Rigid-body pose and twist estimation using an accelerometer array

A novel technique for the determination of the pose and the twist of rigid bodies using point-acceleration data is proposed. These data are collected from an accelerometer array, which is a kinematically redundant set of triaxial accelerometers. Because orientational error in the installation of the accelerometers can be fatal to the accuracy of the results, a calibration procedure based on the consistency of the point accelerations is outlined. The formulation developed is then utilized in the simulation analysis of two sample motions. The relations required to estimate the pose and the twist are derived in a body-fixed frame. The body angular acceleration and angular velocity, in this order, are determined directly from the acceleration data; the body attitude is then computed through integration.