iFixit and Chipworks teardown the iPhone 4's gyroscope
You didn't think the folks at iFixit would simply teardown the iPhone 4 and call it a day, did you? They've now gone the extra mile and done a detailed teardown of the iPhone 4's gyroscope with a little help from Chipworks. That's of course a MEMS (or microelectromechanical system) gyroscope and, according to Chipworks, nearly identical to an off-the-shelf STMicroelectronics L3G4200D gyroscope, which is actually what they used for the teardown. What's more, they also went even further and put another gyroscope (not used in the iPhone 4) under an electron microscope just to illustrate how incredibly complex and minute the structure of MEMS gyroscopes are. Head on past the break for a glimpse of that, and hit up the link below for the complete teardown.
























He gyroscope is awesome. Those iFixIt guys lack gadget souls hehe.
Got a vid of the gyro in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MwCoIe9bsc&feature=youtube_gdata
Awesome.
@arnoldphone Eliminate: Gun Range is easier when you're in a swivel chair. Fewer arm movements.
@mlayer
I cant wait for the super-advanced GPS apps that will be pushed and updated!
As of now, the GPS system using the accelomometer and the compass, the results are usually 1-10 meters off.
With this new technology, we are about to see results that are in the cm`s.
Looks like something from starwars
@Sled
Looks like the floor plans for Job's house.
@New Reformation
Looks like floor plans for the new penitentiary where jobs will be living in.
@Sled. Agreed, They completely stole the new Floor pattern designs I had planned for the Death Star IV
@Lord Vader Hopefully that 2 meter exhaust tube was patched!
@Rabid
Do you doubt Lord Vader?
@spartandre217 What kind of rediculous question is that? He isnt the Dark Lord of the Sith for no reason!
@Sled
Why, its just BEAUTIFUL!
@Lord Vader wait a minute what happened to III?
@Lord Vader
Many Bothans died to bring us this information....
@maveric101
Above you at night?
That's no moon.
Anyone else see the Twilight Zone opening scenes?
Nice
What's a gyroscope? :O
@Abbas64
A combination of
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyros
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scope
What did you think?
@Abbas64 its kinda an accelerometer, but can also sense if you are, idk, spinning around, live a wii motion plus. An accelerometer only senses which way is gravity, if you rotate the hone with a gyroscope, it will be sensed.
@Abbas64
Basically a rotational accelerometer, where the iPhone previously only had a linear accelerometer.
@Abbas64 http://lmgtfy.com/?q=gyroscope
@Abbas64 An accelerometer can detect when you move something back & forth (or whatever direction). However, by itself, it cannot detect rotation. That's what a gyroscope can do. It can detect how quickly you are rotating something around an axis. Both accelerometers & gyros are "relative" sensors, in that they indicate only changes in value rather than absolute values. That's why there's also a magnetometer in the iPhone 4, which is a fancy 3D compass. Each type of sensor has its strengths & weaknesses, but put them all together and you've got a good way to figure out exactly how the phone is positioned, being moved, and being rotated.
@CityZen Btw, to those folks who ask "Why didn't Apple put gyros into the 3G iPhone?" the answer is that a gyro is a much much more complex device than an accelerometer, and gyros that were this small and affordable did not exist until recently.
A 3D accelerometer is like a weight surrounded by springs. When you move it, the weight compresses some springs and stretches others. You just need to detect the displacement to measure the acceleration.
A 1D gyro is a device that has a motor to move it back and forth along one axis, while being able to detect very tiny displacements (due to the Coriolis effect) along another axis. Put together 3 of these to make a 3D gyro.
@Abbas64
Nicely put guys, i get it now. Watched the video and it looks friggin cool in action.
Magic! Ladies and gentlemen!
At least someone could do something COMPLETELY RIGHT with the phone. no flaws here
go ahead and throw it in the trash and get an Android OS.
@furmandude2059
fucking dipshit!
@dimithra
+1
"...nearly identical to an off-the-shelf STMicroelectronics L3G4200D gyroscope"?
NONSENSE! Apple invented the gyroscope!
@TheTabe
did apple claim to invent the gyroscope? I missed that part of the keynote. Kindly send a link. Thanks.
@TomSawyer Its a Jobs given fact that whatever Apple crams into their product, was invented by Apple. That said, if Apple ever adds tiny solar panels to their iphone, it means nothing less that Apple not only invented solar panels on phones but also the nigh infinite power of the sun collected by those panels - courtesy of our sun-god Jobs.
Got it?
@TomSawyer
LOL! ^That...
@TheTabe
^^^ Watch out for Android pollution on this thread now...
@jaffreywali
^^Show me where anything was said about Android... I'm not an Android guy.
@TheTabe Don't mind the iFools. They have Android on the brain now. Since Android is starting to run away with the show anyone disliking anything about the iPhone or Apple HAS to be from and Android fanboy in their minds.
It would also make an awesome Call of Duty map. :)
@One Love
HeadShot!
@One Love
if apple made call of duty.
Everyone would hack to 10th
everyone would be in lines
All the same... But times 10!
Unless you put the game in wrong.
Does your Evo have it? Nopes. It just has crashing apps.
@magadget
and short battery life, and bricked OTA updates, and poor sales, and....etc
@TomSawyer
At least it can make a phone call.
i would like to see how these insanely small parts are manufactured...
@erwin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photolithography
@erwin
Try this:
http://apcmag.com/picture-gallery-how-a-chip-is-made.htm?page=1
@erwin Similar to a semi-conductor circuit, basicly.
@LFCARS Now that was an amazing article. Thx
I want a nice print of this to hang on my wall as art. Does anyone know of a website that does that for chip designs? What a cool pattern (and technology)!
@MRPysnik Buy a spirograph and make your own - in color too!