High sensitivity rate-integrating hemispherical resonator gyroscope with dead area compensation for damping asymmetry

The rate-integrating gyroscope (RIG) operation is considered as the next generation architecture for hemispherical resonator gyroscopes (HRGs) with advantages of direct angle measurement and unlimited dynamic range. However, this RIG operation requires high symmetry for the HRG device and the damping mismatch of the two gyroscopic modes will result in a dead area problem. This work analyzes the error mechanism of the damping asymmetry induced dead area and proposed a novel virtual procession compensation method for HRG RIG. The simulation proves the existence of the dead area as the theory predicted. More importantly, the experimental HRG RIG platform with the proposed compensation method can significantly expand the dynamic range with accurate angle measurement and overcome the problem of dead area. The earth rotation is accurate measured which is the first time that captured by a RIG scheme as a state-of-the-art result.