GyroChip® – Quartz Rate Sensor

Induction year: 2025

Inducted organizations:

BEI Technologies

Individual commendations:

Asad M. Madni

The GyroChip is the commercialized variety of a Quartz Rate Sensor developed by BEI Technologies. The sensing device is a small vibrating quartz gyroscope used as an inertial measurement sensor. Measurements of rotational spin rate and orientation are the heart of many navigation, stabilization and guidance systems. The BEI sensor gained widespread use among a broad variety of commercial and government applications. It’s used by NASA and many other aerospace and defense applications, and it’s used in over 90 types of aircraft and over 80 models of passenger cars. Over 55 million GyroChips have been produced to serve the automotive industry alone. In the 1990’s BEI was producing high precision inertial measurement devices for space, missile and aircraft applications. The Quartz Rate Sensor was originally developed as the next generation of gyroscope-based sensors. Commercialization efforts were key. The company took this precise but expensive airborne technology and broadened its applicability to consumer products. By simplifying the design and improving the manufacturing process, they created a low-cost and highly accurate sensor. This success and widespread adoption of this device revolutionized navigation and stability control in aerospace and automotive systems.