Sensing of the time-varying angular rate for MEMS Z-axis gyroscopes

In this paper, a nonlinear estimation strategy for sensing the time-varying angular rate of a Z-axis MEMS gyroscope is presented. An off-line adaptive least-squares estimation strategy is first developed to accurately estimate the unknown model parameters. Both axes of a Z-axis MEMS gyroscope are then actively controlled utilizing an on-line controller/observer to facilitate time-varying angular rate sensing. The proposed nonlinear estimation strategy is developed based on a Lyapunov-based analysis, which proves that the time-varying angular rate experienced by the device can be estimated accurately. Two cases for angular rate are investigated which are time-varying and constant magnitudes. An adaptive controller/observer was also utilized for sensing the angular rate to investigate the performance of the proposed controller/observer. Representative numerical results are discussed to demonstrate the performance of the proposed nonlinear strategy in accurately sensing the applied angular rate. Overall, the proposed nonlinear controller/observer improves sensing the constant angular rate by 50% and the time-varying angular rate by 90% when compared with an adaptive controller/observer. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved