Full circle commercialization of a dual-use micromachined quartz rate sensor technology

Commercialization of MEMS gyroscopes for high volume, low-cost applications has posed significant challenges for many companies. This paper describes the strategic vision, commercialization efforts and key technology roadmap milestones which were defined and implemented by BEI Technologies, Inc. at its subsidiary, Systron Donner Inertial Division (SDID) in order to commercialize its quartz rate sensor (QRS) technology (referred to as the GyroChipreg) to satisfy the needs of Aerospace and Defense (A&D), and automotive markets. Portions of this paper are adapted from earlier papers by Madni and Costlow