The FreeIMU library has been modified to work on the ArduIMU v3. The guy who did the porting, confirmed much better performance with the FreeIMU library than the original Ardu-IMU library. Please see http://www.varesano.net/projects/hardware/FreeIMU#lib-ports

I have been working with one of these for a while now and I have a few comments. The firmware it ships with and the firmware in the google code website for the V3 was not correct, it has an incorrect scaling factor for the accelerometer. The HMC-5883L magnetometer has two modes of reading outputs; continuous mode and single measurement mode. In continuous mode a max of 75 Hz output data rate is achievable, but with the single measurement mode an output data rate of 160 Hz is achievable. The arduino firware uses continuous mode. I have chosen to use atmel studio to program this board because debugging/changing arduino code in the old arduino IDE (this board only uses the old IDE apparently) is a nightmare.

This board has the capability of giving 3 gyro readings, 3 accelerometer readings, a temp reading from the MPU-6000 for correct gyro scaling, three magnetometer readings and gps capability. It is well known that the best way to combine all this data is through quaternions with an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) to avoid singularities at 90 degree pitch and to get an accurate estimate of the orientation/position without the integral drift effect. Now, with all this said, the board ships with an 8-bit 16Mhz atmega328p MCU!! I have tried at great length to implement a quaternion based EKF at 100Hz output rate (which is required to stabilise an inherently very unstable helicopter) but have so far failed on this chip, it is just too slow. I have now resorted to using the atmega328p for gathering the raw data from the sensors and sending it all to a much faster board for processing.

Therefore if you looking for something that is able to give you accurate, singularity free orientation/position estimates at fast update rates, then I don't recommend this board. If next generations of this board are board shipped with more powerful MCUs that are capable of these types of calculations then they would be a great development board and an amazing way to learn industry standard sensor fusion algorithms.

Another thing is that all on board sensors need calibration before use. I highly recommend using this guide: http://www.st.com/web/en/resource/technical/document/application_note/CD00269797.pdf and this guide: http://www.adafruit.com/datasheets/STMEMS.pdf (both from ST micro) to help with that. This is where you find out what offsets and scaling factors are.

Does anybody know if I can connect a 5v FTDI cable to this device? I'm anxious to begin programming it, but I don't have a 3.3v cable. Will I damage the sensors if I hook it up to 5v?

any word on power usage to detect estimated distance moved?

what is the power usage when taking readings? I want to use this to measure approximate distance traveled, kind-of like a pedometer but for anything. Resolution drifting by up to 5 feet per second would work.

what is the power usage when taking readings? I want to use this to measure approximate distance traveled, kind-of like a pedometer but for anything. Resolution drifting by up to 5 feet per second would work.

Sorry, I don't understand why this posted twice.

how do I delete this post?

DON'T BUY THIS!

This board is utter trash. The firmware provided is useless. Even with every fix I have scoured off of the internet over a period of 18 months, there is still a > 1º/sec drift on the yaw axis, and random spikes on every axis. Sparkfun, I respect you as a company, but I can't keep respecting you if you keep selling expensive, useless parts like this.

I'd say at least I got a paperweight out of it, but the board is too small and light to hold down even a single sheet.

I think I know the answer to this but just for clarification - Is there a possibility of running this with both a microSD breakout board and an XBee module? If so, which ports would the microSD connect to? http://www.skpang.co.uk/catalog/breakout-board-for-microsd-transflash-p-639.html

I would like to connect a 10DOF IMU to an Arduino board that is connecting to servos but don't know what boards are the most compatible. Any suggestions?

I would like a newer version of labview to view data arduimu. Anyone have?

