MOD-NAV: Scalable Modular Inertial Navigation Framework for Resource-Constrained Embedded Hardware

Abstract

Inertial navigation algorithms are inherently computationally intensive, often necessitating high-performance embedded processors for real-time execution. This requirement poses a significant challenge for deploying such algorithms on resource-constrained, small-scale embedded platforms commonly used in cost-sensitive and power-limited applications. To address this limitation, this paper presents a scalable and modular inertial navigation framework designed to adapt to varying application requirements. The proposed framework decomposes the navigation system into independent functional modules, enabling selective inclusion or exclusion based on specific operational needs. This modular architecture allows developers to tailor the computational load by integrating only the essential components required for a given application, thereby reducing unnecessary processing overhead. As a result, the framework significantly lowers computational demand, memory usage, and power consumption. Furthermore, the scalability of the framework ensures that it can be efficiently deployed across a wide spectrum of hardware platforms, ranging from low-power microcontrollers to high-end processors. The design also supports ease of maintenance, extensibility, and system upgrades, making it suitable for diverse navigation applications such as unmanned systems and portable devices. Experimental validation demonstrates that the proposed approach achieves a substantial reduction in computational complexity while maintaining the accuracy of the navigation output. This makes it a practical and efficient solution for implementing inertial navigation systems on resource-constrained embedded hardware.



Received: 29 July 2025 | Revised: 17 April 2026 | Accepted: 11 May 2026



Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to this work.



Data Availability Statement

Data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.



Author Contribution Statement

Mahender Katukuri: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, Visualization. Satyanarayana JV: Validation, Formal analysis, Data curation, Supervision, Project administration. Ruchir Gupta: Validation, Investigation, Resources, Supervision, Project administration. Bhaskar Biswas: Validation, Investigation, Resources, Supervision, Project administration.