Hardware

MEMS

MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) are miniaturized devices that integrate mechanical elements and electronics on silicon using semiconductor fabrication, with feature sizes from micrometers to millimeters. In robotics, MEMS accelerometers and gyroscopes constitute virtually all low-cost inertial measurement units, and MEMS mirrors enable compact solid-state LiDAR. Mass production makes them cheap and small, though they exhibit more bias drift and noise than fiber-optic or ring-laser alternatives.

Why it matters for physical AI

Commodity MEMS inertial sensing is what makes drones, legged robots, and consumer-priced platforms feasible; understanding its drift characteristics drives sensor fusion design in every modern state estimator.