Glossary · Hardware
IMU
Also known as: inertial measurement unit
In brief
An IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) measures linear acceleration and angular velocity along three axes, often with a magnetometer for heading. Every humanoid has at least one IMU, usually in the torso, providing the high-rate motion data the balance controller depends on.
The IMU is the heartbeat of every balance controller. Joint encoders tell you the robot's shape; the IMU tells you how it is oriented and accelerating in the world. Without a good IMU, you cannot estimate the center of mass or detect the start of a fall.
Higher-end humanoids carry multiple IMUs (torso plus pelvis plus end-effectors) for redundancy and richer state estimation. IMUs are tiny, cheap, and ubiquitous, but the quality matters — drift, noise, and bias all leak into the controller.
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