ±100 g
Bandwidth >500 Hz >500 Hz
In run bias 5 µg 1σ 5 µg 1σ
Residual bias 150 µg 1σ 150 µg 1σ
Scale factor error 40 ppm 1σ 40 ppm 1σ
  Ask for Quote Ask for Quote
  UmiX U5 UmiX U9
Dynamic ±30 g ±100 g
Bandwidth >500 Hz >500 Hz
In run bias 5 µg 1σ 5 µg 1σ
Residual bias 150 µg 1σ 150 µg 1σ
Scale factor error 40 ppm 1σ 40 ppm 1σ
  Ask for Quote Ask for Quote

Civil Engineering Applications

  • Tunelling and mining
  • Pipe inspection
  • Industrial vehicle
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Autonomy Applications

  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
  • ROV
  • UGV
  • Train
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Defense Applications

  • Airborne Sensors
  • Turrets
  • High-Velocity Guided Systems
  • AGV
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Downloads

UmiX U5 – Datasheet

(299 KB)
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UmiX U9 – Datasheet

(389 KB)
Download
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