Extension of a two-step calibration methodology to include nonorthogonal sensor axes

Abstract

We present an extension of the nonlinear two-step estimation algorithm originally developed for the calibration of solid-state strapdown magnetometers. We expand the algorithm to include nonorthogonality within a sensor set for both two- and three-axis sensors. Nonorthogonality can result from manufacturing issues, installation geometry, and in the case of magnetometers, from soft iron bias errors. Simulation studies for both two- and three-axis sensors show convergence of the improved algorithm to the true values, even in the presence of realistic measurement noise. Finally the algorithm is experimentally validated on a low-cost solid-state three-axis magnetometer set, which shows definite improvement postcalibration. We note that the algorithm is general and can be applied to any two- or three-axis sensor set (such as accelerometers) with an error model consisting of scale, offset, and nonorthogonality errors.