InvenSense develops 3-axis gyroscope chip

PORTLAND, USA: InvenSense Inc, based in Sunnyvale, California, has developed a 3-axis gyroscope chip that combines separate MEMs resonators for motion-racking. This offers a cheaper alternative to remote-control devices and game controllers, according to the company.

Steven Nasiri, CEO of Invensense, claims that the company’s 3-axis gyroscope chip is the first of its type for motion-racking in the x, y and z (pitch, roll and yaw) axes. Besides, the ITG-3200 gyro chip could replace the existing remote controls, game controllers and 3-D remote controllers, said an EETimes update.

Invensense says it has delivered over 10,000 pre-production devices to makers of gaming controllers and 3-D remote controllers.

Other applications based on the 3-axis gyroscope chip are expected to be released in the first half of 2010, InvenSense says.

Among the applications of the gyroscope are 3-D peripherals such as mice and TV remote controllers and gaming controllers, dead-reckoning for navigation devices (when GPS signals are lost indoors), and image stabilisation for digital still-cameras and camera phones.

InvenSense claims that its single-chip MEMS gryoscope not only consumes 50 per cent less power but also uses 67 per cent less board space than the existing 2-chip solutions, which combine 2-axis gyros with single-axis gyros. The ITG-3200 gyro chip, measuring 4 x 4 x 0.9 millimetres, will be launched at the same price as 2-chip gyros – that is, $1 per axis.

Each of the 3 gyros, the company says, includes on-chip temperature sensor, supplies a real-time clock output to synchronise it with an applications master-controller, and has its own 16-bit analog-to-digital converter.