What is an inertial measurement unit (IMU) in the devices of the RealTrac local positioning system?

Each mobile device in the RealTrac system is equipped with motion sensors – three-axis accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers. They help to recreate object’s path of motion. The key advantage of the developed algorithms is that the accuracy of the recreated path is almost independent of where a mobile device is attached (carried).

Data on the location of a mobile device is updated at each detected step. When the pedometer activates, the system requests step length and direction of motion. The data is afterwards processed and an updated path point is detected.

On/off functioning of built-in motion sensors and of inertial local positioning system in a mobile node can be activated from the server. For instance, for an immediate accuracy increase when an object is detected in some area.