Let’s start off by looking into Digilent's Pmod NAV. This Pmod features 9-axis sensor LSM9DS1 and IMU Plus Barometer sensor LPS25HB. It costs 29.99 +9.99 for shipping, so a total of $40 dollars. (link for purchase is here).
The 9 axis sensor is a System In a Package that consists of a 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope, and 3-axis magnetometer, it also has an embedded temperature sensor in it. The data coming from any of the 3-axis sensors is 16bits wide and signed and it can be acquire through an SPI or I2C interface. So we are getting a decent accuracy. Max SPI Clock frequency is 10MHz. The barometer has an absolute pressure range of 260 to 1260hPa.
Now you can use this sensor for various projects, wherever you would need a gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer and a barometer – maybe for creating a drone? Well wherever your creativity might take you! Digilent also provides free resources that come along with the Pmod that you can use for creating your code. They’ve also given example codes for Arduino that can be used to set up this sensor on it.
But now the real question is, is it really worth 40 dollars? Well, you can get a 9 axis sensor + the barometer on amazon for half the cost, although, it does ship straight from china so, the shipping might take a long time. This one does feature different sensors, MPU9250 for the 9 axis and BMP180 for the barometer.
In comparison to the LSM9DS1 9 axis sensor that Digilent’s Pmod NAV uses, the MPU9250 has pretty much the same parameters. Refer to the table below for a quick comparison:
I must add that the SPI Clock Frequency on the Digilent Pmod NAV is 10 times faster than MPU9250's. Also, the advantage to the PMOD is that it is a direct fit the FPGA/SoC boards that Digilent has manufactured due to the 2 row 12 pin (2x6pin) connectors. For the other sensors, you need to do some soldering and fitting to make sure they fit and work with your system. So, if you are handy you can go ahead and save some money if you don't care about the accuracy or the speed.
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