The Genius Behind the Quantum Navigation Breakthrough

Summary

This video explores the vulnerability of GPS systems to spoofing and jamming, particularly along the Helsinki-Tartu flight path, and introduces a cutting-edge solution: the world's first Quantum Positioning System (QPS). Developed by Oxford-based quantum physicists and engineers, the QPS leverages the principles of quantum mechanics and ultra-cold atom states, known as Bose-Einstein condensates, to offer precise navigation without reliance on GPS. The technology has been tested in challenging environments, including aboard an aircraft, and promises to revolutionize navigation for military and civilian applications, providing a robust alternative to traditional GPS systems.

Takeaways

• ✈️ A flight from Helsinki to Tartu experienced an inexplicable GPS deviation, placing the plane thousands of miles off course over the Pacific Ocean.
• 🇷🇺 The incident points to potential Russian interference with the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), which provides GPS data worldwide.
• 📡 GPS jamming and spoofing are significant threats to both civilian and military navigation, as they can be caused by both natural and intentional disruptions.
• 🔍 Internet investigations suggest that the source of the GPS disruption on the Helsinki-Tartu flight path might be near St. Petersburg.
• 🗺️ Another 'Dead Zone' affecting GPS is located near San Antonio, USA, indicating a broader issue of GPS vulnerability.
• 🤖 Videos circulating online show drone shows disrupted by GPS jamming, hinting at possible sabotage by competitors using jammers.
• 🌐 The reliance on GPS for navigation is concerning as it can be easily compromised, prompting the search for alternative navigation systems.
• 🛰️ Quantum physicists and engineers in Oxford are developing the world's first Quantum Positioning System (QPS) as a potential solution to GPS vulnerabilities.
• 🌌 The QPS leverages quantum mechanics and ultra-cold states of matter, such as Bose-Einstein condensates, to enable precise navigation without GPS.
• 🛰️ Traditional GPS relies on trilateration using signals from satellites, which can be jammed or spoofed, while QPS offers a fundamentally different approach.
• 🚀 The QPS has been tested on a research flight, demonstrating its potential to provide accurate positioning data even in challenging environments.

Q & A

What was the unusual situation a pilot experienced during a flight from Helsinki to Tartu?

The pilot discovered that the plane, which should have been over the Baltic Sea, was inexplicably thousands of miles off course and hovering above a remote stretch of the Pacific Ocean on the opposite side of the world.

What is the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)?

The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is a system that provides GPS data for navigation around the planet. It can be disrupted by various activities, including those aimed at compromising GPS fidelity.

What is the significance of the GPS failure rate increase along the Helsinki-Tartu flight path?

The significant increase in the failure rate of GPS fidelity along the Helsinki-Tartu flight path suggests a targeted attempt to disrupt GPS signals, possibly due to jamming or spoofing activities.

What is a GPS jammer and how does it affect drone shows?

A GPS jammer is a device that blocks GPS signals, potentially causing drones to lose their positioning data and fall out of the sky, as seen in videos where hundreds of drones suddenly fall during a drone show.

What is the Quantum Positioning System being developed by Inflection and how does it differ from GPS?

The Quantum Positioning System uses quantum mechanics and Bose-Einstein condensates to navigate without reliance on external signals like GPS, making it resistant to jamming and spoofing.

How are ultra-cold states of matter, like Bose-Einstein condensates, created and what is their significance?

Bose-Einstein condensates are created by cooling atoms to a few billionths of a degree above absolute zero using lasers and magnetic fields. These condensates exhibit quantum effects at a macroscopic scale, which can be used for precise navigation.

What is the principle behind Doppler cooling and how does it relate to atom trapping?

Doppler cooling uses the interaction between atoms and laser light to slow down the atoms' motion. When an atom moves towards a laser beam, it scatters more light, absorbing photons and losing kinetic energy, which opposes its motion. This process, along with a magnetic field, is used to trap and cool atoms.

How does the Quantum Positioning System utilize atom interferometry for navigation?

The system uses atom interferometry to detect motion with high precision. By splitting a Bose-Einstein condensate into two clouds and allowing them to move in opposite directions, then recombining them, any acceleration experienced is reflected in the interference pattern, providing a measure of the system's movement.