I wonder how do the outputs of accelerometers appear gravity value of the land, when the stop plate. For me is providing high values​​. thank

For anyone who is interested in seeing this IMU work, here is some Aduino code that hopefully works for you. There are 2 projects, ArduimuV3_v1 and ArduimuV3_v2 that will output roll, pitch & yaw data. There are also gyro & magnetometer cal routines. If you have a GPS unit, it will also output that as well. The difference between v1 & v2 and that v2 also outputs pressure-altimeter data from the BMP085 sensor (DIY Drones). This project uses libraries available from DIY Drones (AP_GPS, FastSerial, etc) so will have to get those. The url for these are in the code. There is a Layout.txt file which documents as best I could the board layout - i.e what pins are used on the ATMEGA328 for the various sensors & ports.

https://code.google.com/p/arduimu-v3-ahrs-improvements/source/browse/

There is also a Cube.Zip Processing app which you can feed the output of this IMU to see the results.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMCxAON4N_o&list=UUwWpRoa_XvfbIqSCvv9mOQg&index=1

If I were to hook this up to a Raspberry Pi that was 3.3v, would I need a Logic Level Converter like this https://www.sparkfun.com/products/8745 ? I see that it has a I2C port with 3.3V translation, but I'm not really sure what that means or if it has anything to do with what I'm wanting to know. I am trying to hook it up to a Raspberry pi via a serial connection on the GPIO pins (RX and TX). I would like power it with the raspberry pi on the GPIO pins too if it isn't too hard.

I am going to use this to create a tracking system for my telescope. Does anyone have any advice on putting this in some kind of protective case? It doesn't have anywhere to screw it down so could I just use some double sided tape or something and stick it? It doesn't have to be too protective, I just want to put it inside of something.

surrounding metal and magnetic objects will affect the performance of magnetometer? i m using it on my robot and if yes how can i overcome this problem?

I just flew this on a rocket for the first time this past weekend using a uBlox for the GPS.

The results look surprisingly good - certainly correlating well with the visual behaviour of the airframe as well as the other avionic data - acceleration and baro altitude used for recovery.

Does anyone the rate you can get readings from arduimu?

I'm not seeing a tutorial page or anything- what exactly does this provide, out of the box? (In simple terms)

I want to know, how can i calculate the MAG_OFFSET? This part of the ArduIMU (DiyDrones) code: // Magnetometer OFFSETS (magnetometer calibration) (only for ArduIMU v3)

define MAG_OFFSET_X 0

define MAG_OFFSET_Y 0

define MAG_OFFSET_Z 0

I realy made a big search and just find nothing.

The code doesn't work with this version of the board. That's rather a shame.

http://www.diydrones.com/forum/topics/arduimu-v3-all-axes-output-wrong-values

Request for more info: Would this work with GPS-10294 Arduino Mega compatible UAV Controller? If does, where can I find some installation manual? Thanks in advance. Daniel

What firmware version do these ship with? The output format seems different than any of the options on the Google Code Page.

Does anyone know whether the magnetometer will still work properly if the IMU is tilted at 90 degrees (or even more) from vertical? I would like to put an IMU in a belt buckle...

Unless I'm going crazy (and it has been known to happen), the silkscreen on the back indicating the magnetometer axes suggests a left hand coordinate system. Is that correct?

I can't see how it would be problematic, it's just an unusual choice. I don't remember a single fields/physics class I've ever had in which they didn't drill the "right hand rule" into our heads.

This product is not listed as the replacement for the V2. Should it be listed as such or is there a subtle change in function?

I just received one of these, but I�m not very familiar with Arduino. I also have a TTL-232R-3v3 cable and have the unit running and can see that several values are being sent at 115,200 baud. I loaded the 1.9v into the Arduino IDE 1.0 but the code does not verify. What board definition do I use to download?

Can anybody give me some advice about what GPS units work/are best to use with this board?

Also, could someone please clear something up for me? I note the use of an I2C level shifter. I was under the impression that as long as the SDA/SCL line pull-ups were tied to 3V3 (rather than 5V), communication should still work? Is this a speed thing? Or just good practice?

Very-much-like! Am going to seriously consider getting one of these in my next order.

How come ya'll didn't take the pick-n-place cap off off the GPS connector before pictures?? Some people might be wondering what that is... it allows automated equipment to pick up the connector from a reel, or tray and place it on the PCB.

Like!

It appears that the magnetometer is connected to the Atmega, as opposed to the aux input of the MPU? Does that mean it's unable to use the magnetometer with the DMP that's onboard the MPU?