Atom Strapdown: Toward Integrated Quantum Inertial Navigation Systems

Abstract

Atom interferometry is a highly precise technique for inertial sensing (Kasevich et al., 1991). By interrogating a free-evolving atom wave packet with a series of laser pulses, information about accelerations and turn rates can be extracted, allowing the calculation of a complete navigation solution (position, velocity, and attitude). Applications of this technique for accelerometers (Barrett et al., 2014), gyroscopes (Gauguet et al., 2009;Schubert et al., 2021), and complete inertial measurement units (IMUs) (Gebbe et al., 2021;Gersemann et al., 2020) based on Bose-Einstein condensates are currently under research. The potential position accuracy reaches 5 m after 1 h of inertial navigation (Jekeli, 2005), which makes atom interferometry a highly promising technique for navigation in global navigation satellite system (GNSS)-denied environments.Commercial options are already available for static settings, i.e., quantum gravimeters (Vermeulen et al., 2018), and have an accuracy and long-term stability comparable or even superior to those of other high-end conventional sensors

Current Status and Future Trends of Meter-Level Indoor Positioning Technology: A Review

“…The latest research in [96] introduces an innovative method for assessing the response of a cold atom interferometer (CAI) by tracking the atom wave packet's position in a novel sensor frame. This approach utilizes data from a standard inertial measurement unit (IMU) and common strap-down terminology, facilitating the hybridization of both systems for acceleration and angular rate measurements.…”