What challenges does the team at Inflection face in developing a quantum positioning system for practical use?

The team faces challenges such as overcoming noise from mechanical and electromagnetic sources, which are the enemies of quantum engineering. They also need to ensure the system's robustness in dynamic environments like aircraft and work towards miniaturizing the technology for practical deployment.

What potential applications does the Quantum Positioning System have beyond aviation?

Beyond aviation, the Quantum Positioning System could be used for geological surveys to locate mineral deposits, measure tunnels and geological formations, guide autonomous vehicles in urban environments, and aid in space navigation.

Outlines

00:00

😲 GPS Disruption and Quantum Positioning

The script begins with a chilling anecdote of a Helsinki-Tartu flight that mysteriously veered off course to the Pacific Ocean, highlighting the vulnerability of GPS systems. It delves into the reality of GPS jamming and spoofing, particularly in regions near Helsinki and San Antonio, suggesting a Russian origin for the disruptions. The narrative pivots to the potential of a Quantum Positioning System (QPS) being developed by Oxford-based quantum physicists and engineers. This system aims to leverage quantum mechanics and ultra-cold matter states, specifically Bose-Einstein condensates, to create a new form of position sensing that is impervious to traditional GPS vulnerabilities.

05:01

🛰️ The Flaws of Traditional GPS and the Promise of Quantum Navigation

This section explains the workings of GPS through trilateration, which relies on the timing of signals from satellites. It underscores the susceptibility of GPS to jamming and spoofing, which can occur naturally or through malicious intent. The script introduces 'dead reckoning', a method of navigation that uses inertial sensors and does not require external signals, thus offering a level of security against disruptions. However, traditional inertial measurement units (IMUs) have limitations due to drift and noise over time. The Oxford team's QPS aims to surpass these limitations by using quantum properties and ultra-cold atom states to achieve precise navigation.

10:01

🔬 Creating Ultra-Cold Atoms for Quantum Positioning

The script describes the process of cooling atoms to create a Bose-Einstein condensate, a state of matter where atoms behave as a single super atom. It details the use of laser light to slow down atoms through a process known as Doppler cooling, where the atoms absorb and re-emit photons, losing kinetic energy in the process. A magnetic optical trap (MOT) is used to hold these ultra-cold atoms in a vacuum chamber, preventing them from touching the container walls and heating up. The team's goal is to use these condensates for atom interferometry, a technique sensitive to acceleration and rotation, which could provide precise navigation data.

15:02

🚀 Testing Quantum Positioning in Flight

The script discusses the practical application of the quantum positioning system on a research flight, demonstrating the ability to create and manipulate Bose-Einstein condensates in a dynamic environment like an aircraft. It explains the process of atom interferometry, where a laser pulse splits a cloud of atoms, which are then made to interfere with each other to detect motion with high precision. The challenge of maintaining quantum coherence in the presence of environmental noise is highlighted, along with the successful demonstration of the technology's potential in real-world conditions.

20:03

🌐 Future Applications and Challenges of Quantum Positioning

The final section outlines the future applications of quantum positioning technology, including its use in autonomous vehicles, geologic exploration, and space navigation, due to its sensitivity to gravity. It discusses the challenges of miniaturizing and ruggedizing the technology for practical deployment and compares the potential of quantum technologies to existing navigation systems. The script concludes with a call to action for further development and testing of quantum positioning systems to counter the increasing threats to GPS reliability.

Keywords

💡GPS spoofing

GPS spoofing refers to the act of manipulating GPS signals to provide false location data to a GPS receiver. In the context of the video, it is mentioned as a significant threat to navigation systems, where planes can be misled to show incorrect locations, potentially causing serious navigational errors. The video discusses how this can be a tool for sabotage or a form of cyber warfare, and it is a key motivation for seeking alternative navigation technologies.

💡Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)

The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is a global system that includes a constellation of satellites that provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning with global coverage. It enables GPS data for positioning and navigation. The video highlights how GNSS is vulnerable to disruptions, which can lead to navigational inaccuracies, emphasizing the need for more reliable systems like quantum positioning.

