Autonomous machines are becoming more popular in the industrial market. Global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and inertial navigation system (INS) are commonly used to aid autonomous navigation for applications such as utility and agricultural drones, precision agriculture, and last mile delivery units. These devices are often exposed to harsh conditions such a high temperatures, high vibrations, and poor GPS visibility. Due to these environments, highly accurate and robust sensors must be used. In industrial applications, substantial value can be gained from embedding sensors deeply in machinery to provide early and accurate detection of variations in performance. For example, inertial sensors can detect changes in vibration frequencies caused by wear and tear on bearings, allowing preventive maintenance to be performed before total equipment failure can occur. In this presentation, we will cover how inertial sensors are playing an important role to improve both, high-end navigation and industrial predictive maintenance using vibration sensors.
