The micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) dynamic inclinometer integrates a tri-axis gyroscope and a tri-axis accelerometer for real-time tilt measurement. The Stewart platform has the ability to generate six degrees of freedom of spatial orbits. The method of applying spatial orbits to the testing of MEMS inclinometers is investigated. Inverse and forward kinematics are analyzed for controlling and measuring the position and orientation of the Stewart platform. The Stewart platform is controlled to generate a conical motion, based on which the sensitivities of the gyroscope, accelerometer, and tilt sensing are determined. Spatial positional orbits are also generated in order to obtain the tilt angles caused by the cross-coupling influence. The experiment is conducted to show that the tested amplitude frequency deviations of the gyroscope and tilt sensing sensitivities between the Stewart platform and the traditional rotator are less than 0.2 dB and 0.1 dB, respectively.
Keywords: MEMS inclinometer; Stewart platform; dynamic performance; spatial orbit.