💡Quantum positioning system

A quantum positioning system (QPS) is a theoretical navigation system that uses principles of quantum mechanics to determine position with high precision. The video discusses how researchers at Oxford are developing the world's first QPS, which could be less susceptible to interference and spoofing compared to traditional GPS. It is a cutting-edge solution to the problem of GPS vulnerabilities.

💡Bose-Einstein condensate

A Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter of a dilute gas of bosons cooled to temperatures very close to absolute zero. In the video, the creation of a BEC is a key step in the quantum positioning system, as it allows for the manipulation of atoms in a state where quantum effects become apparent on a macroscopic scale. The script describes the process of creating a BEC using lasers and magnetic fields, which is then used for atom interferometry to detect motion with extreme precision.

💡Atom interferometry

Atom interferometry is a technique that uses the wave-like nature of atoms to measure physical properties with high precision, such as acceleration and gravitational fields. The video explains how atom interferometry is used in the quantum positioning system to detect changes in acceleration, which can be used for navigation. It is highlighted as a method that is not susceptible to the same vulnerabilities as GPS, offering a potential solution to the problem of GPS spoofing.

💡Doppler cooling

Doppler cooling is a laser cooling technique that slows down atoms by exploiting the Doppler effect. In the video, Doppler cooling is used to cool atoms to very low temperatures, which is a prerequisite for creating a Bose-Einstein condensate. The script describes how atoms lose kinetic energy through interactions with laser light, leading to a decrease in their speed.

💡Inertial measurement unit (IMU)

An Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) is a device that measures specific force, angular rate, and sometimes the orientation of a system. In the video, IMUs are discussed as traditional tools for navigation that rely on accelerometers and rotation sensors to measure inertial forces. However, they are limited by drift and noise, which accumulate over time and reduce their accuracy. The quantum positioning system aims to overcome these limitations.

💡Dead reckoning

Dead reckoning is a method of estimating one's current position based on a previously determined position, or fix, and advancing that position based on known or estimated speeds over elapsed time and course. The video mentions that when GPS signals are jammed or spoofed, dead reckoning can be used as a fallback. However, it is also limited by the accumulation of errors over time, which is why more precise technologies like quantum positioning are being developed.

💡Magnetic Optical Trap (MOT)

A Magnetic Optical Trap (MOT) is a device used to cool and trap neutral atoms using a combination of laser cooling and a magnetic field. In the video, the MOT is described as part of the process to create ultra-cold atoms, which are necessary for achieving the Bose-Einstein condensate state. The script explains how the MOT uses six laser beams to slow down atoms and a magnetic field to hold them in place.

💡Quantum effects

Quantum effects are phenomena resulting from the principles of quantum mechanics, which are only apparent at very small scales or very low temperatures. In the video, quantum effects are harnessed in the Bose-Einstein condensate to enable atom interferometry with high precision. The script describes how, in a BEC, atoms behave coherently, allowing for the detection of minute changes in acceleration, which is crucial for the quantum positioning system.

Highlights

A pilot experienced a sudden GPS navigation failure, finding his plane thousands of miles off course over the Pacific Ocean instead of the Baltic Sea.

GPS data can be disrupted by intentional jamming or spoofing, which poses a significant threat to global navigation.

A global survey activity measures GPS threats and interference, revealing a high compromise on the Helsinki-Tartu flight path.

The source of GPS disruption was pinpointed to an area just west of St. Petersburg, suggesting a deliberate act.

A similar GPS 'Dead Zone' was identified near San Antonio, USA, raising questions about the security of GPS systems worldwide.

Drones falling out of the sky during a show was attributed to GPS jamming, hinting at the vulnerability of drone technology.

The narrative suggests GPS jamming could be used in competitive sabotage within the drone industry.

The reliance on GPS for both military and civilian navigation raises concerns about the ease with which it can be compromised.

A team of quantum physicists and engineers in Oxford is developing the world's first Quantum Positioning System (QPS).

The QPS leverages quantum mechanics to navigate without reliance on traditional GPS signals, offering a potential solution to GPS vulnerabilities.

The technique involves controlling ultra-cold states of matter, specifically creating a Bose-Einstein condensate for precision navigation.

Bose-Einstein condensates exhibit quantum effects at a macroscopic level, which are crucial for the QPS's high-precision sensing.

