Compass tilt compensation algorithm using CORDIC

In a 3-axis compass, the system tilt of the sensors needs to be compensated to calculate the heading of the compass correctly. A novel tilt compensation algorithm using the CORDIC algorithm is presented. Only five 2D-CORDIC operations are needed to aquire the heading angle from three components of magnetic and acceleration data. This can be useful in ASIC and FPGA designs where the compass data needs to be compensated efficiently in terms of area and power. It is also possible to implement the correction algorithm in a micro-controller without a multiplier. The algorithm was tested in practice using a 3-axis magnetometer, a 3-axis accelerometer and FPGA.