Norway’s Sensonor Technologies solid state STIM210 Gyro is the world’s first gyro entirely based on semiconductor technology in combination with MEMS – Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems. It can now safely be considered as a success, with production currently up to around 250 per week.
It is used in a variety of applications, ranging from cameras and aerial platforms, unmanned aircraft systems, drilling equipment and agricultural machinery. Since STIM200 series was introduced last summer the company has now sold over 12 000 gyros.
In December, STIM210 was extended with additional sensors, three inclinometers and three accelerometers to increase the scope, especially in navigation.
“The interest in our products is enormous, especially from Asian countries. I dare say that there are many others who could have developed these devices. We have a unique technology and expertise in MEMS and I will say we are world leaders. This is a Norwegian engineering at its very best. It should also be mentioned that the contribution from Innovation Norway and the Norwegian Research Council has been critical to our position”, said CEO Sverre Horntvedt.
Sensonor Technologies was previously best known for its sensors to the automotive industry. When Infineon withdrew from the company a couple of years ago, it lost much of high volume market that the automotive industry represented.
“We had to create new products that could be suitable for our technology, knowledge and equipment. We made a strategic choice, and decided on gyros and thermal imaging arrays”, says Horntvedt.
STIM210 consists of 1, 2 or 3 ultra high accuracy gyros in a miniature package with a RS422 interface. The module function is based on an integrated 32-bit microcontroller that provides flexibility in the configuration. Electronic axis alignment is standard.
[Many thanks to Tor Olav Steine, Chairman of UAS Norway, for bringing this story to our attention – Ed.]
Source : Teknisk Ukeblad