Looking for recommendations for simple MEMS rate gyros and supporting curcuitry

Mar 12, 2007 4 Replies
M

Hi All.



I'm going to be needing a simple (and inexpensive) rate gyro measurement system for an upcoming set of experiments. I only need a single-axis rate gyro, but I could also use a full 3-axis system, so if the cost differential isn't too much, I'd just as soon get the 3-axis set. For that matter, if there's a system which also has 3-axis accelerometers, I could use that too.



I'd like to get a sensor that already has the communications support built-in to send digital rate data to the PC via the serial or ethernet port. Another great option would be if there's a rate gyro sensor with blue-tooth or other wireless communications system built-in.



Any experience out there? I'd appreciate your comments.



Thanks.



Matt Jardin The MathWorks


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T

One guy's "inexpensive" will give the next guy a heart attack.

For the price of one seat of Matlab with Simulink you can get five or ten Crista IMU's from Cloudcap technologies,

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Toss in the Control Systems Toolbox and you can get a few more. These are Analog Devices MEMS sensors that have been calibrated over temperature and integrated with a microprocessor for friendly communications. I think it'll meet your stated needs -- its up to you to see if it's accurate and quiet enough.

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S

"Matt Jardin" wrote in news:et3oaq$isl$ snipped-for-privacy@fred.mathworks.com:

Matt--

Check out sparkfun.com, or more specifically,

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They have 6 dof systems.

If you go this route, many of these have analog outputs, unfortunately, but a microcontroller circuit that would spit out the values at a constant rate shouldn't be a big deal to farm out. Also, make sure you get a breakout board, as the chips themselves can be nasty to solder (BGA, and all that).

A second look reveals serial appliances further down the same page!! Huzzah!

Let me know if I can be of help.

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S

Scott Seidman wrote in news:Xns98F174DBFE519scottseidmanmindspri@130.133.1.4:

Oops, my wandering took me off the page. Check out

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for gyros.

You may still need to farm out the serial interface, but my guess is the ucontroller nerds at Sparkfun would be happy to set you up at nominal prices. I'd do it myself if you're really stuck, but it might take a bit of time.

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M

This looks pretty interesting. They even have a Bluetooth wireless version -- that is about exactly what I need. Thanks for the reference.

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