High Accuracy And High Dynamic Range MEMS Inertial Measurement Unit With Automatic Dynamic Range Control

A micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) inertial measurement apparatus for measuring apparatus dynamics, comprising:

• at least two MEMS inertial sensors, the sensors having different measurement ranges;
• a multiplexer that receives measurement signals from the at least two MEMS inertial sensors and determines which sensor's measurement signals to output according to an adaptive sensor choice;
• a digital signal processing unit that processes the measurement signals and outputs the adaptive sensor choice to the multiplexer to control the determination of which sensor's measurement signals the multiplexer outputs according to the apparatus dynamics.

A micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) inertial measurement apparatus for measuring apparatus dynamics, comprising:

• at least two MEMS inertial sensors, wherein at least one of the at least MEMS inertial sensors has a performance characteristic of achieving best performance in low dynamic situations and wherein at least one of the other MEMS inertial sensors has a performance characteristic of achieving best performance in high dynamic situations;
• and
• a digital signal processing unit that weights measurements from the at least two MEMS inertial sensors based on performance characteristics of the corresponding sensors and the apparatus dynamics.

A method of operating a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) inertial measurement apparatus for measuring apparatus dynamics, the method comprising:

• receiving measurement signals from at least two MEMS inertial sensors, the sensors having different measurement ranges;
• determining which sensor's measurement signals to output from a multiplexer according to an adaptive sensor choice;
• processing the measurement signals to determine the adaptive sensor choice to control the determination of which sensor's measurement signals the multiplexer outputs according to the apparatus dynamics.

A method of operating a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) inertial measurement apparatus for measuring apparatus dynamics, comprising:

• receiving measurement signals from at least two MEMS inertial sensors, wherein at least one of the at least MEMS inertial sensors has a performance characteristic of achieving best performance in low dynamic situations and wherein at least one of the other MEMS inertial sensors has a performance characteristic of achieving best performance in high dynamic situations;
• and
• weighting measurements from the at least two MEMS inertial sensors based on performance characteristics of the corresponding sensors and the apparatus dynamics.