My assumption is it is critical for tracking an accurate step count and sleep movement for daily activity tracking purposes outside of GPS activities. Not sure how it would keep up with that stuff without it
My assumption is it is critical for tracking an accurate step count and sleep movement for daily activity tracking purposes outside of GPS activities.
Not quite. Accelerometers are used for those. The gyroscope is to provide more accurate track when using GPS in ultratrac mode. It's actually described on the official product description website.
So, it means Ultratack mode with GPS + GLONASS will be more accurate with a gyroscope? How to test it manually?
I've got Fenix 3 HR and Fenix 5X. Is it possible to compare both watches in different modes? What will I see in a result of measurement?
I don't think there is a way to turn on or off the gyroscope, it's "running" all the time. There are other factors to take into account with the comparison though.
~Do you live somewhere that GPS is traditionally hampered? ~Since the latest update to the GPS, have you given it time to soak? ~What do you deem as an accurate reading?
I own a F3HR (and went back to using it currently due to returning my 5X. Just waiting on a replacement since there were problems with mine). For me, having "ANY" mode stick to the route I am on is a bonus. Using my 1st 5X on a route I have run with my F3HR (GPS+Glonass) didn't make that big of a difference. The 5X was closer in some places over the F3HR, but in truth I am not putting my faith in that run (and 5X unit) as I had problems. Also, I think the gyroscope isn't exclusive to just Ultratrac. I might be wrong there, I know it was made for that, but it might be being used in normal navigation? Don't quote me on that.
If I were you, i'd just go and wear both models at the same time (on different wrists of course). Set the parameters for your run and try them at the same time. I plan of doing that once I get my new 5X.
So, it means Ultratack mode with GPS + GLONASS will be more accurate with a gyroscope?
In theory it should.
How to test it manually?
Hmmm, on devices without gyroscope ultratrac is problematic because the GPS is on only for a couple of seconds each minute. During the moments when GPS is off the device assumes you are moving straight ahead at a constant pace. Making sharp turns in those moments can screw the GPS track pretty bad. This is where the gyroscope comes in. By constantly reading the gyroscope the device can try to figure out direction changes, even without GPS lock. So to test if it works any good, I'd take a fast ride in ultratrac mode (walking or running might not be fast enough to give instantly noticable results) and change my direction often. If after that the GPS track still makes sense, then it's probably working.
Gyroscope is useful to track the movement of the watch in more accurate way. It's important when watch moves in a complex movement, e.g. during swimming, therefore the swimming stroke type can be recognized more accurately.
If the watch has only accelerometer the movement can be tracked by only linear data. Meanwhile if the watch has gyroscope too then the movement will have angular data as well. If a watch has both of the sensors, most likely it can be found in 1 integrated chip, so sometimes it's called 6-angle motion sensor.
If your watch has only accelerometer and you lift up your watch on your wrist vertically in straight line up to 50 cm then a firmware software by reading sensor data - will only know that watch is lifted up by 50 cm and - won't know nothing about the direction of your watchface at the end of the movement.
If your watch has accelerometer and gyroscope and you lift up your watch on your wrist vertically in straight line up to 50 cm then a firmware software by reading sensor data - will know that watch is lifted up by 50 cm and - will know the excact direction of your watchface at the end of the movement, i.e. whether watch faces to the ground or to the ceiling (if you had twisted your wrist during the movement).
In real world usage using the navigation on my Fenix 5 (with gyro) and Fenix 3 (without gyro) side by side, I’ve noticed that after my arms have been swinging whilst running and I quickly raise the watch to view, the Fenix 5 screen orients itself to the course track being followed far quicker than the Fenix 3 does. So I’m fairly certain the gyroscope has something to do with that improved behaviour.
There is no need to speculate. Garmin's description for the F5 states what the gyroscope is used for: "In addition, there’s an internal gyroscope to help improve position accuracy (and battery life) in UltraTrac mode."
Absolutely understand that that Is the only info that has been published, but that does not preclude that other functions of the watch have not been enhanced by the gyroscope and that Garmin have just not seen the need to list every single one of them. I'm pretty certain the implementation of auto compass mode during navigation is making use of the gyroscope; the watch just seems to know where it is and in which direction it is moving in a noticeably different way to the Fenix 3 (and not just a time lag due to processing). Ultimately only a Garmin Engineer will know the definitive answer and I'm sure that info is commercially sensitive and won't be given publicly; so speculation is all we are likely to have on this forum.
