A gimbal is a mechanical device with two or more rings mounted on axes at right angles to each other. It keeps objects level in unstable environments and has a wide range of practical uses, including film and aerospace applications. Gimbals are configured in sets of three gyroscopes that measure pitch, roll, and yaw for aerospace navigation. Gimbal lockout can occur when the measurement capabilities of a gimbal system are exceeded. Gimbals are often used in movies to recreate sudden movements and in situations where an object needs to rotate or spin widely.
A gimbal, also called gimbal ring, is a mechanical device consisting of two or more rings mounted on axes at right angles to each other. An object mounted on a three-ring gimbal will hover horizontally in a plane between the rings regardless of the stability of the base. Gimbals have a wide range of practical uses ranging from film to aerospace applications.
A gimbal can be used to keep objects level in unstable environments, for example many dashboard-mounted cup holders are gimbals. Gimbals are also extremely valuable in shipboard and aircraft environments, when measuring instruments such as stopwatches and compasses need to be kept level with the horizon. Gimbals can also be used for aerospace navigation, as they can be set to provide a stable measurement from a specific reference point such as the earth or the sun, regardless of their actual position in space. Gimbals used in aerospace navigation use Euler angles to orient an object such as a spacecraft.
When used for aerospace navigation, gimbals are configured in sets of three gyroscopes that measure pitch, roll, and yaw. Pitch refers to the rotation of the vessel about the transverse axis. In the example of an airplane, the nose of the aircraft is pointed up to increase the pitch and down to decrease it. Roll, also known as bank, is the rotation of the boat along a longitudinal axis, while yaw refers to the rotation about the center of mass. Gimbals are oriented with a base, such as the moon, and gimbal angles measure the vessel’s position relative to the base.
Occasionally, a condition known as gimbal lockout can occur, when the measurement capabilities of a gimbal system can be exceeded, requiring an operator to reset the gimbals. This happens when a rotation along one axis writes off another, such as when an airplane climbs straight into the air, rendering any yaw reading meaningless because the two axes are aligned in the same direction. The gimbal lock can be overcome with the addition of a redundant gyro.
Because gimbals allow objects to move through three dimensions, they are often used in movies to recreate sudden movements caused by turbulence or rough seas. Gimbals also appear in situations where an object needs to rotate or spin widely, as is often the case with movie cameras or rocket engines. Gimbals are extraordinarily useful tools in a wide variety of industries.
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