19-05-2025
China develops new fibre-optic gyroscope that can withstand a range of temperatures
A team of Chinese scientists has reportedly developed a new fibre-optic gyroscope that is stable across a wide range of temperatures. The development could prove crucial for military, deep-sea, or space navigation, where satellite signals can be blocked or are unreliable. Gyroscopes are critical pieces of equipment used in navigation of planes, ships, submarines, and oil rigs.
A gyroscope measures orientation and rotation. Simply put, it tells you which way you're pointing, moving or how you're turning without the need for GPS or satellites. To this end, you can think of it like an extremely accurate internal compass and turn tracker.
Modern high-precision gyroscopes use solid optical fibers that bend light to measure movement. However, these fibers are easily affected by heat, radiation, and magnetic fields, especially in extreme environments.
Unlike traditional gyroscopes that use spinning mechanical parts, fibre-optic gyroscopes detect movement by tracking changes in how light travels through optical fibres.
One widely used type, the interferometric fibre-optic gyroscope (IFOG), offers a simple design with high precision, making it popular in military and civilian applications. However, progress on IFOGs has been limited due to the fibres' physical attributes.
To address the issue, a joint research team from Tianjin Navigation Instruments Research Institute and Jinan University in Guangzhou replaced the solid fibers with hollow air-core fibers, where light travels primarily through air instead of glass. According to the team, the switch to hollow optical fibers makes the gyroscope 10x less sensitive to temperature changes.
According to the team, the new hollow fibre-optic gyroscope is also less susceptible to magnetic fields and radiation, making it better suited for harsh environments like space or deep-sea drilling.
"We present a groundbreaking navigation-grade interferometric air-core fibre-optic gyroscope," the researchers wrote in the study published last month. This is "the first instance of navigation-grade performance in air-core [fibre-optic gyroscopes]," the team added.
A report in the South China Morning Post (SCMP) cited the scientific team which claimed that the hollow-fiber gyroscope achieved a record accuracy. However, the instrument is not yet as precise as the best-performing traditional gyroscopes. Although it is getting close and has shown far better resistance to environmental issues.
"We have achieved the world record measurement accuracy in air-core fibre gyroscopes, entered the ranks of 'high-precision fibre gyroscopes', and pointed out the direction for further optimisation," said corresponding author Ding Wei, a professor at the Jinan University College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, in an interview to SCMP.
Navigation systems that work without GPS are vital for military, aerospace, and underwater operations. This new tech could lead to smaller, cheaper, and more energy-efficient navigation systems that don't need bulky protective parts.
The team notes that the creation is a step closer to next-gen inertial navigation systems that can function in space, inside mountains, or deep under the sea—places GPS doesn't reach.
"These results represent a significant step towards long-standing promise of high-precision inertial navigation applications with superior environmental adaptability," the researchers stated in their paper.
The study has been published in the journal Nature Communications.
