I would like to build a unit that would track my position every 0,1 s. I don't need accurate absolute positions, but it is important that relative accuracy is cca 10 cm.
At the moment i looking in diifferent ways to achieve this. One being combination od IMU and GPS.
I thinking of using Adafruit 10DOF breakout with Arduino UNO and GPS module.
I aware of IMU's drifts but i couldn't find anywhere what drift "numbers" mean in "real world (not good enough in math to calulate:( ). Say we move it for an hour in distance of 1 km, how accurate relations would be between measured points and how far from starting point would last be if i walk in zig-zag and end on starting position.
Would only IMU suffice for my requirements and would combination of IMU and GPS with use of Kalman filter help improving accuracy?
Other options i was thinking of are using reference and moving GPS or beacons around the area i move in to triangulate position. But i would prefer "one box" solution if possible.
I don't understand your goal yet. If your goal is to measure the position of a point B relative to a point A over a distance of ~1km and with ~1h inbetween the measurements, an IMU will not improve the accuracy.
The information you have provided, 1km over 1 hour, and recording every 0.1 second, would suggest that the movement measured between recordings will be as low as 2.8cm ?
But you only want a 'relative' accuracy of 10cm ?
Might be an idea to describe what it is you are trying to do.
Hi. Thank you for responses. I'll try to be clearer.
I`m an archaeologist working with very sensitive magnetometer that continuously records data every 0.1s with my walking speed this means one value per cca 10 cm.
Usually i measure 40 x 40 m big square in dense grid by placing parallel ropes every 0,5 m and walk along them with constant speed, so i can assign relative x and y coordinates for each value. This means one value per 50 cm on one axis and per 10 cm on other axis.
My goal is to get positions for each value without the need of setting out the square and ropes.
Unit i would use should not be too big and with little magnetic properties not to disturb magnetometer sensors.
I already have idea how to connect arduino board with magnetometer unit and relate magnetic field with spatial data. Question is just if i can achieve good enough relative accuracy with low cost modules, since its just my afternoon hobby :).
I'd give the usual sensors (IMU + GPS) a try. Both are powerful but cheap due to mass production. The results, however, will most probably not fit your needs.
Instead of much more expensive sensors I'd try a camera drone, that allows to track a path more accurately. At least you can get an image with the exact sensor position (over ground) for every interesting magnetometer value, even if the recorded absolute sensor and drone positions are inaccurate. Then it's only a matter of an image processing software, to map your path into an image of the entire area, for which a coordinate system can be constructed from the trusted positions of a couple of landmarks.
You'll get most reliable answers in an archaeology forum, from people who really use some equipment.