GNSS-free quantum gravity-aided navigation and fine-scale marine surveying with a strapdown quantum gravimeter
Patrick J. Everitt, Donald H. White, Todd Lyon, Murat Muradoglu, Alessandro D'Ortenzio, Aaron J. Canciani, Malo Cadoret, Daniel D. Brown, David Adams, Yosri Ben-Aïcha, Suraj Bijjahalli, Mojtaba K. Farsani, Alexander Rischka, Karandeep S. Gill, Magdalena Meyer, Henry W. Orton, Nicholas P. Robins, Reuben Symon, Michael J. Biercuk, Michael R. Hush, Stuart S. Szigeti, Russell P. Anderson
quant-phSubmitted Aug 26, 2026• Announced Aug 27, 2026
Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) are often disrupted or unavailable at sea, and unaided inertial navigation systems (INS) drift without correction. Quantum-sensing-based gravity map matching offers a passive, infrastructure-free aid, but field demonstrations of GNSS-free quantum gravimetric navigation have not been reported. Here we perform gravity map matching and fine-resolution gravity survey with a mobile quantum gravimeter aboard a 29 m surface vessel. We hybridize an atomic sensor with a classical accelerometer for bias stabilization and independently mechanize a navigation-grade IMU, all installed in an uncontrolled cabin with no environmental stabilization or calibration. Operated in both gimbaled and strapdown configurations over identical traversals, the hybrid sensor corrected the inertial solution over an 83 km maritime trajectory by referencing locally measured gravity to a satellite-derived anomaly map. Gravity-aiding constrains INS drift and delivers bounded positioning at nautical-mile-level accuracy, with GNSS excluded throughout the measurement chain. In a separate GNSS-referenced mode, the same system surveyed coastal routes up to Sea State 4, achieving mGal-level agreement with gravimetric maps and sub-mGal repeatability and stability, with gimbaled and strapdown operation performing comparably. Resolved anomalies reach an along-track scale of ~300 m, 50X finer than the satellite map's half-power wavelength. A 56 h stationary test shows atom referencing lowers long-term drift ~70X versus the classical channel alone. These results provide the first same-instrument comparison of gimbaled and strapdown mobile quantum gravimetry and the first fully GNSS-independent gravity-map-matching navigation demonstration using a quantum gravimeter, pointing toward compact, autonomous-platform-ready quantum sensing for GNSS-denied maritime navigation and survey.
Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) are often disrupted or unavailable at sea, and unaided inertial navigation systems (INS) drift without correction. Quantum-sensing-based gravity map matching offers a passive, infrastructure-free aid, but field demonstrations of GNSS-free quantum gravimetric navigation have not been reported. Here we perform gravity map matching and fine-resolution gravity survey with a mobile quantum gravimeter aboard a 29 m surface vessel. We hybridize an atomic sensor with a classical accelerometer for bias stabilization and independently mechanize a navigation-grade IMU, all installed in an uncontrolled cabin with no environmental stabilization or calibration. Operated in both gimbaled and strapdown configurations over identical traversals, the hybrid sensor corrected the inertial solution over an 83 km maritime trajectory by referencing locally measured gravity to a satellite-derived anomaly map. Gravity-aiding constrains INS drift and delivers bounded positioning at nautical-mile-level accuracy, with GNSS excluded throughout the measurement chain. In a separate GNSS-referenced mode, the same system surveyed coastal routes up to Sea State 4, achieving mGal-level agreement with gravimetric maps and sub-mGal repeatability and stability, with gimbaled and strapdown operation performing comparably. Resolved anomalies reach an along-track scale of ~300 m, 50X finer than the satellite map's half-power wavelength. A 56 h stationary test shows atom referencing lowers long-term drift ~70X versus the classical channel alone. These results provide the first same-instrument comparison of gimbaled and strapdown mobile quantum gravimetry and the first fully GNSS-independent gravity-map-matching navigation demonstration using a quantum gravimeter, pointing toward compact, autonomous-platform-ready quantum sensing for GNSS-denied maritime navigation and survey.
