In-Field MEMS Accelerometer Calibration Considering Cross-Axis Sensitivities Without External Equipment

A novel in-field calibration method for microelectromechanical system (MEMS) triaxial accelerometers was proposed to simplify the data collection procedure and improve the calibration accuracy in this paper, considering cross-axis sensitivities without the need for external equipment. MEMS accelerometers were placed at six positions on a simple platform, in contrast to the at least twelve positions required by other in-field calibration methods. To enhance calibration accuracy, the cross-axis sensitivities were introduced into the sensor error model comprising eighteen calibration parameters. The proposed calibration method was verified by simulations and real experiments, and the errors of scale factor, zero offset, misalignment factor, and cross-axis sensitivity are within 0.002%, 0.07 mg, 4×10<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-4</sup>, and 8×10<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-4</sup>, respectively. Compared with the existing in-field calibration methods, the proposed method’s output modulus errors are less than 0.51% whereas the others exceed 0.80%. The test results demonstrate that the attitude angle error obtained by the new method is less than 0.2°, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed method. The new method offers higher calibration accuracy and does not depend on external high-precision equipment, making it suitable for in-field calibration of MEMS triaxial accelerometers.