Report in the Financial Times say the UK MOD's research is between 3 and 5 years away from developing a Quantum Compass which be more accurate and secure than GPS and other navigational tools.

MoD’s ‘quantum compass’ offers potential to replace GPS

Report in the Financial Times say the UK MOD's research is between 3 and 5 years away from developing a Quantum Compass which be more accurate and secure than GPS and other navigational tools.

MoD’s ‘quantum compass’ offers potential to replace GPS

I'd just be happy not walking for twenty minutes in the wrong direction every time I come out of the underground station... think it's being in the northern hemisphere which gets me confused :)

Interesting link though, thanks WinterKnight!

MoD’s ‘quantum compass’ offers potential to replace GPS

That is a paid subscription sight so I can't read it. The Earth's magnetic north is not stable, it has and will change over time. How do they address this?

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MoD’s ‘quantum compass’ offers potential to replace GPS

That is a paid subscription sight so I can't read it. The Earth's magnetic north is not stable, it has and will change over time. How do they address this?

Try this one: (Meant to post it but got distracted by life :))
http://planetnewsworld.wordpress.com/2014/05/14/uk-quantum-compass-could-replace-gps/

Oooh - can't get that one to work now... hold on I might be back - unless ministry of defence turn up at my door in which case bye everybody - been fun :)

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE'S ‘QUANTUM COMPASS' OFFERS POTENTIAL TO REPLACE GPS - The UK Ministry of Defence is investing millions of pounds to look for the holy grail of navigation: a tamper and interference-proof device capable of pinpointing a location anywhere on the globe, says the Financial Times. Scientists at Porton Down and the National Physical Laboratory believe they are three to five years away from developing a “quantum compass” that would be able to locate itself based on the subatomic effects of the earth’s magnetic field. The technology, which would have no need for satellites or fixed points of reference such as radio masts, is of military interest around the world, because of the limitations of space-based navigation systems. In February, the US pioneer of GPS, the most widely used satellite navigational array, warned that the system was under strain and was extremely vulnerable to deliberate disruption or attack. The MoD sees particular use for a new technology on its nuclear submarines, which need to navigate with great stealth and accuracy, and rarely communicate with the outside world. Without regular fixes, even the most sophisticated navigational systems can produce inaccuracies that amount to as much as 1km a day.

Source: http://www.rte.ie/news/business/2014/0515/617430-today-in-the-press/

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Does the "compass" use the Earth's magnetism, or is this just a clock?

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Does the "compass" use the Earth's magnetism, or is this just a clock?

The Earth's magnetic field, according to the article I posted a few posts ago:

would be able to locate itself based on the subatomic effects of the earth’s magnetic field.

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rOZZ
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The Earth's magnetic field, according to the article I posted a few posts ago:

Thanks, it is the fourth story on the page and it states;

In February, the US pioneer of GPS, the most widely used satellite navigational array, warned that the system was under strain and was extremely vulnerable to deliberate disruption or attack...

I can see why you people would want a "quantum compass"; that "US pioneer" is the Department of Defense. Not long ago they would alter the civilian signal so it would be off by up to 50 feet in any direction. So the US is like Google, both are evil but they give good stuff away for free.

I assume you will work out Earth's shifting magnetic north in development.

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The Earth's magnetic field, according to the article I posted a few posts ago:

Thanks, it is the fourth story on the page and it states;

In February, the US pioneer of GPS, the most widely used satellite navigational array, warned that the system was under strain and was extremely vulnerable to deliberate disruption or attack...

I can see why you people would want a "quantum compass"; that "US pioneer" is the Department of Defense. Not long ago they would alter the civilian signal so it would be off by up to 50 feet in any direction. So the US is like Google, both are evil but they give good stuff away for free.

I assume you will work out Earth's shifting magnetic north in development.

They're just 'assuming', no danger here...

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Report in the Financial Times say the UK MOD's research is between 3 and 5 years away from developing a Quantum Compass which be more accurate and secure than GPS and other navigational tools.

MoD’s ‘quantum compass’ offers potential to replace GPS

That may well be very good as a super-sensitive accelerometer for use in inertial navigation. However, there are still limits to using that to keep track of position due to the earth's gravity not being uniform, and due to vibration vs the response time and acquisition bandwidth for the quantum accelerometer.

So: Fantastic as a super-sensitive accelerometer.

All that does is improve the inertial navigation to the limit of other aspects for the system...

Still an improvement but there is a lot of surrounding development needed...


Shame the commercial hype far exceeds the good research!

Keep searchin',
Martin

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On the topic of commercial hype outstripping the supposed quantum device, there is still the amazing story of the D-Wave device:


D-Wave: Is $15m machine a glimpse of future computing?

A Canadian firm has courted controversy with its claim to have built a practical quantum computer...

... This phenomenon would enable multiple calculations to be performed simultaneously. But the qubits need to be synchronised using a quantum effect known as entanglement, which Albert Einstein dubbed "spooky action at a distance".

Scientists have struggled to entangle more than a handful of qubits, and to maintain them in their quantum state. Lab devices suffer from drop-out, or decoherence...

... This tempered some of the criticism, but fell short of winning over vocal sceptics ... He thinks the firm's computers show "pretty good" evidence for entanglement at a local level, though not necessarily on a large scale. But he sees no evidence that this is helping boost the performance of D-Wave's machines.

Prof Aaronson told BBC News: "The questions about 'the explanation for the speedup' haven't even been activated yet, since so far there's no speedup...


My personal thoughts are that attempting to use "quantum annealing" is a very good way to go. However so far to me they appear to have a good device using an array of superconducting Josephson junctions to physically implement the computer method for simulated annealing. As mentioned, that makes use of quantum effects locally for each Josephson junction. You can bet there would be astounding world headlines if the effect really was shown to extend any further across the device! (You would also expect to see a phenomenal speedup.)

So... It may be fast, but it looks nothing like quantum fast. A chilled transistor array may well perform just as well...

Very interesting development on a plausible route. The success or not depends on physically pushing the boundaries of what may be new physics...


Shame the commercial hype far exceeds the good research!

Keep searchin',
Martin

ps: There's some very good puns in that article for those suitably aware :-)

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)