Trends in Navigation Technology

Quantum Sensors Deliver GPS Backup 50 Times More Accurate Than Current Technology Introduction: A Revolutionary Leap for Navigation Systems While most quantum headlines focus on computing, quantum sensing is quietly achieving breakthroughs with real-world impact. Australian startup Q-CTRL has developed a quantum-based navigation system that offers a GPS backup with 50 times greater precision than today’s best alternatives, marking a significant advance in resilient, high-accuracy location tracking. Key Developments and Insights • Quantum Sensing’s Unique Advantages • Quantum sensors are extremely sensitive to magnetic, electric, and gravitational fields. • Unlike quantum computers, where environmental sensitivity is a problem, this trait is a key advantage for sensors, enabling the detection of minute changes with extraordinary precision. • Q-CTRL’s Quantum GPS Backup • The system uses quantum sensors to detect subtle variations in Earth’s magnetic field, allowing it to determine position without relying on satellite signals. • Designed as a backup for traditional GPS, it offers protection against signal loss, jamming, or deliberate interference—critical concerns for navigation in defense, aviation, and maritime sectors. • In field tests, the device demonstrated a tracking error 50 times smaller than state-of-the-art classical alternatives. • Broader Applications and Impact • Defense and Security: Reliable navigation when GPS is unavailable is vital for military operations and national security. • Aviation and Maritime Industries: Enhanced accuracy could improve safety, efficiency, and operational resilience. • Commercial Use Cases: Future integration into consumer technology could offer high-precision navigation tools for industries like logistics, mining, and autonomous vehicles. Conclusion: Why This Matters Q-CTRL’s breakthrough highlights the growing practical importance of quantum technology beyond computing. By delivering an ultra-precise, GPS-independent navigation system, quantum sensors could transform critical infrastructure, bolster national security, and open new frontiers for resilient, high-accuracy positioning worldwide. This innovation signals that the quantum revolution is expanding far beyond laboratories—and it is beginning to reshape the physical world we move through every day. Black Rhino Protective Services BlackRhinoGroup.com Scaling now.

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (#GNSS), like Global Positioning Systems (#GPS), rank near the top technologies that transformed our daily lives. GPS’ ability to provide consistent, reliable and assured time (in the 10s of nanoseconds) and position (in the single meters), underpins 5G communications, electrical power grids, financial networks and all modes of transportation (in both civilian and military applications). But what happens when we lose or cannot trust the information from a GPS receiver? Can we still maintain our capabilities? The resilience and reliability of positioning, navigation and timing (#PNT) services are being enhanced through #complementaryPNT (CPNT) strategies, which function independent of GNSS. These systems are designed to provide PNT services even if GNSS signals are unavailable due to jamming, spoofing or other disruptions. They work alongside GNSS to enhance overall system-of-system assurance, performance, reliability and availability. An example of #CPNT is inertial navigation–using sensors to precisely monitor changes to your acceleration and rotation over time from an initial reference point. An inevitable challenge with any inertial navigation system (INS) is drift and Earth’s gravitational field is a substantial contributor. Tiny inaccuracies in sensor measurements accumulate over time, requiring an INS to recalibrate periodically. However, drift can shrink with more precise sensors, reducing the need to adjust as frequently. Operating at the fundamental physical limits of precision, quantum sensors (e.g., quantum gyroscopes, accelerometers, optical clocks) can reduce drift. The extreme sensitivity comes at the cost of requiring tremendous control and stability. Nevertheless, considerable efforts are underway to reduce the SWaP-C (size, weight, power and cost) of the control systems for these sensors. Exciting, too, is the potential to leverage future space-based quantum networks as CPNT tools enabling, for example, extremely accurate quantum clock synchronization across a constellation of GNSS satellites. While not a solution today, it’s a promising future application of quantum networks. While our dependency on GNSS/GPS introduces risk to our infrastructure, advancing quantum sensors and networks to complement GNSS for PNT can significantly mitigate or eliminate many. For perspective on the current global GPS environment, visit https://gpsjam.org/ to see where we're having issues. The red and yellow dots indicate high and medium levels of GPS interference, primarily over Eastern Europe. Learn about Quantum for PNT from some of Booz Allen’s experts https://lnkd.in/gF-t_XDa. *This image was created on 1/3/25 with GenAI art tool, Midjourney, using this prompt: A sleek F-35 combat aircraft piercing through a complex airspace with pinpoint accuracy using precise GPS signals and geospatial maps to locate targets below and collect critical information --v 6.1.

My latest in today's print edition of The Wall Street Journal looks at why Airbus's innovation lab, Acubed, is on the hunt for potential alternative to GPS for aerospace navigation. GPS has been the primary method of aerospace navigation for decades, but with jamming and spoofing on the rise, the industry is pushing for an update, and fast. Enter: quantum sensing. It's a technology that's been developing for decades and is now inching closer to commercialization. Acubed recently took a quantum sensing device from SandboxAQ on 150 hours worth of test flights, and found that it could reliably locate a plane's location en route within 2 nautical miles 100% of the time. “The hard part was proving that the technology could work,” said SandboxAQ Chief Executive Jack Hidary. “It’s the first novel absolute navigation system to our knowledge in the last 50 years." What are your thoughts? Could quantum sensing be a reliable backup or alternative to GPS? Let me know in the comments. Read the full story online here: https://lnkd.in/e2tCpDFF