The world’s smallest, lowest cost dual-axis gyroscope for GPS portable navigation devices, the IDG-1004, has just been released by InvenSence Inc. Santa Clara, California based InvenSense manufactures integrated motion sensing solutions for mobile applications.
The IDG-1004 incorporates InvenSense’s MEMS technology of vertically driven, vibrating masses to provide a low-cost, dual-axis angular rate sensor. The sensor and electronics are integrated onto a single chip. The IDG-1004 improves dead reckoning accuracy through measuring vehicle direction with one gyroscope axis and terrain slope with the other.
Expensive GPS portable navigation systems use dead reckoning to provide uninterrupted positioning when GPS signal fixes are poor such as when obscured by tree foliage, tunnels or tall buildings. InvenSence’s small form factor dead reckoning solution will push this capability into more, smaller mobile portable navigation devices.
