Navigation infrastructure has become so seamlessly integrated into daily operations that its underlying fragility often goes unnoticed. A pilot trusts their flight system, a driver follows their map application, or an autonomous machine determines its location—all without questioning the robustness of the systems making this possible. Yet this apparent dependability masks a critical vulnerability, according to Nir Sharon, Chief Quantum Technology Scientist at Quantum X Labs and associate professor of applied mathematics at Tel Aviv University.
The problem with GPS is almost the success of GPS itself
Nir Sharon
Sharon elaborates on this paradox: "People see a system that works silently and accurately, so they assume the infrastructure underneath is equally robust. Yet the signal can be blocked or spoofed with surprisingly little effort. A system can appear perfectly stable until someone interferes with the signal it depends on."
The stakes of this vulnerability intensify as positioning technology moves into safety-critical applications. Aircraft, autonomous vehicles, farm equipment, and military systems all demand continuous, trustworthy location information. When a navigation system loses its external reference point, machines face a dangerous gap: they have no independent way to determine their actual position.
Precision timekeeping compounds this challenge. Accurate clocks do more than display the time—they enable synchronization across complex infrastructure, from communications networks to navigation systems themselves. Sharon emphasizes that the question extends beyond simply having a clock available. Rather, it concerns how precisely a device can measure time when that precision directly affects system performance.
People often ask why we need such an accurate clock when we already have one on our phone or computer. The need becomes clear in systems that require precise synchronization. Navigation works the same way. If you know where you are and can measure how you move, you can keep navigating even when the external signal disappears.
Nir Sharon
Dead Reckoning and Quantum Solutions
The concept underlying this approach is ancient: dead reckoning. By starting from a known location and measuring direction and movement, a system can estimate its current position. However, Sharon identifies a fundamental limitation—cumulative error. Each small measurement inaccuracy compounds with subsequent movements, progressively widening the uncertainty around the calculated location.
Quantum sensing technology offers a pathway to minimizing this error accumulation. Quantum gyroscopes leverage quantum effects to detect rotation and motion with extraordinary sensitivity. Quantum-enhanced clocks deliver timing references of unprecedented precision. Together, these sensors could enable navigation systems to maintain useful position estimates when satellite signals become inaccessible.
Quantum X Labs, an Israeli quantum technology firm operating across quantum computing, quantum software, and quantum sensing, is advancing these capabilities. The company's sensing division has developed a quantum gyroscope and a miniaturized atomic-beam rubidium clock. According to Sharon, laboratory prototypes and proof-of-concept demonstrations are currently operational, with ongoing efforts to transition these technologies toward commercial applications.
From Laboratory to Market
Sharon describes the current phase as fundamentally an engineering challenge rather than a scientific one. Scientific progress continues to advance, yet bringing these sensors to market demands they become compact enough, durable enough, and tailored enough for industries with varying performance demands.
Developing the science is one part of the journey. Turning that science into something an automaker or an aircraft manufacturer can actually integrate requires a different level of engineering and market understanding. We are working with partners because the path from a laboratory proof of concept to a product requires understanding exactly what the end user needs.
Nir Sharon
Autonomous Systems and Navigation Resilience
The implications for autonomous systems are particularly significant. A vehicle traveling at speed cannot pause simply because satellite positioning has vanished. Similarly, a drone or robotic system entering an enclosed space may have no continuous access to external positioning signals at all.
Sharon views intrinsic navigation—the ability to determine position through onboard measurement rather than external signals—as essential for the next wave of autonomous technology. He illustrates the problem starkly: "At some point, you have to ask what happens when GPS is unavailable. If an autonomous car reaches a situation where its system says, 'We have no GPS location, so we cannot continue,' that is a fundamental limitation. An intrinsic navigation system could allow the vehicle to keep operating, at least well enough to reach a safe destination."
Quantum sensing represents a conceptual shift in navigation infrastructure design. While GPS may retain its role as a reference signal, systems capable of independently measuring motion, orientation, and time could furnish the dependability that increasingly autonomous machines require. Quantum X Labs pursues this vision through a diverse portfolio of sensing and quantum technologies, drawing on partnerships spanning academia and industry. The fundamental question facing the sector is whether the coming generation of machines can continue relying on a single external signal for something as foundational as knowing their location.
Source: The Next Web
