TABLE OF CONTENTS Micromachined inertial sensors are a very versatile group of sensors with applications in many areas. They measure either linear acceleration (along one or several axes) or angular motion about one or several axes. The former is usually referred to as an accelerometer, the latter as a gyroscope. Until recently, medium to high performance inertial sensors were restricted to applications in which the cost of these sensors was not of crucial concern, such as military and aerospace systems. The dawn of micromachining has generated the possibility of producing precision inertial sensors at a price that allows their usage in cost-sensitive consumer applications. A variety of such applications already exists, mainly in the automotive industry for safety systems such as airbag release, seat belt control, active suspension, and traction control. Inertial sensors are used for military applications such as inertial guidance and smart ammunition. Medical applications include patient monitoring, for example, for Parkinson's disease. Many products, however, are currently in their early design and commercialization stage, and only one's imagination limits the range of applications. A few examples are:
Antijitter platform stabilization for video cameras;
Virtual reality applications with head-mounted displays and data gloves;
GPS backup systems;
Shock-monitoring during the shipment of sensitive goods;
Novel computer input devices;
Electronic toys.
Clearly, micromachined sensors are a highly enabling technology with a huge commercial potential. The requirements for many of the above applications are that these sensors be cheap, can fit into a small volume, and their power consumption must be suitable...
