Systron Donner Inertial Division (SDID), a operating division of Custom Sensors & Technologies (CST), introduces DIGI-Q™, a new compact Digital Quartz Rate Sensor featuring low noise, increased shock survivability, and excellent bias stability over temperature. The DIGI-Q offers a single-axis, digital rate channel sensor solution to the system designer. It utilizes Systron Donner’s proven quartz MEMS technology and rivals the performance of Fiber Optic Gyro (FOG) devices traditionally used in medium performance inertial applications. DIGI-Q is ideally suited for Platform Stabilization, Land vehicle Navigation Systems, Aerospace AHRS and Flight Control Systems, Industrial Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Motion Sensing, Precision Aiming and Pointing, and a variety of other specialty applications. The unit’s Digital Signal Processing (DSP) technology offers significant improvement in bias performance over temperature, as well as improved noise, scale factor, scale factor linearity and vibration rectification performance. An on-board microprocessor compensates for errors, providing IMU-level gyro accuracies. DIGI-Q features include a standard full scale range of ±1000º/second, bias over temperature of <10 degrees/hour, bias in-run stability of 3 degrees/hour, rate noise of 0.05 deg/rt-hr, <0.05% linearity (full range), input power is 12 to 15Vdc, at <5W, small footprint (2.5 x 3.25 x 0.96 inch high), light weight (less than 0.5 lbs), and an RS-232 or RS-422 compatible digital output. Other robust performance specifications include an operating temperature of -548 to +718C (Storage -548 to +858C), operating vibration of 12 g rms for performance and 19 g rms for endurance, and shock rating to 150g (1/2sine@11msec). Adam Bridge, Product Marketing Manager, stated, “We are very excited to introduce such a versatile, precision gyro.” He further cited, “The DIGI-Q offers system designers the first cost effective MEMS gyro solution for the most demanding mid performance system applications.”
