On Control System Design for the Conventional Mode of Operation of Vibrational Gyroscopes

This paper presents a novel control circuitry design for both vibrating axes (drive and sense) of vibrational gyroscopes, and a new sensing method for time-varying rotation rates. The control design is motivated to address the challenges posed by manufacturing imperfection and environment vibrations that are particularly pronounced in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) gyroscopes. The method of choice is active disturbance rejection control that, unlike most existing control design methods, does not depend on an accurate model of the plant. The task of control design is simplified when the internal dynamics, such as mechanical cross coupling between the drive and sense axes, and external vibrating forces are estimated and cancelled in real time. In both simulation and hardware tests on a vibrational piezoelectric beam gyroscope, the proposed controller proves to be robust against structural uncertainties; it also facilitates accurate sensing of time-varying rotation rates. The results demonstrate a simple, economic, control solution for compensating the manufacturing imperfections and improving sensing performance of the MEMS gyroscopes.