Measuring Angles in an Environmentally Exposed Gimbal Assembly

Abstract

Raytheon Missile Systems has a need for an angular rate measurement system to be implemented within the allocated space at the front of an existing weapon system known as Paveway™. Ultimately, the armament needs to be more accurate and thus the need for this measurement system, which measures the angular rate of change between two bodies rotating about each other on a two axis gimbal assembly, was born. The system must be environmentally sealed, operate on a fixed voltage supplied by the weapon, have low friction, provide low error measurements, and most importantly be low cost. The end design involved the usage of two COTS (commercial off the shelf) gyroscopes that would not only be able to measure the angular rate of change of both pitch and yaw, but be able to easily satisfy all of the other requirements posed by the sponsor as well. The final technical report discusses the high level design process, hardware and software implementation, as well as testing results and project conclusion. Additionally, the project’s mitigation plan, which was a large part of the project, will also be discussed further in Appendix C.