• Zedstrian@sopuli.xyz
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    4 hours ago

    The team achieved 10 times better performance than GNSS systems, with a one nautical mile of positioning accuracy.

    Variation up to a full nautical mile doesn’t seem very accurate?

    • Gsus4@mander.xyzOP
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      4 hours ago

      this article is better written:

      https://science.report/discover/quantum-gravimeter-demonstrates-gps-free-navigation-in-coral-sea-trial-86654/

      it maintained bounded position accuracy within 1 nautical mile over an 83-kilometer trajectory. This performance, achieved without access to satellite navigation, represents a more than tenfold improvement over standard navigation-grade inertial backup systems under similar conditions.

    • cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.de
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      3 hours ago

      That’s comparable to what a skilled navigator can do with a sextant and chronometer. That’s more than enough accuracy to cross the ocean and get close enough to the port that you can see it.

    • Deebster@infosec.pub
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      4 hours ago

      The only thing I can think is that they’re comparing with a single system (e.g. GPS or BeiDou), even though GNSS receivers will combine all four systems to get very high accuracy (a few metres).

        • zqps@sh.itjust.works
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          2 hours ago

          GPS is actually far more accurate than that. There is deterministic jitter introduced to make civilian use cases precise to only a few meters, but military equipment has the algorithm to subtract that jitter and achieve precision measured in centimeters.

          Anyway, that statement is highly misleading. They were comparing to previous inertial navigation systems, not GPS navigation.

        • Deebster@infosec.pub
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          3 hours ago

          Is that true globally? I seem to remember that some ocean areas wouldn’t have as many satellites visible as e.g. polar orbits don’t visit all of the globe.

    • Gsus4@mander.xyzOP
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      4 hours ago

      Yeah, I agree that I didnt understand that bit. I also didn’t understand why you need a quantum sensor to follow a map of gravitational and magnetic anomalies for orientation.

      • Dimand@aussie.zone
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        11 minutes ago

        You don’t. Any appropriately sensitive/accurate accelerometer or magnetometer is sufficient to do this.

        The quantum part is 90% hype used to and attract funding. There are some advantages to the cold atom based sensors Q-CTRL makes, along with issues that need to be worked on, but they are other sensing technologies that could beat it in the long run.