Book excerpt: Inertial navigation is widely used for the guidance of aircraft, missiles ships and land vehicles, as well as in a number of novel applications such as surveying underground pipelines in drilling operations. This book discusses the physical principles of inertial navigation, the associated growth of errors and their compensation. It draws current technological developments, provides an indication of potential future trends and covers a broad range of applications. New chapters on MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) technology and inertial system applications are included.