The electronic compass can be divided into fluxgate, magnetoresistive and Hall components according to the sensor:
The fluxgate sensor consists of a set of coils surrounding the core. The core is equipped with an excitation circuit that provides a low-cost method of magnetic field detection, but they are bulky, fragile, and have slow response times.
The Hall effect magnetic sensor has the advantages of small size, light weight, low power consumption, low price, simple interface circuit, and is especially suitable for measurement of strong magnetic fields. However, it has the disadvantages of low sensitivity, high noise, and poor temperature performance. Although some high-sensitivity or magnetic-concentration Hall devices can be used to measure the geomagnetic field, they are generally used in applications where the requirements are not high.
Magnetoresistive sensors are now available as standard integrated chips, and the product has also formed a series. It overcomes the shortage of fluxgate compass, has the advantages of small size, light weight, high precision, high reliability, fast response, etc. It is the direction of future development of electronic compass.