Scientists in Tomsk, in Siberia, have come up with Russia’s first sensors for autonomous drone navigation.

In their recent project, Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) researchers offered an intelligent inertial module that incorporated the functions of three advanced microelectromechanical (MEMS) sensors, namely gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetometer. The gyroscope gauges an object’s angular velocity; the accelerometer measures acceleration; and the magnetometer helps determine the cardinal directions.

The inertial module with all the three functions brought together offers a full-fledged self-contained navigation system, versatile enough to be mounted on a range of object types. It is operational in a broad temperature range between -40°C and +105°C.