Dead reckoning, a traditional method of navigation, is limited by the drift and noise in accelerometers and rotation sensors.

Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) measure changes in acceleration or deceleration, providing position data without external signals.

The QPS aims to overcome the limitations of traditional IMUs by utilizing quantum properties for more accurate and reliable navigation.

The process of cooling atoms to create a Bose-Einstein condensate involves using lasers in a counterintuitive manner to remove kinetic energy.

Doppler cooling exploits the Doppler effect to slow atoms down to near absolute zero temperatures.

The QPS was successfully tested on a research flight, demonstrating its capability to function in a dynamic environment.

The technology has potential applications beyond navigation, including mineral detection, geological mapping, and even guiding autonomous vehicles.

The development of quantum technologies like the QPS is in its early stages, with significant potential for improvement and miniaturization.

The team plans to ruggedize and miniaturize the QPS for practical applications, such as fitting in the palm of a hand.

The QPS could protect flights from GPS spoofing, which affects an average of 900 flights a day as of 2024.

Transcripts

on a routine flight between Helsinki and

Tatu a pilot glanced at his navigation

instruments and felt a sudden cold wave

of disbelief wash over him the plane

which should have been coasting over the

Baltic Sea was inexplicably thousands of

miles off course hovering above a remote

stretch of the Pacific Ocean on the

opposite side of the world now this

sounds like the opening to lost the

reality is something much more scary

Russians specifically a concerted body

of activity to disrupt the way we

navigate around our planet using the

global navigation satellite system or

gnss to provide GPS data in fact we can

actually see this happening this is the

global survey activity that measures GPS

threats and interference Around the

World As We pan East we notice a

significant increase in the failure rate

of GPS Fidelity with particularly High

compromise exactly on the Helsinki tartu

flight path by assuming the line of

sight is needed for this GPS attack and

looking at the signal strength in the

area internet sleuths narrowed down the

likely source of this phenomena to just

west of St Petersburg there's also

another interesting Dead Zone but that

one's located in the USA just west of

San Antonio what initially got me

interested in this story was videos like

this one that have been circulating the

internet for a while now and show in the

middle of a drone show hundreds of

drones suddenly falling out of the sky

there was an internet rabbit hole that I

went down that other drone companies

were using GPS Jammers to sabotage their

comp competition but all this brings me

to one point in a world where our main

means of navigation both military and

civilian is so easily compromised what

do we do about it I wanted to find out

so I reached out to a team of quantum

physicists and Engineers based in Oxford

that are working on a solution the

world's first Quantum positioning system

A system that Taps into the very nature

of quantum mechanics in order to

navigate we hear a lot online and you

guys leave me a lot of comments that the

of quantum much like Fusion always seems

30 years away this is a direct

Counterpoint to that argument the magic

behind their technique comes from the

ability to control Ultra cold states of

matter at inflection we're experts in uh

Cooling and trapping atoms um and

manipulating them using magnetic fields

and light uh and the reason that we do

that is that if you cool down atoms um

exquisitely cold few billionths of a

degree above absolute zero uh then you

can create a new state of matter it's

called a Bose Einstein condensate what

inflection are trying to do is develop a

new approach to position sensing but

what exactly does that

mean when we think about working out

where we are on the planet there are

really two main ways of doing this

either trilateration which is used by

GPS systems where we have a

constellation of GPS satellites in orbit

constantly sending out their position in

the sky and the time on their local

clocks these radio signals travel

outward at the speed of light from each

satellite and if you detect a GPS signal

you can look at your current time

subtract the time of the GPS signal and

this tells you how long it took for that

GPS signal to arrive to you as all light

waves move at the speed of light the

speed of light multiplied by this time

difference tells you how far away the

satellite is from you you now know the

distance you just don't know the

direction to this satellite but if you

can do this for three or more satellites

you can get a ring of overlapping

possible positions that converges on a

single point in the plan it telling you

where you are but actually GPS can be

very easily spoofed and can be very

easily jammed so what I mean by jammed

is it can happen for natural Reasons I'm

I'm in between large buildings or I'm in

a mountainous region or maybe I'm under

the ground right I'm I'm on the tube

traveling around London I'm not going to

get a GPS signal GPS can also be jammed

