Study of calibration of three-axis fluxgate magnetometers on unmanned helicopter

Aeromagnetic exploration is one of the most important exploration methods in geophysics. In aeromagnetic exploration, three-axis fluxgate magnetometers are widely used to measure the attitude of the platform. However, system error caused by the manufacture precision of three-axis fluxgate magnetometers degrades the measurement accuracy of the attitude. Therefore, the calibration of three-axis fluxgate magnetometers is essential. In this paper, the calibration model of three-axis fluxgate magnetometers is discussed, and the measurement errors of three-axis fluxgate magnetometers in an unmanned helicopter experiment are analyzed. A calibration method is applied to the inflight data. Then, more accurate attitude of the platform is obtained. The validity of the method is demonstrated by the experimental results.