Performance comparison of accelerometer calibration algorithms based on 3D-ellipsoid fitting methods

Calibration of accelerometers can be reduced to 3D-ellipsoid fitting problems. Changing extrinsic factors like temperature, pressure or humidity, as well as intrinsic factors like the battery status, demand to calibrate the measurements permanently. Thus, there is a need for fast calibration algorithms, e.g. for online analyses. The primary aim of this paper is to propose a non-iterative calibration algorithm for accelerometers with the focus on minimal execution time and low memory consumption. The secondary aim is to benchmark existing calibration algorithms based on 3D-ellipsoid fitting methods. We compared the algorithms regarding the calibration quality and the execution time as well as the number of quasi-static measurements needed for a stable calibration. As evaluation criterion for the calibration, both the norm of calibrated real-life measurements during inactivity and simulation data was used. The algorithms showed a high calibration quality, but the execution time differed significantly. The calibration method proposed in this paper showed the shortest execution time and a very good performance regarding the number of measurements needed to produce stable results. Furthermore, this algorithm was successfully implemented on a sensor node and calibrates the measured data on-the-fly while continuously storing the measured data to a microSD-card.