Calibration of Strapdown Magnetometers in the Magnetic Field Domain
by
Gebre-Egziabher, D., G. H. Elkaim, J. D. Powell and B.W. Parkinson
in
Journal of Aerospace Engineering, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp 6-16, 2006.
Category: Journal Article
Keywords: Calibration; Magnetic fields; Algorithms; Aerospace engineering.
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Abstract:
This paper presents an algorithm for calibrating strapdown magnetometers in the magnetic field domain. In contrast to the traditional method of compass swinging, which computes a series of heading correction parameters and thus is limited to use with two-axis systems, this algorithm estimates magnetometer output errors directly. Therefore, this new algorithm can be used to calibrate a full three-axis magnetometer triad. The calibration algorithm uses an iterated, batch least-squares estimator that is initialized using a two-step nonlinear estimator. The algorithm is simulated to validate convergence characteristics and further validated on experimental data collected using a magnetometer triad. It is shown that the postcalibration residuals are small and result in a system with heading errors on the order of 1 to 2 degrees.
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