How to Mount a Gyro

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by WizenedEE

Why does it matter how close to the center of the robot they are? I've been trying to figure that one out for a while.

For most yaw rate sensors, in most situations we're likely to encounter in FRC, it shouldn't matter. The entire robot is turning at the same rate. But in extreme conditions, linear acceleration can interfere with the ability of the sensor to measure the yaw rate. If you put the sensor far from the center of rotation, centripetal acceleration could result in inaccurate values being provided.

For example, the ADXRS300 datasheet says that a linear acceleration will cause a false response of 0.2 °/s/g. It's not much, but it introduces a rotational bias that can look like gyro drift as the sensor turns first one direction, then the other.