IMU Calibration enviroment

tiansimpson

  Hi Guys

  I have done so many IMU calibrations I do them in my sleep. However, it is important that we do them in "ideal" surroundings.

  Ok so we know that 1 We have to do them away from electrical interference
                               2 When the Phantom is cool
                               3 Away from metals that would interfere with the compass
                               4 On a "perfectly" level flat surface
                               5 Then Gimbal calibration
                               6 Visual censor calibration

  But a "slight" variant on the surface we calibrate it on would be massive out in the field, which would result is how stable it hovers and indeed how stable atti mode would be certainly. We have realised how it also attributes to the "dreaded" horizon problems also.

  I have been looking online for apparatus that would detect EM fields, metals in the walls, under the floor. Indeed, would WIFI upset the IMU calibration?? I have tried the phone apps for EM fields not very reliable to say the least.

  Also I wonder if there is some sort of self-levelling platform that we could use, it would of course have to be made of a material conducive to the IMU.

  It seems to me that some guys fly their Phantom 4's with hardly any issues, and I hypothesize, is it at all possible that by pure chance a lot of owners have "Ideal" environments in which to calibrate their phantoms without being aware of it.

  Lastly I have owned a Phantom 3 pro I never had a problem, but the P4 has two sets of IMU’s in affect, and I think it’s a lot more "fussy" about how it is set up.

  Share your thoughts and ideas.

DJI-Ken

Thanks for posting, I think you are diving too deep into it.
I calibrate the IMU on the kitchen table and that's straight enough for me.
For compass calibration, I make sure there's no metal interference around including taking any metal out of my pockets (keys, cell phone, change) and I have the RC/tablet on the ground about 5-10ft away.
The P4 camera sensor calibration only needs to be done if asked in the app or you are getting unusual results.