Modelling Quantum Sensors in a Realistic Navigation System Context – SimulaQrUm

Overview

Positioning, Navigation, and Timing are essential for modern infrastructure, including transportation, agriculture, and space applications. Thanks to developments in GNSS, particularly the European Galileo system, navigation devices are now ubiquitous, with smartphones serving as multi-sensor platforms. However, high-quality positioning solutions are not always guaranteed due to weak GNSS signals, jamming, spoofing, and signal obstruction in urban environments or under canopies. Signals are unavailable underground, subsea, or in deep space. Consequently, there's a growing focus on improving the autonomy, integrity, and reliability of navigation solutions. Inertial navigation systems are well-established but suffer from accumulated errors in GNSS-denied environments. Hybridizing quantum sensors with IMUs offers a high-quality autonomous navigation system, providing dynamic response and long-term stability. In the frame of this project, an end-to-end simulation tool for the application of quantum inertial navigation systems is developed with partners from IQO and Airbus Defence and Space.