In this modern era of ubiquitous location and navigation systems, high remaining static accuracy and reliability are key critical requirements, especially in the aerospace and defense industries, as well as robotics and autonomous vehicle applications. To facilitate millimeter-level positioning and navigation, one of the technologies used is a fiber optic gyro, or fog.
What are fiber optic gyros?
A fiber optic gyroscope is a strategic measurement device that doesn't have moving parts, and it allows reading the angular velocity (turn rate). A fog doesn't work via any vibrations; instead, it's based on the interference of light, just like that metal film that made you so uncomfortable to sense orientation changes. This is possible due to the "Sagnac effect," a physical phenomenon that reveals how light moves when it goes along a loop of optical fiber.
A fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) was first proposed in 1974 by researchers from the Envy State University and is currently widely used due to its many advantages. This is a compensated gyroscope which operates on a classic Stamford gyro principle, but instead of mechanical bearings, measures rotation speed using the interference of light beams transmitted through sensitive elements coils at two perpendicular directions. The light that passes through the coil encounters a phase shift when it is rotated, due to which its rotation rate can be calculated.
Primary benefits of fiber optic gyros
No moving parts
Because fiber optic gyros use light instead of mechanical components, they are less fragile and less likely to wear or break.
High precision
The advantages of fogs are their high sensitivity and accuracy, therefore ideal for aerospace, missile guidance operations, as well as underwater navigation.
Compact and lightweight
The fibre optic gyros are quite smaller and lighter than their conventional mechanical counterparts, which makes them optimal for space-limited fields such as robotics and UAVs.
Low maintenance
Having fewer mechanical parts, these gyros need little maintenance and have a longer life span.
Applications of fiber optic gyros
Aerospace and defense: Applications in aircraft, missiles, or spacecraft for inertial navigation when GPS is not reliable or has no access.
Autonomous vehicles: Fiber optic gyros provide self-driving cars and drones with orientation data accurate to 0.2 degrees' full scale.
Submarine and marine navigation: In situations where GPS signals are blocked, fog offers crucial directional data.
Oil and gas exploration: Used in directional drilling to align the drilling path underground accurately.
Why you should select fiber optic gyros as opposed to any other technology:
Some other gyroscope technologies, like MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems), are cheaper and smaller, but tend to be less accurate and more prone to drift, though they are used over a longer period of time. Fiber optic gyros (fogs) have an excellent balance of these three attributes, making them highly reliable for mission-critical applications.
Conclusion: fiber optic gyros, past, present & future
Industries racing to increase automation, autonomy, and data-driven control require ever-greater numbers of trusty inertial sensors. Cost-effective, miniaturized fiber optic gyros will open up new markets for commercial and consumer applications as well.
Conclusion
Modern navigation and orientation systems, based on rates of rotation, are the core piece. With a unique set of capabilities to deliver highly precise data in adverse environments, these sensors play an essential role in the technologies associated with various businesses.
For any applications that require reliable inertial measurement, fogs represent a tried and true, not to mention future-proof solution.
This article's author is Liam Oliver. For additional information regarding Fiber optic gyroscope please continue browsing our website.
