Fiber-optic gyroscopes: In harsh, confining environments this advanced gyroscope, a close cousin to the ring laser gyro, offers great advantages

Fiber-optic gyroscopes are the stuff of an applications engineer's dreams. They can be small and extremely rugged. They turn on instantly, have long shelf life, are virtually maintenance-free, and will be low in cost. As “strapdown” devices, they do not require expensive gimbaled mounting systems, and they are free of the low-rotation-rate lock-in that causes other optical gyro types to produce false zero outputs.