Inertial Measurement Unit Market Report 2025

This Inertial Measurement Unit market report covers market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional and country breakdowns, competitive landscape, market shares, trends and strategies for this market. It traces the market’s historic and forecast market growth by geography.

The inertial measurement unit market size has grown strongly in recent years. It will grow from $23.43 billion in 2024 to $25.09 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.1%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to rise in aerospace and defense applications, rise in integration of consumer electronics, adoption of automotive safety, rise in demand for geospatial and mapping applications, rise in demand in industrial machinery.

The inertial measurement unit market size is expected to see strong growth in the next few years. It will grow to $34.17 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to increasing demand in healthcare and medical devices, rising use of drones and uavs, increasing growth of autonomous vehicles, rising satellite navigation and gnss augmentation, increasing demand for smart agriculture. Major trends in the forecast period include mems imus, sensor fusion technology, miniaturization trend, use of kalman filtering, inertial sensing in healthcare.

The rise in new smartphone sales and shipment growth is driving the inertial measurement unit (IMU) market. IMUs are essential components in smartphones, enabling a variety of applications such as navigation, gaming, fitness, and more. Features like step counting, gesture recognition, and image stabilization are among the applications of IMUs that are gaining popularity with consumers. For instance, in December 2023, Demandsage, a US-based non-government organization, projected that the global smartphone user count will reach 7.1 billion in 2024 and increase to 7.7 billion by 2027. Furthermore, the smartphone penetration rate in the United States is expected to rise to 82.20% in 2023, up from 76.50% in 2022. Therefore, the rapid increase in new smartphone sales and shipments is anticipated to enhance the growth of the inertial measurement unit market.

The increasing adoption of robotics across industries is anticipated to drive the growth of the inertial measurement unit (IMU) market in the future. Robotics is an interdisciplinary field that integrates various areas of engineering and science, including mechanical, electronic, and information engineering, along with computer science. It centers on the development, operation, and application of robots. IMUs play a crucial role by providing precise motion tracking and orientation data, which are essential for accurate robot navigation and control. For example, in September 2023, the Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) International Federation of Robotics, a Germany-based organization focused on advancing robotics technologies, reported in its latest world robotics report that factories worldwide installed 553,052 new industrial robots in 2022, reflecting a 5% increase from the previous year. Regionally, Asia accounted for 73% of these installations, while Europe and the Americas represented 15% and 10%, respectively. Thus, the growing adoption of robotics in industries is propelling the inertial measurement unit market.

Leading companies in the inertial measurement unit (IMU) market are concentrating on developing cutting-edge technological solutions, such as the LSM6DSV16X, which for the first time incorporates a charge-variation feature to improve accuracy and responsiveness in motion tracking. The LSM6DSV16X integrates this charge-variation mechanism to enhance performance in dynamic environments. For example, in November 2022, STMicroelectronics Pvt Ltd, a Switzerland-based electronics firm, introduced a new advanced 6-axis IMU with embedded sensor fusion and AI capabilities. The LSM6DSV16X is a sophisticated 6-axis inertial measurement unit that utilizes ST’s Sensor Fusion Low Power (SFLP) technology, artificial intelligence, and adaptive self-configuration for enhanced energy efficiency. Its design supports advanced edge processing for applications such as 3D phone mapping, gesture recognition, and always-on activity tracking. With an improved finite state machine and machine-learning core, it effectively detects rapid events and autonomously optimizes settings.

Leading companies in the inertial measurement unit market are introducing miniature tactical-grade IMUs like the Pulse-40 IMU to offer a compact yet high-performance inertial measurement solution. The Pulse-40 IMU is designed for exceptional performance in demanding conditions. Launched by SBG Systems in February 2022, this tactical-grade IMU integrates advanced MEMS three-axis accelerometers and gyroscopes in a redundant design. It boasts impressive gyro and accelerometer bias instability of 0.8°/h and 6µg. The Pulse-40 is built to withstand high-vibration environments of up to 10 g RMS, ensuring consistent data reliability through its embedded Continuous Built-In-Test.

In August 2022, EMCORE Corporation, a US-based company specializing in high-performance fiber optics and photonic solutions for industries such as telecommunications and defense, acquired KVH Industries Inc. for an undisclosed sum. This acquisition is intended to enhance EMCORE Corporation's offerings by acquiring all intellectual property and assets related to KVH's Fiber Optic Gyro (FOG) and Inertial Navigation Systems businesses, including a 100,384-square-foot production facility. This strategic initiative is expected to generate value across the profit and loss statements, achieve synergies within two years, and create new opportunities in the industrial autonomy market while utilizing an established customer base in the Army and various terrestrial applications. KVH Industries Inc. is a US-based firm focused on providing innovative inertial measurement units and mobile communication solutions for the maritime and defense sectors.

Major companies operating in the inertial measurement unit market include Bosch Sensortec GmbH, Thales Group, Sensonor AS, Analog Devices Inc., Gladiator Technologies, Honeywell Aerospace Inc., Northrop Grumman Corporation, Safran SA, General Electric Company, Kearfott Corporation, KVH Industries Inc., Collins Aerospace Systems, Systron Donner Inertial Inc., Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd., L3Harris Technologies Inc., VectorNav Technologies Corp., SBG Systems, Beijing Navgnss Integration Co. Ltd., BeiJing StarNeto Technology Co. Ltd., MEMSIC Inc., Epson Europe Electronics GmbH, MicroStrain Inc., Xsens Technologies B.V., Memsense LLC, STMicroelectronics NV, ACEINNA Inc., NXP Semiconductors N.V., TDK Corporation.

North America was the largest region in the inertial measurement unit market in 2024, and it is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in the inertial measurement unit market analysis report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa. The countries covered in the inertial measurement unit market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA.

An Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) is a device designed to measure and report an object's specific gravity and angular rate when attached to it. It consists of three key components: gyroscopes for measuring angular rate, accelerometers for gauging specific force or acceleration, and magnetometers for assessing the magnetic field in the vicinity of the system. IMUs find applications in various industries, including aerospace, defense, automotive, consumer electronics, and others. Common uses for IMUs encompass control and stabilization, navigation and correction, measurement and testing, as well as mobile mapping.

The primary types of IMUs include accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, and other specialized components. Accelerometers are devices capable of detecting vibrations or accelerations of motion in a structure. They operate by compressing piezoelectric material in response to vibration or changes in motion (acceleration), generating an electrical charge proportional to the applied force. IMUs are categorized into various grades, including marine grade, navigation grade, tactical grade, space grade, and commercial grade. End-users of IMUs span industries such as aerospace and defense, consumer electronics, marine/naval, automotive, and other specialized sectors.

The inertial measurement unit market research report is one of a series of new reports that provides inertial measurement unit market statistics, including inertial measurement unit industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with a inertial measurement unit market share, detailed inertial measurement unit market segments, market trends and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the inertial measurement unit industry. This inertial measurement unit market research report delivers a complete perspective of everything you need, with an in-depth analysis of the current and future scenario of the industry.

The inertial measurement unit market consists of sales of FOG (Fiber Optic Gyroscope), the RLG IMUs (Ring Laser Gyroscope), and lastly, IMU based on MEMS technology (Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems). Values in this market are ‘factory gate’ values, that is the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

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