[dtengineering]

Originally Posted by EricVanWyk

I think the best way to understand a MEMs accelerometer is to look at one - http://archives.sensorsmag.com/artic...03/20/fig1.jpg is a 3axis
http://www.sensorsmag.com/sensors/da...34974/fig6.jpg is an early prototype that is easier to understand.

Essentially, you have a mass (the middle bit) attached by springs (the bits that wind back and forth) to the frame (the outer bit). When you accelerate the frame, the mass lags behind it. The distance it lags is proportional to the acceleration.

Cool link. Here's another image, but of a bubble-based MEMS acellerometer http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_te...i=37372,00.asp

There is also more than one way to make a MEMS gyro. This link http://www.sensorsmag.com/articles/0203/14/ is pretty good at explaining gyros in the second half of the article, and although it might not be introductory-level reading throughout, it's a pretty good little write up on accelerometers and gyros.

Jason