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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

"MEMS: Five Apps That Will Make 2010 the Year of the Gyroscope"

Micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) gyroscopes will lead to improvements in picture taking, gesture-based user interfaces, accident avoidance, GPS navigation, and human motion analysis, making 2010 a big year for the technology. R.C.J.


Gyroscopes have already proved themselves in the inertial guidance systems for aircraft, ships, spacecraft and ballistic missiles, but their use in consumer devices in 2010 will make gyroscopes a part of the common vernacular. Unlike the gimbaled, spinning-top version of gyroscopes invented in the 1800s, a modern gyroscope uses a micrometer-sized vibrating bar inside a microchip against which to measure rotational motion by virtue of the Coriolis effect. By tracking subtle rotational motions—called pitch, roll and yaw—such a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) gyroscope provides sub-millimeter-resolution tracking of the most subtle motions. Check out the five apps that will make 2010 the year of the gyroscope by clicking the link below.
Full Text: http://bit.ly/7elKep