AltIMU-10 v4 Gyroscope Accelerometer Compass and Altimeter

AltIMU-10 v4 Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Compass, and Altimeter

The AltIMU-10 v4 is a compact (1.0" × 0.5") IMU and altimeter board that combines ST's LPS25H digital barometer, L3GD20H 3-axis gyroscope, and LSM303D 3-axis accelerometer/magnetometer. While the sensors offer high performance, their small size and operation below 3.6 V make them difficult to use directly with 5 V microcontrollers. The AltIMU-10 v4 solves this with an onboard voltage regulator and level shifter circuit.

Compared to the previous v3 version, the AltIMU-10 v4 features a more accurate and lower-noise pressure sensor. Compared to the original AltIMU-10, it offers a wider magnetic sensing range and improved gyroscope stability. It also includes a pin that allows I²C addresses to be changed, enabling two AltIMU devices to share the same data bus.

The board is pin-compatible with the AltIMU-10 v3 and MinIMU-9 v3 and operates without issue aside from some minor software differences. The LPS25H, L3GD20H, and LSM303D sensors offer many configuration options and are controlled via a shared I²C interface. The sensor axes are aligned on the board, simplifying orientation and altitude calculations. With appropriate algorithms, the 9-axis data can be used to compute orientation (AHRS), and the pressure sensor provides altitude data, offering a total of 10 degrees of freedom (10DOF).

Schematic Representation:

Technical Specifications:

• Dimensions: 1.0" × 0.5" × 0.1" (25 mm × 13 mm × 3 mm)
• Weight without header pins: 0.8 g (0.03 oz)
• Operating voltage: 2.5 V – 5.5 V
• Current consumption: 6 mA
• Output format (I²C):
  • Gyroscope: 16-bit reading per axis
  • Accelerometer: 16-bit reading per axis
  • Magnetometer: 16-bit reading per axis
  • Barometer: 24-bit pressure reading (4096 LSb/mbar)
• Measurement ranges:
  • Gyroscope: ±245, ±500, or ±2000°/s
  • Accelerometer: ±2, ±4, ±6, ±8, or ±16 g
  • Magnetometer: ±2, ±4, ±8, or ±12 gauss
  • Barometer: 260 mbar – 1260 mbar (26 kPa – 126 kPa)

Useful Links / Documents:

• What is a Gyroscope? How Does It Work?
• Using the MPU6050 Gyroscope/Accelerometer with Raspberry Pi 3