GyrosDrift

GyrosDrift is a term used in the field of inertial measurement and navigation to describe the gradual deviation of a gyroscope-based attitude estimate from true orientation. It arises when the angular rate data produced by rate gyroscopes are integrated to maintain a running estimate of attitude, but the sensor outputs contain biases, scale errors, and noise that accumulate over time.

Causes include bias instability, random walk of the gyroscope output, temperature dependence, misalignment between sensor axes, mounting errors, and mechanical vibration. Nonlinearities and cross-coupling between axes can also contribute, as can aging of the sensor components.

The effect of GyrosDrift is most noticeable in inertial navigation systems and autopilots, where the integrating process converts small biases into large attitude errors. In practice, drift is mitigated by sensor fusion with other measurements, such as accelerometers, magnetometers, or satellite navigation data, and by employing estimation filters that model bias as a state to be estimated.

Mitigation strategies include frequent calibration, temperature compensation, and using Kalman or complementary filters to separate true rotation from bias. High-quality gyroscopes with low bias drift reduce the rate of drift, while limiting the integration time and implementing resets using external references help maintain accuracy.

Applications include aerospace inertial navigation, drone flight control, spacecraft attitude determination, and marine navigation where precise orientation tracking is required.

See also: gyroscope, gyro bias, inertial navigation system, attitude estimation, sensor fusion, drift.