Key Features:
- Affordable triple-axis gyro
- Based around the latest gyro technology, the L3GD20H from STMicro
- Can be set to ±250, ±500, or ±2000 degree-per-second scale for a large range of sensitivity
- 3.3V regulator on the breakout board to power it from 5V
A gyroscope is a type of sensor that can sense twisting and turning motions. Often paired with an accelerometer, you can use these to do 3D motion capture and inertial measurement (that is - you can tell how an object is moving!) As these sensors become more popular and easier to manufacture, the prices for them have dropped to the point where you can easily afford a triple-axis gyro! Only a decade ago, this space-tech sensor would have been hundreds of dollars.
This breakout board is the upgrade to the L3G4200 with three full axes of sensing. There's also built in high and low pass sensing to make data processing easier. The chip supports both I2C and SPI so you can interface with any microcontroller easily. Since this chip is a 3.3V max device, it's soldered to a breakout board with level shifting circuitry so you can use the I2C or SPI interface safely using a 5V interface device. Since we expect people will want to attach it firmly to their project, the PCB comes with four 2.1mm mounting holes. Use #2-56 imperial or M2 screws screws. Getting started is easy - simply connect SDA to your Arduino I2C data pin (On the UNO this is A4), SCL to I2C clock (Uno: A5), GND to ground, and Vin to 3 or 5VDC. Then install and run Adafruit's easy to use Arduino library, which will print out the XYZ sensor data to the serial terminal.
Item Specifics
4 mounting holes
Mounting hole size: 2.1mm
Length: 30.65mm / 1.2"
Width: 19.11mm / 0.75"
Height: 3mm / 0.12"
Weight: 2.02g / .07oz
This board/chip uses I2C 7-bit address 0x6B.