The modules offer factory calibration, functional-safety development and flexible mounting options for automotive and industrial uses.
Quectel Wireless Solutions announced the expansion of its automotive-grade inertial measurement unit (IMU) portfolio with the introduction of three new 6-axis modules. IMUs are the sensors that let a device detect motion, tilt and orientation without external references, the same basic function as a smartphone’s screen-rotation sensor, but built to a different standard. The modules feature automotive-grade reliability engineered to survive years inside a car engine bay, combined with a level of precision, thanks to factory calibration, that goes well beyond consumer-grade sensors.
Leading the announcement is the LUA501RA, a compact, high-performance IMU developed in accordance with safety standard ISO 26262. The company has also introduced the LUA300C and LUA301C, factory-calibrated IMU modules offering customers additional mechanical mounting options.
Designed for functional-safety-critical applications
Though built to automotive-grade standards, the LUA501RA is designed for motion-sensing applications well beyond the car, targeting automotive ADAS and ADCU systems, machine control, and industrial automation, high-precision GNSS/INS navigation, autonomous mobile robots, unmanned vehicles, and industrial robotics.
Built around Bosch’s SMI270 chip, the module integrates a 3-axis gyroscope and 3-axis accelerometer in a compact 11.5 mm × 19.5 mm × 12.0 mm footprint weighing approximately 8.0 g. In applications such as automated excavator-arm control, the module provides calibrated 6-axis IMU data (3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis gyroscope). The host system can use this data to estimate tilt and orientation, supporting machinery control with reduced manual input.
Every LUA501RA module is individually factory-calibrated, with its own unique compensation parameters for bias error over temperature, scale factor error, and sensor misalignment. Customers receive a ready-to-use, calibrated IMU rather than a raw sensor that would require extensive system-level characterization and compensation. This approach significantly reduces integration complexity, lowers engineering costs, and shortens product development cycles.
The module’s temperature-dependent bias is individually compensated across a wide operating range of -40°C to +105°C, delivering stable, accurate inertial measurements in underhood, exterior automotive, and outdoor industrial environments.
Expanded portfolio offers mounting flexibility
Alongside the LUA501RA, Quectel introduced the LUA300C and LUA301C, automotive-grade, compact, factory-calibrated 6-axis IMU modules built around ST’s ASM330LHB chip. Every gyroscope and accelerometer parameter, bias error over temperature, scale factor error, and misalignment error, is precision-trimmed and factory calibrated during production, giving customers a ready-to-integrate, consistent IMU without the complexity of discrete sensor designs.
The LUA300C uses pin-mounting, while the LUA301C offers screw-mounting for different mechanical integration. Both modules offer the same electrical performance and calibration approach, while differing in size and weight. The compact LUA300C measures 18.8 mm × 10.4 mm × 11.1 mm and weighs approximately 2.4 g, while the LUA301C measures 19.5 mm × 11.5 mm × 12.0 mm and weighs approximately 8 g.
Together, the three modules give customers a broader set of automotive-grade IMU options, different sensor platforms, footprints, and now an ASIL-B development pedigree option, to match specific program, footprint, and functional-safety requirements from a single, established Tier 1-scale module supplier.
For more information, visit quectel.com.
