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Review on Raspberry Pi BerryGPS-IMU: Enhanced 10DOF GPS 🌍 Module with Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, and Barometric/Altitude Sensor by David Plunkett

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Great module with compact form factor

There are many IMU and GPS solutions for Raspberry Pi. What sets this product apart from others is that: .1. IMU and GPS are integrated in a single module. Many other solutions require separate IMU and GPS chips/boards, making it difficult for the user to connect to the 40-pin connector. BerryGPS-IMUv3 integrates everything and integrates interfaces with the first 10 pins of the connector. There are also through holes next to it that make these pins available for other uses if the user needs them for another device. In a word, thoughtful design.2. The module also includes a traditional Bosch pressure sensor that provides altitude readings for the altimeter. Together with 9 axes (acceleration/gyroscope/magnetic field) this results in a good 10 degrees of freedom. Again, it's possible to add a pressure sensor separately to get the same capabilities, but integrating it into a single board makes it much easier to use mechanically/pin. The module is compact! Considering all the sensors/chips included, it takes up much less space than if someone were to build a system out of another discrete IMU, GPS, and barometric pressure sensors.4. The manufacturer maintains the website and associated forums. The documentation here attracted me in addition to other similarly cheap solutions; These alternatives essentially consist of pointing you to data tables. To be fair, AdaFruit modules have a good CircuitPython library with software support for their sensors. However, many of these can also be used for this module as it uses similar chips. (I finally decided to write my own to ensure the efficiency/correctness of some nuances, but most importantly, the documentation and software resources are another strong point of the BerryGPS-IMUv3 over other offerings.)4. The GPS module supports either the internal antenna of the u-blox M8 GPS receiver or an external active antenna. NB: When ordering, it was not clear to me that the external antenna had to be active. To use a passive antenna you need to create a small mod on the board. I had a question about this and the manufacturer (Ozzmaker) was very responsive and helpful. Excellent support. See #4 above. All in all a great module for 50€.

Pros
  • Best
Cons
  • Modern