 Ring laser gyroscopes (RLGs) and fibre optic gyroscopes (FOGs) are interferometers used in navigation systems. They operate on the principle of the Sagnac effect. The distinction between RLGs and FOGs is that in a RLG, the entire ring is part of the laser while in a FOG, an external laser injects counter-propagating beams into an optical fiber ring, and rotation of the system then causes a relative phase shift between those beams. In a RLG, the observed phase shift is proportional to the accumulated rotation, while in a FOG, the observed phase shift is proportional to the angular velocity.