Abstract The inherent vulnerability of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) to interference, spoofing, and signal degradation highlights the urgent need for robust augmentation and alternative solutions to support resilient Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) services. Among emerging technologies, quantum sensing stands out for its ability to harness fundamental quantum phenomena, such as superposition and entanglement, enabling absolute, drift-free and ultra-sensitive measurements of inertial forces, gravity, and magnetic fields with long-term stability and reduced dependency on external signals. This capability offers a promising pathway to enhance positioning and navigation performance in GNSS-denied or GNSS-contested environments. Here, we present a comprehensive review of quantum sensing technologies in the context of positioning and navigation, including cold atom interferometry, atomic vapour cell, superconducting quantum interference devices, and room temperature solid-state systems like nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond, and their potential to support positioning and navigation across a range of operational contexts. Both standalone and hybrid quantum-classical architectures are examined, with case studies illustrating their ability to reduce navigation drift and achieve sub-metre accuracy through quantum-enhanced inertial navigation, gravity-aided positioning, and magnetic field-matching approach. Despite their promise, challenges including decoherence, environmental robustness, miniaturisation, and integration complexity remain significant barriers to practical deployment. Rather than replacing existing classical systems, quantum sensors are best served as complementary solutions within multi-layered PNT frameworks. This review also identifies priorities for advancing field-deployable quantum positioning and navigation solutions, including sensor robustness, miniaturisation, seamless integration, and the development of protocols to quantify quantum performance. Aligned with international quantum initiatives, this work contributes to the vision of secure, interference-resistant navigation infrastructure for scientific, industrial, and defence applications.
Navigation systems based on quantum sensors are a viable alternative to use of GNSS, however their sensitivity to environmental effects makes deployment in harsh environments challenging. We present results demonstrating that software ruggedization techniques can mitigate these effects and enhance the performance of these systems in real-world environments. Here, we report world-first demonstrations of a dual quantum gravimeter operating in a relevant maritime environment, with an unattended uptime of >144 hours, as well as the first demonstrations of software ruggedized sensing in a real-world motional environment. We demonstrate recovery of signal due to software compensation of motion and a 2X contrast enhancement due to optimized velocity selection. In addition, we present a compact 3-axis quantum inertial sensor capable of high repetition rate operation in extremely harsh environments.
Abstract Harnessing the potential of quantum sensors to assist in navigation requires enabling their operation in complex, dynamic environments and integrating them within existing navigation systems. While cross-couplings from platform dynamics generally degrade quantum measurements in a complex manner, navigation filters would need to be designed to handle such complex quantum sensor data. In this work, we report on the realization of a high-fidelity model of an atom-interferometry-based gravity gradiometer and demonstrate its integration with a map-matching navigation filter. Relying on the ability of our model to simulate the sensor behaviour across various dynamic platform environments, we show that aiding navigation via map matching using quantum gravity gradiometry results in stable trajectories, and highlight the importance of non-Gaussian errors arising from platform dynamics as a key challenge to map-matching navigation. We derive requirements for mitigating these errors, such as maintaining sensor tilt below 3.3∘, to inform future sensor development priorities. This work demonstrates the value of an end-to-end approach that could support future optimization of the overall navigation system. Beyond navigation, our atom interferometer modelling framework could be relevant to current research and innovation endeavours with quantum gravimeters, gradiometers and inertial sensors.
Position, navigation, and time (PNT) distributed by the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) have become one of the most relied upon commodities of our civilization. GNSS relies on clocks on satellite, the timing signal of which is send to Earth. On ground both, the resulting position and the timing signal are used in various different cases on ground. We are reliant on the quality of the timing signal. Quantum technologies offer novel methods of probing atoms or molecules to generate timing signals of higher quality. Additionally, optical cavities or resonators can provide precise timing signals. The main challenge involved with optical resonators is the long term stability in compatibility with the SWaP requirements of space. There are several works to prolong the stability of these systems and improve the quality of the received signal. Regardless of the quality of the GNSS signal, it is subject to manipulation, such as jamming and spoofing. Additionally, areas of absence of GNSS exist, which need to be breached. In these cases (classical) inertial measurement units can be deployed. However, the inherent drift of these systems allow GNSS-free navigation for short periods.
Robust and accurate acceleration tracking remains a challenge in many fields. For geophysics and economic geology, precise gravity mapping requires onboard sensors combined with accurate positioning and navigation systems. Cold atom–based quantum inertial sensors can potentially provide these high-precision instruments. However, current scalar instruments require precise alignment with vector quantities. Here, we present the first hybrid three-axis accelerometer exploiting the quantum advantage to measure the full acceleration vector by combining three orthogonal atom interferometer measurements with a classical navigation-grade accelerometer triad. Its ultralow bias permits tracking the acceleration vector over long time scales, yielding a 50-fold improvement in stability (6 × 10 −8 g ) over our classical accelerometers. We record the acceleration vector at a high data rate (1 kHz), with absolute magnitude accuracy below 10 μ g , and pointing accuracy of 4 μrad. This paves the way toward future strapdown applications with quantum sensors and highlights their potential as future inertial navigation units.
Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) are critical to our daily lives and underpin numerous sectors in-cluding transport, finance, and defence. The estimated financial impact of GNSS failure for the UK is over £1 bn per day [1]. In areas where GNSS cannot be used, inertial navigation provides an alternative to accurately position vehicles. For many applications, the drift in the classical accelerometers and gyroscopes that underpin inertial navigation systems limits the position accuracy that can be achieved.