Gyro

The Gyro is an internal component of all BattleMechs, IndustrialMechs and OmniMechs. The gyro is required to help establish balance and, in times of imbalance, prevent the 'Mech from falling.

Balance

The gyro is be able to help establish center-of-mass equilibrium for the BattleMech in a variety of environments. In normal or high gravity, at least one full set of accelerometers is used. Since accelerometers have little use in low-G environments, gyros must also possess a traditional gyroscope for direction sense, as piloting in zero-G is not inherently more difficult than in normal or high gravity (see Note). Neither accelerometers nor rudimentary gyroscopes require extensive amounts of space or mass within the BattleMech.

However, gyroscopic orientation-sensing and accelerometer feedback is not enough to maintain control of the 'Mech. Accelerometers and gyroscopes can not distinguish between intentional and hazardous changes in acceleration or direction, for instance the jerk felt when accelerating from standing to running, or the sudden change of mass due to a lost limb. In these situations, the MechWarrior's own equilibrium is monitored by the Neurohelmet and utilized by the gyro's computer. In the event both the MechWarrior and the balance-sensing mechanisms of the BattleMech agree, the gyro attempts to stabilize the machine.

Angular Acceleration

The BattleMech gyro is able to assist with correcting falls through interactions with massive, rotating wheels, likened to "reaction wheels". Multiple wheels spin continuously within the active 'Mech, with 1 or more stabilizing a different axis, x, y, or z. In the event both the gyro and the pilot's neurohelmet interface detect and imbalance, the gyro will attempt to correct the imbalance by gripping wheels on one or more axes, feeding off their immense angular momentum by pulling or pushing against their spin. The resulting change in angular acceleration is often enough to stabilize the 'Mech.

Continuously maintaining large angular momenta requires the gyro to be constructed in one of two ways in order to counteract undesired gyroscopic effects. Gyros can be housed in a freely moving sphere - the sphere is immobilized in moments of imbalance. Alternatively, multiple wheels can stabilize each axis, their net angular momentum equaling 0 about each axis.

While these gyro's wheels have been likened to Reaction wheels, this analogy is not quite true. Traditional reaction wheels are set in motion in order to fix an orientation on an axis by conservation of angular momentum.

Note

While low-Gravity environments can alter ballistic trajectories, there is no mention of low-G or zero-G impairing 'Mech operation in Total Warfare, Tactical Operations, or Strategic Operations.

Bibliography

• TechManual, pp. 34-35