An angular acceleration sensor inspired by the vestibular system with a fully circular fluid-channel and thermal read-out

Abstract

We report on an angular accelerometer based on the semicircular channels of the vestibular system. The accelerometer consists of a water-filled circular tube, wherein the fluid flow velocity is measured thermally as a representation for the external angular acceleration. Measurements show a linear response for angular acceleration amplitudes up to 2×10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">5</sup> ° s <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">−2</sup> .