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KVH Industries… FOG Factors (Tech)


Product infopage
[SatNews] The demand continues for precision pointing and stabilization as well as for affordable, accurate navigation…

KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI) has produced its 50,000th  fiber optic gyro (FOG). This milestone shows continued acceptance of the compact, affordable, and high-precision FOGs that KVH manufactures using its exclusive single-mode, polarization-maintaining E•Core and E•Core ThinFiber technology and digital signal processing (DSP) electronics.

KVH’s FOG design allows customers a high degree of flexibility in terms of the FOG form factor, output type, number of axes, installation and mounting, and performance. Thanks to this innovative design and a commitment to ongoing research and development, KVH can claim:
  • 6,000 miles (10,000 km) of optical fiber created, enough to travel from Boston, MA, to Los Angeles, CA, and back
  • More than 20 patents for FOG technology
  • A 100,000-square foot manufacturing facility employing more than 120 people in Tinley Park, IL, devoted primarily to FOG production
  • A full FOG product line ranging from single- and dual-axis rate gyros and inertial measurement units to fully integrated inertial navigation systems
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KVH’s newest FOG, the DSP-1750, began shipping in late June. This ultra-compact FOG offers maximum versatility for customers thanks to its single- and dual-axis configurations and optional magnetic shielding. Featuring a flexible design in which the optical sensor is separate from the control electronics, the DSP-1750 is composed of an optical sensor less than 1-inch high and 1.7-inches in diameter connected to power and processing electronics via a robust interlocking tether. This design allows for easy integration into a broad range of applications. Enhancements like KVH’s new ThinFiber and improved signal processing contribute to key advancements in performance for KVH FOGs as well as the systems they support. KVH is the only fiber optic gyro manufacturer in the world to create its own specially designed optical fiber, allowing for complete control over the entire production process. As a result, its open-loop fiber optic gyros offer outstanding accuracy and excellent durability thanks to innovations in several key fields, including proprietary D-shaped optical fiber with an elliptical core, innovative optical circuit design, optical component fabrication, and patented digital signal processing for improved performance. In addition to being lightweight and rugged, KVH’s FOGs provide angular rotation data without any moving parts, which significantly improves the life span of the device and allows for excellent performance in applications with high shock and/or vibration.