MicroStrain by HBK has launched the 3DM-CX7, a family of compact inertial sensors built for autonomous platforms such as drones, legged robots and autonomous ground vehicles that operate under high shock, vibration and dynamic motion.
Vibration, repeated impacts, rapid motion and temperature swings can corrupt inertial measurements and undermine motion estimates, while autonomous platforms also face tight size, weight and power limits. The CX7 series tackles this with a redundant multi-IMU (inertial measurement unit) architecture that cross-checks readings in real time and rejects outliers, paired with MicroStrain’s auto-adaptive extended Kalman filter.
Each unit is individually calibrated across its full operating range of −40°F to 185°F (−40°C to 85°C). Across the family, the sensors offer 2.1°/h gyro bias instability, measurement ranges up to ±32g and ±4,000°/s, output rates up to 1kHz and an 8.3-gram package.
The series comes in three configurations. The 3DM-CX7-AR provides roll, pitch and relative heading where magnetic heading is impractical; the 3DM-CX7-AHRS adds a three-axis magnetometer for absolute magnetic heading; and the 3DM-CX7-INS combines inertial measurements with external position, velocity and heading inputs for more advanced navigation.
Joe Beckwith, product manager at MicroStrain by HBK, said, “Autonomous platforms increasingly operate in environments where vibration, impacts and rapid dynamics are part of normal operation. With the 3DM-CX7 series, our focus was to help engineers maintain dependable motion information under these real-world conditions while providing the compact form factor and integration flexibility required for autonomous system development.”
To ease integration, the family supports the ROS and PX4 software environments, with the MSCL API and MIP SDK providing documented interfaces and example code, and InertialConnect and SensorConnect handling configuration, data collection and visualization.
