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From: jdunn@polyslo.calpoly.EDU (Jeff Dunn)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: optical gyros
Message-ID: <11785@milton.u.washington.edu>
Date: 27 Nov 90 16:57:58 GMT
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ichs@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (David J Frerichs) writes:
>
>does anyone know of a supplier of optical gyroscopes...???
>-or-
>any sort of lightweight gyro...???
>
>I think the net has finnaly stumbled onto the solution of the simple detection
>of lateral movements (turning the head)...

This may be a solution, but not a simple one.  As someone else mentioned, drift
will be a major problem.  Getting a small system to work reliably may take
years of r & d.

>The accelerometer idea is a bit flaky though... who wants to whip their head
>around just to get the movement to register... for vertical and twisting
>motion, I think mercury switches is still the best idea...

You don't have to "whip" your head around to register an acceleration.  
Accelerometers were available a couple of years ago that could detect
forces as small as 10E-6 g.  I believe this can detect rotational motion
less than 1 RPM (depending on the radius of the object, of course).

>-dfRERICHS
>Univ of IL/CU
>Dept of CompEng

-jd
jdunn@polyslo.calpoly.edu

-- 
    

                                 TALK HARD