This paper identifies the minimum number of accelerometers necessary to measure rigid body acceleration. Notwithstanding that only 9 scalar unknowns must be identified, 12 devices compose a minimum set of transducers. This redundancy is necessary to avoid singularities in the equations. Conditions for the sensor placement are given. It is also shown that when the determination of the angular velocity is not required, a reduced set of 9 sensors can be adopted.

Issue Section:
Technical Briefs
Keywords:
accelerometers, angular velocity measurement, acceleration measurement
Topics:
Accelerometers, Sensors
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Copyright © 2001
 by ASME
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