(Business 2.0) – Ultrasmall gyroscopes have already made their way into automobile airbag triggers and washing machines, but the tiny gadgets may soon be used to create more precise GPS devices and robots with a better sense of balance. Just a few millimeters in size, microelectrical mechanical gyroscopes are cutting-edge versions of the venerable science toy in which a spinning wheel maintains its orientation no matter how you tilt its frame. Microgyros replicate this effect on a silicon chip to measure direction and angular rate of rotation.

Companies like Analog Devices, BAE Systems, and BEI Technologies manufacture microgyros that sell for $20 to $50. But at that price, applications are limited to high-end products like cars and the Segway HT, which uses five of the gadgets to stay upright. When prices drop to about $10, perhaps within three years, microgyros will turn up in GPS devices to track direction inside buildings and tunnels, as well as in camcorders to steady the images captured by shaky hands. --NANCY EINHART