Adding an IMU allows your application to refine its depth awareness in any situation where the camera moves. This opens the door for rudimentary SLAM and tracking applications allowing better point-cloud alignment. It also allows improved environmental awareness for robotics and drones. The use of an IMU makes registration and calibration easier for handheld scanning system use cases and is also important in fields such as virtual/augmented reality and drones. When using the D435i, our Intel RealSense SDK 2.0 provides IMU data that is time stamped to align with our high quality depth data.

What is an IMU?
The inertial measurement unit (IMU) is used for the detection of movements and rotations in 6 degrees of freedom (6DoF). An IMU combines a variety of sensors with gyroscopes to detect both rotation and movement in 3 axes, as well as pitch, yaw and roll. It is used in applications such as gaming and pointing devices as well as image stabilization.

Combined Solution for Development & Productization:
The Intel® RealSense™ D435i places an IMU into our cutting‑edge stereo depth camera. With an Intel module and vision processor in a small form factor, the D435i is a powerful complete package which can be paired with customizable software for a depth camera that is capable of understanding it's own movement.

Ideal for cameras in motion:
The combination of a wide field of view and global shutter sensor on the D435i make it the preferred solution for applications such as robotic navigation and object recognition. The wider field of view allows a single camera to cover more area resulting in less “blind spots”. The global shutter sensors provide great low‑light sensitivity allowing robots to navigate spaces with the lights off.

Complete Suite for Simple Integration:
The depth camera D435i is part of the Intel® RealSense™ D400 series of cameras, a lineup that takes Intel’s latest depth‑sensing hardware and software and packages them into easy‑to‑integrate products. Perfect for developers, makers, and innovators looking to bring depth sensing to devices, Intel® RealSense™ D400 series cameras offer simple out‑of‑the‑box integration and enable a whole new generation of intelligent vision‑equipped solutions.