IMU and Barometer Vario

The intent of this page is to explain how a barometric vario works, what you can expect from smartphone variometers and sensors and how you might benefit from an instant vario incorporating inertial measurements as done by AI Sense.


Before we dig into technology, let's state the practical aspect for pilots. Technology aside, the impact of combining IMUs and Barometer in a vario is:


So what you hear is finally what you instantly feel and thus perfectly synchronized to your natural sense of flying. Two small bumps in the air won't be smeared and represented as possibly one thermal you accidentally try to turn. Once in a thermal centering and finding the core is easier due to the instant feedback of the variometer. Within our vario apps AI Sense is used to provide and instant vario using the IMU.

What is an IMU?

An Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) is a combination of sensors that provide information on orientation, velocity and gravitational forces. Nowadays IMUs are included in most phones and typically refer to a combination of accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer. Those inertial measurements refer to gravitational forces / gravity, they play a key role in providing our instant vario app.