MEMS Gyroscope with Interferometric Detection, Phase I

Successful development of this project lays the foundation for commercial impact in a number of areas. For navigation GPS is commonly used in applications where fiber optic gyroscopes or ring laser gyroscopes are either too large or expensive. In many situations GPS signals are unreliable (such as in areas where they could be jammed or indoors) or they are unavailable such as underground. Petroleum and gas exploration, mining, aerospace systems and consumer electronic devices will benefit from the development of technology. In petroleum and gas exploration, directional drilling and wellbore navigation will benefit from the development of robust and stable MEMS scale gyroscopes capable of operation while drilling. For consumer applications this technology will enable personal navigation in areas where GPS signals are unreliable. Commercial application within NASA: The proposed technology will result in a small and low power inertial sensor capable of providing tactical grade performance comparable to a fiber optic gyro. This technology will benefit metric tracking of launch vehicles in situations where GPS signals are unreliable. Furthermore, the small size of this technology will benefit small space craft in navigation and guidance. For aerospace applications, MEMS scale gyroscopes with performance characteristic similar to that of fiber optic gyros will enable high performance navigation in small unmanned systems. More »