Q-CTRL, one of the major players in the emerging field of quantum sensing, announced a step forward for potential use of the technology for navigation at sea.
The company, founded in Sydney, Australia in 2017 by American-born professor Michael J. Biercuk, unveiled results of a major field trial with Australian Defence on board the Royal Australian Navy’s Multi-role Aviation Training Vessel (MATV), MV Sycamore. The trial, combined with a recent aviation navigation test, mark the progress quantum sensing technology is making in moving out of lab environments and into the field on board moving ships and planes.
For the MV Sycamore trial, Q-CTRL deployed a quantum dual gravimeter, which measures tiny variations in Earth’s gravity as part of a next-generation quantum-assured positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) system operable when GPS is unavailable or untrusted. This first trial saw over 144 hours of continuous operation and successful data collection with no human intervention during real maritime operations, Q-CTRL said.
The dual gravimeter was developed and fielded over a period of 14 months, and bolted to the floor in the space of a single server rack in a communications room onboard MV Sycamore. The sensor consumed only 180W of power, which Q-CTRL said is about 10 times less than a household toaster.
The move to position quantum sensing as back-up to GPS in “contested maritime environments” is timely, Q-CTRL noted, as instances of “spoofed” signals caused significant disruptions to ships in the Middle East waterways in the wake of rocket fire between Israel and Iran last month. Such incidents not only cause logistical problems, but also disrupt collision avoidance efforts, creating major safety implications.
Q-CTRL explained that a quantum gravimeter can continuously sense “the otherwise invisible hills and valleys in Earth’s gravity, allowing a navigation computer to compare its observations against known gravity maps. This is similar to orienteering, where one can position oneself on a map by identifying landmarks like valleys, mountains, rivers, or roads. GPS is not needed, making it a robust backup in contested regions.”
A recent IDTechEx report also described “GPS-denied navigation” as a leading target application for quantum sensing, and Biercuk has spoken to Fierce Electronics about its benefits. While quantum sensing has been studied as a secure and accurate option, the technology remains in its nascent stages and still needs to be proven.
“Quantum sensors provide a near-term opportunity to achieve transformational defense capabilities, but previous deployments in the field have struggled to deliver defense-relevant performance,” said Biercuk, in a statement. “Operating on a real moving vehicle is just not the same as conducting a science experiment; at Q-CTRL, we’ve taken a different approach to getting quantum sensors out of the lab, focusing on software as the critical enabler of performance in the real world.”
Jean-Francois Bobier, Partner & Vice President, Deep Tech, at the Boston Consulting Group, added, "We expect the quantum sensing market to reach $3bn-5bn by 2030. Especially amid heightened cases of GPS denial, field-validated quantum sensors are more important than ever for navigational safety. With clear use cases and early adopters in the defense industry, Q-CTRL’s achievements pave the way for future economies of scale and broader adoption."