KVH Industries — FOG Expansion

In June of 2009, KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI) introduced the world’s most compact precision fiber optic gyro (FOG), the affordable DSP-1500. With a sensing element only 1.5 inches in diameter and a tethered connection to power, processing, and channel electronics boards, the DSP-1500 offered a breakthrough blend of accuracy, low cost, and reliability for stabilization and pointing applications.

Now, KVH has expanded the capabilities and versatility of this lightweight FOG with the introduction of a new, dual-axis DSP-1500 configuration, which is now shipping for integration within a wide range of applications, such as gimbaled optical systems. Both the single- and dual-axis DSP-1500 configurations are now in use. Among the first applications relying on the DSP-1500 is the SlimSAR small aperture radar system from Artemis, Inc., which is used on small tactical unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

The DSP-1500 is a valuable alternative to other gyro stabilization solutions because its optical sensors are only 1.5 inches in diameter and 0.8 inches tall, weigh just .09 lbs., and can be installed up to 12 inches away from the power and processing electronics. With its single strand of optical fiber wound into a package that is approximately the diameter of a U.S. quarter, the DSP-1500 offers outstanding performance in an ultra-compact, lightweight package that facilitates flexible installations. It also features KVH’s patented Digital Signal Processing (DSP) electronics design, which offers significant performance improvements in such critical areas as bias stability, scale factor linearity, turn-on to turn-on repeatability, and high bandwidth. Despite its remarkably small form factor, KVH’s DSP electronics design also overcomes the limitations of analog signal processing, virtually eliminating temperature-sensitive drift and rotation errors. As a result, the exceptional low noise (ARW), insensitivity to cross-axis error, and shock and vibration robustness make the DSP-1500 ideal for a variety of demanding applications, including those that require precise measurement of rate and turning angle.