Gyro Compass

A gyro compass on a ship is a type of gyroscope used by the navigator to find true north, as opposed to magnetic north which a regular compass will locate. For this reason, the non-magnetic gyro compass is usually located in the ship’s wheelhouse where it will be as close as possible to the center of the roll and pitch as this will minimize any errors caused by the vessel’s motion.

A gyro compass consists of an electrically-powered gyroscope wheel and uses frictional forces, gravitational influences and the rotation of Earth to pinpoint true north.