with very cheap Jammers that literally

block the GPS signal spoofed is a little

bit more Insidious where you look at

your GPS signal it tells you that you're

in one place you're really in another

that can be either in the theater of war

or like a few delivery drivers did a few

years ago to disguise the fact they were

taking naps throughout the day if that

is the case then all of these break the

reliability of GPS if that goes down do

you have to rely on something called

dead reckoning and dead reckoning is

based on accelerometers rotation sensors

that measure inertial forces dead

reckoning was originally developed by

Sailors as early as the 1600s trying to

navigate around the globe back then all

they had was a compass and that gives

you a direct Direction but not a

position so how do you work out where

you are imagine you are a sailor trying

to make your way over to America you

start by locating your position on the

map by looking for the port you are

leaving from you decide to head to

America by moving straight west if we

make the physicist assumption that ocean

currents and stray winds don't knock us

off course at all and we follow our

compass reading perfectly where we are

on the map is a simple question of how

long we've been traveling multiplied by

our speed Sailors determined a ship's

speed by a log with a rope tied to it

overboard every 47 ft a knot was tied in

the rope and by counting how many knots

were pulled out by the log the ship

could determine how fast it was moving

this gave us the definition of speed

measured in knots still used by ships

and aircraft to this day this worked

okay for Sailors back then but for some

reason never caught on with commercial

aircraft Pilots maybe because you need a

lot more rope but also because these

systems weren't accurate enough and

velocity is rarely constant so during

the mid 20th century particularly during

World War II dead reckoning systems

moved to measuring acceleration rather

than velocity these worked broadly the

same but measured acceleration over time

to calculate velocity then velocity over

time to calculate position I like to

think of this as basically what you do

if you ever find yourself kidnapped and

put in the back of a trunk you feel the

movements of the car around you and keep

track of your position this process

works because every action has an equal

and opposite reaction to understand this

better you might imagine Einstein in a

rocket ship in space as the rocket

accelerates he gets pushed to the bottom

of the ship similarly moving left or

right causes him to bump into the

opposite wall the device that measures

all of these movements is called an

inertial measurement unit or an IMU and

it measures changes and acceleration or

deceleration by watching its internal

Einstein bump around but why is this so

interesting it means that unlike GPS no

external reference signal is needed

which could otherwise be vulnerable to

hacking jamming or poofing dead

reckoning systems just need to know

where they started and they can use the

laws of the universe to determine the

rest they are effectively unhackable

assuming at least that no one has direct

access to the device An Elegant solution

for keeping track of reality the problem

with normal Imus is that their

sensitivity is limited and the reason

for that is that all of these sensors

have an unavoidable level of drift and

noise and that drift and noise

accumulates over time so you start off

with your known position and you

integrate forwards your your local

acceleration and rotation for a few

minutes a few hours and a few days and

eventually the uncertainty of your

position grows and grows and grows until

it's no longer usable so if you're

imagine you're a submarine you're trying

to go from the middle of the ocean

through a narrow straights s a channel

Gap without broadcasting your position

with Sona or any emissive technology you

then are more and more uncertain about

your ability to navigate underwater and

I pick underwater because GPS does not

penetrate underwater at all so

regardless of of the situation you

always need inertial navigation

underwater the goal for inflection is to

overcome the limitation of traditional

inertial measurement systems by

developing one based on the quantum

properties of the universe and a state

of matter called a Bose Einstein

condensate because I'm an experimental

physicist and I like understanding how

things actually work I wanted to see

deep within their system to see how the

pieces of this puzzle come together to

do that though the first challenge is to

make some of the coldest atoms in the

universe can you start by just talking

me through how you actually go about

cooling an atom using a laser CU that

sounds utterly counterintuitive you know

like usually you think of lasers as

heating things up how do you actually

use a laser to cool something down so

the basic concept is uh when the photon

of light comes in and interacts with the

atom it sort of stays momentarily with

the atom and then is reemitted into the

environment randomly in all directions

and because every time an atom

experiences an interaction with the

laser light it loses a little bit of

energy its kinetic energy is slowly

sapped away as it interacts with many

