Applications of magnetic sensors for low cost compass systems

A method for heading determination is described that will include the effects of pitch and roll as well as the magnetic properties of the vehicle. Using solid-state magnetic sensors and a tilt sensor, a low cost compass system can be realized. Commercial airlines today use attitude and heading reference systems that cost tens of thousands of dollars. For general aviation, or small private aircraft, this is too costly for most pilot´s budget. The compass system described here provides heading, pitch and roll outputs accurate to one degree, or better. The shortfall of this low-cost approach is that the compass outputs are affected by acceleration and turns. A solution to this problem is also presented