A Revolution in Rotation Sensing

Introduction

Rotation sensors, also called gyroscopes, are ubiquitous in consumer electronics, navigation, and environmental sensing. The most advanced gyroscopes are ring lasers that are based on the Sagnac effect.

Limitations of Current Devices

All current compact and transportable devices, however, show significant drift and limited sensitivity, which precludes their usage in fields of application where extremely small rotation rates in the nrad/s to prad/s range need to be measured.

Technical Origins of Limitations

These limitations are of purely technical origin: they derive from:

• Residual movement of the gaseous laser medium
• Light scattering
• Acoustic fiber noise

Innovative Design

Within the scope of an ERC Starting Grant, we have implemented a disruptively different design of a ring laser gyroscope that circumvents these limitations, now allowing for a compact and transportable device with near-zero drift and improved sensitivity.

Applications

Such a device is in high demand, for example, in seismology, where it would benefit earthquake and tsunami early warning systems.

Environmental Monitoring

Sensing of environmental ground motion is imperative in the context of climate change.

Structural Health Monitoring

Monitoring the structural health of bridges and other large-scale constructions is another pressing task, where highly precise acquisition of rotation and distortion will have a massive impact on the early and reliable detection of structural fatigue.

Project Goals

Within GyroRevolution, we will:

1. Demonstrate the supremacy of our concept and show operation outside of the laboratory.
2. Develop an IPR strategy and prepare a patent application.
3. Conduct a detailed competitor and market analysis as the first step on the pathway of deployment via a spin-out company.
4. Intensify contacts with companies to prepare for future partnerships.
5. Get involved with potential end-users early on to adapt our innovative technology to their needs.

Conclusion

GyroRevolution marks the first and decisive step in technology transfer from fundamental research to a scalable device with a wide range of applications.