EECS 373

Gyroscopes
Kevin Chyn
Scott Perry
Brian Schlenker

http://embeddedsystemnews.com/stmicroelectronics-introduces-a-new-family-
of-single-and-multi-axis-mems-micro-electro-mechanical-systems-
gyroscopes.html

1
Outline

• Introduction to Gyroscopes
– Theory of operation
– Applications

• Historic and Modern Varieties

– History of gyroscopes
– Current technology

• Implementation
– Algorithms
– Feedback and control

2
What is a Gyroscope?

• Device used to measure or maintain orientation

• Works on the principals of angular momentum

• Initial axis of rotation is conserved

• Consists of a spinning mass on an axel

3
How Gyroscopes Work

• Mechanical Gyroscope
• Spinning mass mounted on gimbals
• Free-output vs. Fixed-output
• Sensors on axis to detect rotation
• Procession

• Electronic Gyroscope
• Coriolis vibratory gyroscope
• Proof mass fed oscillating current to induce vibrations
• Vibrating mass tends to oscillate in initial plane of
reference
• When rotated, oscillations in orthogonal plane
detected by circuitry
4
Common Uses
Gyrocompass
• Used by ships to find true north
• Seeks minimum potential energy

Stability Assistance
• Hubble Space Telescope
• Bicycles

Inertial Guidance System

• Guided Missiles
• Measure angular velocity in inertial reference frame
• Detect changes to orientation
• Combined with accelerometer for 6 axis sensor
5
Consumer Electronics

Wii Remote
• Tilt, yaw, pitch
• Rate of angular movement

Smart Phones
• Screen Orientation
• Gaming Input

Laptops
• Free fall detection

6
History of Gyroscopes

• Initially a toy, not a tool

– Tops were common in ancient civilizations
– Began to be used in naval navigation and science during
the 18th and 19th centuries

1852 French gyroscope used 1860 gyro used to model orbital

to measure Earth’s rotation motion
History of Gyroscopes
• Integration with electronics
– In the early 20th century, gyroscopes became combine
with electric motors, allowing them to operate without
mechanical power
– Miniaturized during WWII for torpedo, ship, and plane
navigation
– Further miniaturized with the advent for silicon-based
electronics

WWII era bomb release control

mechanism Common $50 consumer
gyroscope available on Sparkfun
Types of Gyroscopes
• Rotary gyroscope
– Rotor suspended in a gambol spins independently in order
to conserve angular momentum
– Mostly unused in modern systems

• Fiber optic gyroscope (FOG)

– Fiber optic coil determines changes in orientation by path
of light in the coil
– Beam traveling against rotation has slightly shorter path

• Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)

– Uses very small vibrating mechanism to detect changes

• London moment
– Spinning superconductor generates a magnetic field
– Extremely accurate tool or modern science
Common Gyroscope Criteria

• Performance
– Measurement range
– Number of sensing axes
– Nonlinearity
– Bandwidth
– Angular Random Walk (ARW)
– Bias
– Bias Drift
– Bias Instability

• Specifications
– Cost
– Working temperature range
– Shock survivability
– Size/Mass
10
Angular Random Walk

11
Examination of Recent Gyros

12
General Algorithms
•Noise reduction via low pass filter

•Scale calibration to get meaning from gyroscope data

•Integrate data over time to get “absolute angle”

•Enhancement using Kalman filter

• Can reduce/eliminate integration drift

13
Inertial Navigation Systems

• Dead reckoning – using previous position to determine

current position

• Used on ships, aircraft, submarines, missiles,

spacecraft, etc

• Firefighters/military – step based INS

14
GPS/INS

GPS INS

• Low refresh rate • High refresh rate

– 10Hz? 20Hz? – Kilohertz
• Relatively low resolution • Relatively high resolution
– Location to n meters – But prone to drift
• Limited to outdoors • Doesn’t rely on satellites

Combine both sensors using Kalman Filter to

produce highly accurate results

15
Feedback Control Systems

Optical Image Stabilization

• Vibration detected using
gyroscopes
• Movements modeled as
sinusoid
• Lens is shifted to
counteract vibration

17
18
Refrences

• http://physics.kenyon.edu/EarlyApparatus/Mechanics/
Gyroscope/Gyroscope.html

• http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/scitech/display.cfm?ST_ID
=327

• http://orgs.usd.edu/nmm/News/Newsletter/August20
10/ConnResearch.html

• http://www.sensorwiki.org/doku.php/sensors/gyrosco
pe