What is the difference between an accelerometer and an inclinometer?

Question

When looking through papers for a controls project I found one that seemed to be referencing the fusing of sensor data from an inclinometer and an accelerometer.

I always had thought that it was impossible to separate acceleration due to gravity and acceleration due to other forces. So wouldn't an inclinometer and accelerometer basically be the same thing? Or does an inclinometer typically measure tilt in some other fashion that does not involve gravitational forces?

Answer 1

Solid state gyroscopes are normally tiny dumbells - a small mass on a flexible arm. The gadget measures the strain on the arm when the weight moves.

If the weight hangs down (like a pendulum) then any tilt causes it to move to the side and one side of the arm to shrink while the other side stretches.

Any accelration can also make the mass move, so an inclinometer is also an accelerometer.