IIO MEMS gyroscope drivers (ADI, Bosch, NXP, ST, InvenSense)
Drivers for MEMS gyroscope chips and combined inertial measurement units from Analog Devices (ADIS/ADXRS), Bosch (BMG160, BMI055, BMI088), NXP (FXAS21002C), STMicroelectronics (L3G, LSM330, LSM9DS0), and InvenSense (ITG3200, MPU3050), plus a generic HID sensor-hub path. These parts measure angular rate in drones, robots, phones, wearables, and industrial gear from the mid-2000s to today.
recommendation
It should stay in the kernel because the directory is actively maintained upstream, with cleanups and PM-runtime fixes landing in 2025 from the IIO subsystem maintainer, and at least one supported family (Bosch BMI088) is still sold new in 2025 for drone and robotics use. Some individual chips like NXP's FXAS21002C are now end-of-life, but the directory as a whole covers a healthy mix of current and legacy MEMS gyros that real systems still rely on.
repository signals
sources
- lore.kernel.org
drivers/iio/gyro/bmg160_core.c was touched in a 2026 linux-iio series, showing recent upstream maintenance activity in this directory.
- lore.kernel.org
drivers/iio/gyro/st_gyro_core.c was part of a 2025 iio/st_sensors cleanup from the IIO maintainer, indicating the ST gyro path is still maintained upstream.
- lore.kernel.org
A 2025 linux-iio patch removed redundant PM-runtime calls in gyro drivers including drivers/iio/gyro, showing continued maintenance rather than removal.
- bosch-sensortec.com
Bosch lists BMI088 as a current IMU for drones and robotics; the kernel BMG160 driver states it also supports BMI088 gyroscope hardware.
- nxp.com
NXP marks FXAS21002C as no longer manufactured, showing some chips covered by this directory are legacy even though the directory as a whole is not obsolete.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Real driver directory: Kconfig/Makefile enumerate many loadable IIO gyro drivers. Lore evidence came from mcp__lore_http__.lore_activity on drivers/iio/gyro/bmg160_core.c and st_gyro_core.c; the 2025 PM-runtime patch URL was returned by lore_activity on bmg160_core.c. Deployment evidence came from web search of official vendor pages: Bosch BMI088 current product page and NXP FXAS21002C discontinued page. Conclusion: mixed portfolio with some discontinued parts, but active upstream maintenance and at least one currently sold supported gyro/IMU family argue to keep, not deprecate or remove.