Stochastic analysis of drift error of gyroscope in the single-axis attitude determination

Abstract

Understanding and mitigating the various stochastic errors in gyroscope measurements is crucial for accurate attitude determination. White noise and bias instability can introduce drift errors, reducing the system’s accuracy. Efficient sensor selection and algorithm design necessitate a thorough understanding of these influences and how they propagate throughout the system. This paper addresses the propagation of significant stochastic errors in the attitude determination system, including white noise (angle random walk), bias instability, rate random walk, and correlated noise. The paper discusses the modeling strategy and statistical characteristics of these error contributors. It then evaluates the variance propagation of these errors within the output of a single-axis attitude determination system. The presented analysis calculates and compares the impact of each source of error on the system’s precision over time. Experiments with the MPU6050 and L3G4200D sensors are conducted to validate the analytical results.