The MPU6050 combines an accelerometer and a gyroscope. But its accelerometer senses not just motion — it always senses gravity (9.81 m/s²) even when the device is standing still.

This leads to unexpected or unstable results:

• 📍 A flat, stationary sensor still shows ~9.8 m/s² on the Z-axis
• 🔁 If you tilt the sensor, Z value drops and X/Y increases
• ⚠ The sensor thinks you're accelerating when you are not

This happens because the accelerometer measures **all acceleration** — including Earth's gravity — and it cannot tell the difference between real movement and tilt.

Similarly, the gyroscope reports rotation but suffers from **drift** over time — small errors build up and make orientation readings less reliable without correction.

✅ How to Fix It: Sensor Fusion

Use a **sensor fusion algorithm** like:

• 🧠 DMP (Digital Motion Processor) – built into MPU6050
• ➕ Complementary Filter – simple but effective
• 📈 Kalman Filter – advanced, precise orientation tracking

These methods combine accelerometer and gyro data, cancel out gravity distortion, and provide accurate roll/pitch/yaw.

In my case, I improved the accuracy by manually subtracting 9.41 m/s² from the Z-axis reading of the accelerometer. Since gravity is always affecting the vertical axis, this helps normalize the data when the sensor is in a stable upright position.

However, this method is only reliable when the MPU6050 is consistently oriented. For dynamic movement or tilt detection, sensor fusion is still required to distinguish between gravity and actual acceleration.

MPU6050 Explain and Troubleshoot

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