Autonomous Driving

Inertial Sensors for Autonomous Vehicles

Autonomous driving demands continuous, centimeter-level positioning accuracy. While GNSS provides absolute positioning, it fails in tunnels, urban canyons, parking garages, and under dense tree cover. GyroNavi's high-performance inertial sensors bridge these gaps, enabling safe autonomous operation in any environment.

Dead Reckoning for GPS-Denied Environments

When a self-driving vehicle enters a tunnel or drives between tall buildings, GNSS signals become unreliable or disappear entirely. The onboard IMU immediately takes over, using dead reckoning to maintain an accurate position estimate. By integrating acceleration and angular rate measurements, the IMU propagates the vehicle's trajectory until GNSS signals are restored.

Key dead reckoning scenarios include:

• Tunnels & Underpasses: Maintain lane-level positioning through extended GPS outages
• Urban Canyons: Compensate for multipath and signal blockage between high-rise buildings
• Parking Structures: Enable autonomous parking in multi-level garages with no sky visibility
• Dense Foliage: Navigate forest roads where tree canopy blocks satellite signals

IMU-GNSS Integrated Navigation

The optimal approach combines an IMU with GNSS in a tightly-coupled integration. The IMU provides high-rate (100–200 Hz) position and attitude updates, while GNSS corrects IMU drift at a lower rate (1–10 Hz). This fusion delivers continuous, accurate positioning with the best of both technologies.

• Position accuracy maintained within centimeters during GNSS outages
• High-bandwidth attitude output for vehicle dynamics control
• Seamless transition between open-sky and denied environments
• Redundant navigation for safety-critical autonomous functions

Product Solutions

GyroNavi's automotive-grade inertial sensors deliver the performance, reliability, and automotive qualification required for production autonomous driving systems.