Configure a WitMotion IMU

An inertial measurement unit (IMU) provides data for the AngularVelocity, Orientation, CompassHeading, and LinearAcceleration methods. Acceleration and magnetometer data are available by using the sensor GetReadings method, which IMUs wrap.

The imu-wit movement sensor model supports the following IMUs manufactured by WitMotion:

Navigate to the Config tab of your robot’s page in the Viam app. Click on the Components subtab and click Create component. Select the movement-sensor type, then select the imu-wit model. Enter a name for your movement sensor and click Create.

Creation of an `imu-wit` movement sensor in the Viam app config builder.

Edit and fill in the attributes as applicable.

{
  "components": [
    {
      "name": "<your-sensor-name>",
      "type": "movement_sensor",
      "model": "imu-wit",
      "attributes": {
        "serial_path": "<your-port>",
        "serial_baud_rate": <int>
      },
      "depends_on": []
    }
  ]
}

{
  "components": [
    {
      "name": "myIMU",
      "type": "movement_sensor",
      "model": "imu-wit",
      "attributes": {
        "serial_path": "/dev/serial/by-path/<device_ID>",
        "serial_baud_rate": 115200
      },
      "depends_on": []
    }
  ]
}

Attributes

NameTypeInclusionDescription
serial_pathstringRequiredThe full filesystem path to the serial device, starting with /dev/. With your serial device connected, you can run sudo dmesg | grep tty to show relevant device connection log messages, and then match the returned device name, such as ttyS0, to its device file, such as /dev/ttyS0. If you omit this attribute, Viam will attempt to automatically detect the path.
serial_baud_rateintOptionalThe rate at which data is sent from the sensor over the serial connection. Valid rates are 9600 and 115200. The default rate will work for all models. Only the HWT901B can have a different serial baud rate. Refer to your model’s data sheet.
Default: 115200

Test the movement sensor

After you configure your movement sensor, navigate to the Control tab and select the dedicated movement sensor dropdown panel. This panel presents the data collected by the movement sensor. The sections in the panel include the position, orientation, angular velocity, linear velocity, and linear acceleration.

The movement sensor component in the control tab


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