The Difference Between Reaction Wheels and Gyroscopes

AD: To sign-up and get 91% off all yearly plans, go to and use my unique coupon code ‘BRUTON’ I’ve built various balancing robots in the past. These include two-wheel balancing robots like my Sonic the Hedgehog robot, and my one-wheel balancing robot which used an active two-axis omni wheel to balance on a single point. These robots actively move in the direction they are falling in order to catch themselves and balance. I also experimented with gyroscopes which use a constantly spinning mass and the resulting gyroscopic precession to exert a force and balance. A physical spinning gyroscope will exert a perpendicular force when it’s tilted in one axis. This means that if we actively drive the gyro in one axis, we can actively control the force in the perpendicular axis. This is called a Control Moment Gyro, and these have been used commercially to stabilise boats. Using an Inertial Measurement Unit to measure the angle and a PID controller to control the active tilt, allows u