A master acrobat
and expert in “angles”!

Gyro Sensors

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#08

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I can measure the angles things are at!
I can even measure tiny angles people can’t see.
Gyro sensors are sometimes called “angular rate sensor”.

TThe Power of Gyro Sensors

Detects angles!

In physics (the science of learning about electricity and how things move) “rotation” is when something turns at an angle.
Gyro sensors are used to measure the rotation or angle of things like cars and smartphones.
MURATA BOY can only ride his bike over narrow spots without falling because he has gyro sensors.

A drawing of MURATA BOY riding a bike on a balance beam. His gyro sensors help him balance on the narrow beam.

The Secret of the Power of Gyro Sensors

The secret trick is the “Coriolis force”.

Gyro sensors can tell the angle from the “Coriolis force” that appears when things are rotated.
The Coriolis force comes from the Earth spinning. It’s also the reason that storm clouds spin to the left in the Northern Hemisphere, and to the right in the Southern Hemisphere.

An illustration of the world showing the Coriolis force. It works in the opposite direction the earth’s rotation, and is the force that makes storm clouds rotate.

Friends of Gyro Sensors

Accelerometers

Gyro sensors are a type of sensor that use “inertial sensors,” which can tell how strongly a thing tries to stay in one place.
Inertial sensors also include “accelerometers.” These are sensors that measure when something changes speed.

Trivia

What else are they used for?

Gyro sensors measure angles accurately. They say you can tell how fast the earth spins using a gyro sensor!

Think it out!

QUESTION

The answer is all of them!
We use gyro sensors to tell drone and camera angles. Car map systems also use them to tell where the car is and what “angle” it is turned toward.

Find the Gyro Sensor!