How can vehicles navigate where GPS signals cannot reach? Diamond-based quantum sensors are being developed to use Earth’s magnetic field for positioning.
Dirac Labs is developing diamond-based quantum sensors that can enable positioning and navigation in environments where GPS signals cannot reach, including underground and underwater locations.
The system measures Earth’s magnetic field and combines the sensor data with AI-based signal processing and sensor fusion to determine position in real time. Unlike satellite-based navigation, the approach uses a signal that is naturally present underground and underwater. Dirac Labs says its platform is designed to process faint magnetic signals while adapting to changing environmental conditions.
At the heart of the system are specially engineered diamond materials used to detect variations in the magnetic field. The company is also developing the sensing platform around semiconductor-compatible manufacturing processes, with the aim of making the sensors smaller, lower-cost, and scalable. The prototype combines the diamond sensing element with embedded computing for signal processing, while the company plans to move towards semiconductor foundry manufacturing for higher-volume production.
The technology is being targeted at applications such as mining, underwater exploration, defence, seabed mapping, and navigation for aircraft and submarines. Dirac Labs has also raised $1.8 million in pre-seed funding to prototype the sensors further and conduct field trials. The company has also received non-dilutive funding from the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum and participated in NOAA’s Ocean Enterprise Accelerators programme.
The company says the sensor platform is intended to integrate with existing navigation systems, potentially allowing vehicles to use quantum-based magnetic sensing without major changes to their existing architecture. “GPS is global, but not universal,” says Sanket Deshpande, co-founder and CEO of Dirac Labs. “Earth’s magnetic field is already in those places, and it only gets stronger the closer you get to the rock.”
