OSCP Unveils Three Axis Photonic IMU
OSCP unveils the MK2Z-3 photonic IMU, offering up to three photonic gyro axes in a sub-one-kilogram enclosure.
OSCP has unveiled the MK2Z-3, a photonic inertial measurement unit in development, at Silicon Valley Space Week. The Montréal company’s new unit can incorporate photonic gyroscopes on one, two or all three axes within a single enclosure. It weighs under one kilogram, occupies less than one litre and has a design target for gyro bias stability of 0.01 degrees per hour or better. OSCP plans to ship samples in 2027.
Built For Small Missions
The MK2Z-3 develops OSCP’s MK2Z prototype, which uses a photonic gyroscope on the Z axis. Its configurable design is intended to allow integrators to select the required sensor arrangement without redesigning around it.
Target applications include small satellites, launch vehicles, landers, re-entry capsules and planetary rovers, as well as long-range, long-endurance platforms on Earth operating without satellite positioning.
Kazem Zandi, founder and chief executive of OSCP, said:
“A spacecraft or a lander has to keep track of its own attitude when there is nothing outside to check against. That is a gyroscope problem. With the MK2Z-3 we are taking the photonic gyro we built for one axis and giving it to all three, in a package a small mission can carry.”
Compatible Customer Interfaces
The unit retains the RS-422 and CAN-FD interfaces used by customers of the MK2Z, supporting integration from a single photonic axis to a three-axis configuration.
Thibaut Gravey, vice-president, product at OSCP, said:
“Customers testing the MK2Z kept asking the same question: can we have that performance on the other two axes? The MK2Z-3 is our answer. It keeps the interfaces our customers already use, RS-422 or CAN-FD, so moving up from a single photonic axis does not mean starting the integration again.”
Expanding The MK2 Family
The MK2Z-3 joins OSCP’s MK2 family, which includes the MK2M2 MEMS IMU, the MK2E2 with a photonic gyroscope on the Z axis and the MK2Z prototype. Designed in Montréal, the new unit is ITAR-free, although OSCP noted that its specifications remain design targets and may change during development.
