New 3DM-CX7 series Inertial Sensing Engineered for Shock, Vibration and High-Dynamic Platforms

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HBK Hottinger Brüel & Kjaer GmbH

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Three compact sensor configurations provide attitude, heading and aided navigation capabilities for UAVs, legged robots and autonomous ground vehicles. 

MicroStrain by HBK has introduced the 3DM-CX7 series, a new family of compact inertial sensors designed for autonomous platforms exposed to high levels of shock, vibration and dynamic motion. The series supports dependable attitude and navigation estimation in applications including UAVs, legged robots and autonomous ground vehicles. 

Vibration, repeated impacts, rapid motion, and changing temperatures can affect inertial measurements and compromise motion estimates. At the same time, autonomous platforms must meet demanding size, weight, power, and integration requirements.

The 3DM-CX7 series addresses these challenges through a redundant multi-IMU architecture with real-time cross-checking and intelligent outlier rejection, combined with MicroStrain’s auto-adaptive Extended Kalman Filter. Each unit is individually calibrated across its full operating temperature range.

Across the family, the CX7 platform combines 2.1°/h gyro bias instability, measurement ranges up to ±32 g and ±4,000°/s, output rates up to 1 kHz and an 8.3 g compact package, with an operating temperature range of −40°C to +85°C (approx. −40°F to +185°F).

Designed for demanding mechanical environments, the CX7 series combines high dynamic measurement ranges with a vibration-resistant inertial architecture to help maintain dependable attitude and motion estimation under shock, vibration and rapid movement.

Available in three configurations, the 3DM-CX7 series enables engineers to select the appropriate level of motion and navigation capability for their applications. The 3DM-CX7-AR provides roll, pitch and relative heading where magnetic heading is impractical, particularly in industrial AGVs and legged robotics.

The 3DM-CX7-AHRS adds an integrated three-axis magnetometer for absolute magnetic heading, supporting UAVs and legged robots operating under vibration and rapid motion. For more advanced navigation requirements, the 3DM-CX7-INS combines inertial measurements with external position, velocity and heading inputs to support navigation estimation.

 “Autonomous platforms increasingly operate in environments where vibration, impacts and rapid dynamics are part of normal operation,” said Joe Beckwith Product Manager, MicroStrain by HBK. “With the 3DM-CX7 series, our focus was to help engineers maintain dependable motion information under these real-world conditions while providing the compact form factor and integration flexibility required for autonomous system development.”

To simplify integration into autonomous system architectures, the 3DM-CX7 family supports ROS and PX4 environments. The MSCL API and MIP SDK provide documented interfaces and example code for sensor communication and embedded development, while InertialConnect and SensorConnect support sensor configuration, parameter adjustment, data collection and visualisation.