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Review
. 2017 Oct 7;17(10):2284.
doi: 10.3390/s17102284.

Gyroscope Technology and Applications: A Review in the Industrial Perspective

Affiliations
Review

Gyroscope Technology and Applications: A Review in the Industrial Perspective

Vittorio M N Passaro et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

This paper is an overview of current gyroscopes and their roles based on their applications. The considered gyroscopes include mechanical gyroscopes and optical gyroscopes at macro- and micro-scale. Particularly, gyroscope technologies commercially available, such as Mechanical Gyroscopes, silicon MEMS Gyroscopes, Ring Laser Gyroscopes (RLGs) and Fiber-Optic Gyroscopes (FOGs), are discussed. The main features of these gyroscopes and their technologies are linked to their performance.

Keywords: MEMS gyroscopes; mechanical gyroscopes; optical gyroscopes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Scale factor stability (i.e., the accuracy of the gyroscope in monitoring the sensed angular velocity), expressed in parts per million (ppm), as a function of the bias stability (intrinsically dependent on the gyroscope technology) for Mechanical Gyroscopes, Ring Laser Gyroscopes (RLG), Interferometric Fiber-Optic gyroscopes (IFOG), Quartz, Dynamically Tuned Gyroscopes (DTG), Rate and Integrating Gyroscopes and MEMS.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Elements of a mechanical gyroscope and main parameters.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mechanical rate gyroscope.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Classes of optical gyroscopes.
Figure 5
Figure 5
In a disk rotating with a clockwise (CW) angular velocity: (a) different rotation induced optical paths of the clockwise and counter-clockwise (CCW) optical beams, LCW and LCCW, respectively; and (b) identical difference, ΔS, between the rotation induced optical paths of the clockwise and counter-clockwise optical beam, and the standing optical path.
Figure 6
Figure 6
RLG made by a triangular optical resonator.
Figure 7
Figure 7
IFOG configuration.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Intensity I of the output photo-current of the photo-detector.
Figure 9
Figure 9
(a) Coriolis acceleration (ac) acting on a moving particle; and (b) mass-spring model of a MEMS gyroscope.

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