One of the most critical defence navigation problems – what to do when GPS is unavailable – has a new solution thanks to Sydney quantum startup Q-Ctrl.

Q-CTRL’s founder and CEO Michael Biercuk said the ground and airborne trials demonstrated their quantum-assured navigation solution not only resulted in successful GPS-free navigation, it outperformed conventional GPS alternatives by up to 50 times.

“We achieved an accuracy in some trials comparable to a sharpshooter hitting a bullseye from 1,000 yards away,” he said.

“But because our quantum-assured navigation system allows a vehicle to position itself accurately irrespective of how far it’s travelled, by analogy that sharpshooter can hit the same bullseye no matter how far away they move from the target.”

The Ironstone Opal

The Q-CTRL product, called Ironstone Opal, is smaller than a $5 note, and is undetectable, and cannot be jammed or spoofed. It uses quantum sensors to detect tiny, otherwise imperceptible signals arising from Earth’s structure that serve as magnetic “landmarks” for navigation. Only quantum sensors have the sensitivity and stability needed to continuously “see” these landmarks from a moving vehicle.

The quantum magnetic navigation system is small enough to fit on small fixed-wing drones or autonomous cars, and powerful enough to enable navigation in passenger airliners, leading the world in terms of SWaP (size, weight, and power). The Sydney startup is working with government agencies, including the Australian Department of Defence, the UK Royal Navy, and the US Department of Defense, to deliver new quantum-sensing technologies for their systems, as well as Airbus on quantum navigation solutions for commercial aviation.

Biercuck said Ironstone Opal is built around the concept of “software ruggedized hardware, using proprietary AI-powered quantum control software to shield the sensors from interference. Heavy vibrations and electromagnetic interference have blocked the transition of most experimental quantum navigation solutions from the lab to the real world. They also miniaturised it by trading hardware for software to enable deployment on nearly any vehicle.

“At Q-CTRL, we’re thrilled to be the global pioneer in taking quantum sensing from research to the field, being the first to enable real capabilities that have previously been little more than a dream,” Biercuk said.

“This is our first major system release and we’re excited that there is much more to come as we introduce new quantum-assured navigation technologies tailored to other commercial and defense platforms.”

Boston Consulting Group estimates that quantum sensing could be a US$3 billion industry by 2030.