Honeywell to Bring Next-Generation Inertial Sensors to Unmanned Vehicles Segment
January 25, 2021 at 09:00 am
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Honeywell with funding from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), is creating the next generation of inertial sensor technology that will one day be used in both commercial and defense navigation applications. Recently, findings gathered in Honeywell labs have shown the new sensors to be greater than an order of magnitude more accurate than Honeywell's HG1930 inertial measurement unit (IMU) product, a tactical-grade product with more than 150,000 units currently in use. An IMU uses gyroscopes, accelerometers and electronics to give precise rotation and acceleration data to enable a vehicle system to calculate where it is, what direction it is going and at what speed, even when GPS signals aren't available. There are various types of IMUs on the market and some – like the next-generation version currently under development – use sensors based on micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology to precisely measure motion. Over the past few years, Honeywell has been working with DARPA to develop the next generation of high precision "navigation grade" IMU technology, under the Precise Robust Inertial Guidance for Munitions: Thermally Stabilized Inertial Guidance for Munitions (PRIGM TIGM) program. These new, higher performance MEMS sensors will use different sensor design and electronics to enable higher performance. They will serve a broad range of applications in autonomous land and air vehicles for both military and commercial customers, including future urban air mobility aircraft. Commercial sales of an IMU containing these next-generation sensors are still several years away, but one of the first products using this new technology is expected to be more than 50 times more accurate while roughly the same size as Honeywell's HG1930 IMU. Honeywell has long been a pioneer in MEMS-based IMUs, including the HG1930. Honeywell's lineage in navigation dates to the 1920s and since then Honeywell has developed and manufactured high-performance navigation solutions found on many aircraft and other vehicles worldwide.
Honeywell International Inc. specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of industrial equipment. The group also offers maintenance, technical assistance and engineering services. Net sales break down by family of products as follows:
- aeronautical equipment (37.2%): engines, navigation hardware and software, propulsion and communication systems, satellite and space components, lighting equipment, wheels, etc. The group also offers turbochargers for motor vehicles;
- performance materials and technologies (31.4%): polymers, fibers, resins, acids, additives, catalysts, sorbents, semiconductor packaging materials, coating materials, etc.;
- building automation and control systems (16.4%): heating and ventilation control systems, fire alarms, thermostats, monitoring systems, etc.;
- security and productivity optimization solutions (15%): personal safety equipment, warning systems, gas detection systems, data collection and thermal printing computer solutions, warehouse and supply chain automation systems, data and production process management solutions, etc.
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: the United States (57%), Europe (22%) and other (21%).
HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC. 