many photons from the beams um and this

happens in a way which opposes motion so

if the atom moves towards the laser beam

it scatters more light than if it's

moving away from the laser beam this

phenomena has been known for a while but

I always find it amazing it's called

Doppler cooling as you might expect from

the name it exploits the Doppler effect

which is the change in frequency or

wavelength of any wave perceived by an

observer moving relative to the source

you're probably reasonably familiar with

this in the example of a car moving

towards you as it moves towards you its

engine sounds like it's at a higher

pitch or higher frequency than when it

passes you and and starts moving away

the same thing happens though with light

atoms are exposed to a laser light that

is slightly red shifted meaning that its

frequency is slightly lower than the

natural frequency that the atom wants to

absorb the atom's thermal motion is

random in nature as it bumps into other

nearby atoms but when it moves towards

the laser light the Doppler effect

causes the light to appear slightly blue

shifted bringing the light's frequency

closer to the atom's natural absorption

frequency and making it easier for the

atom to absorb the light upon absorbing

the photon the atom experiences a recoil

in the opposite direction to its motion

slightly reducing its speed after

absorbing the photon the atom will

eventually Reit the photon in a random

Direction this process is repeated

millions of times with the atom

absorbing photons from the laser light

and losing a little bit more speed in

each interaction if lasers are applied

from all six directions this can slow

down the atom essentially to a dead stop

now that will slow the atoms down but it

won't trap them so what we also add is a

magnetic field and that adds a restoring

Force so the atoms are sucked into the

center of the magnetic field in this

setup we have six uh separate laser

beams arrange so one from this direction

and its partner from above uh one from

this direction and its partner and then

one kind of in this direction and one

traveling this way and so this means

that we have a laser beam in pushing the

atoms in all uh all three dimensions and

both axes and this is the first stage of

what we will eventually do which is to

to trap and cool atoms way colder than

that even uh to the state of matter

known as Bose Einstein condensate this

magnetic Optical trap or mot means that

you can hold on to these super cold

atoms in the middle of a vacuum chamber

like this and keep them away from the

sidewalls of your container so they

don't touch it and instantly start to

heat up this is kind of hard to see

happening because well it's a cloud of

atoms but also the laser is in the

infrared which our eyes and our cameras

aren't very good at detecting here my

eyes and our main camera couldn't see

anything but when I put my phone in

front of our camera you can suddenly see

a bright red dot this is the trapped

cloud of atoms that's because the DSLR

that we're shooting on had an IR filter

over the top of it meaning that we

couldn't see any infrared but our mobile

phones didn't the team helped make this

slightly easier to understand by

blocking and unblocking the line of the

laser which you can see on this screen

with a special IR camera The Cloud of

ultra cold atoms spontaneously assembles

and then kind of explodes as the Trap

and confinement is turned off what's

nice here is you can see as the um as

the atoms disappear you can see them uh

flying away because they're no longer

held by the force of the Trap and they

just expand ballistically into the

volume of the vacuum chamber and yes

this does look like a blurry SMUD on a

screen but that's quantum physics for

you it almost always looks like that

what was really impressive is how you

can then make this atom Cloud do

something useful for

you to understand how this system works

we need to get hand hands on with the

actual

device cool heavy valuable input B this

device to say the least is reasonably

complicated it's simple as long as you

know Quantum Computing as Quantum

Computing what we're looking at here is

what we call the double mop chamber

generates a 2d M so this is similar to a

3D M but we're confined in two

Dimensions it's a line cold atom we

deliberately leave the third dimension

free that's so we can introduce what we

call a push beam so that's another laser

beam along the axis and that Parts

momentum onto the atoms in that axis and

they propagate up into the top chamber

here and so this is then where we do the

three-dimensional Cooling and then we

can ramp those magnetic fields and the

currents in the chip to load atoms into

what we call the chip trap reason why we

want to do that is because we want to

generate this the coldest state of

matter which is called a Bose Einstein

condensate and what this is is that if

you keep on cooling atoms down so we

know the wavelength of atoms is

inversely proportional to the momentum

so the colder you go the lower the

momentum the larger the wavelength and

so this nice thing starts happening

where as you go colder and colder and

colder the atoms the wavelength start

propagating out so when the wavelengths

start matching the spacing between them

they turn into what's called a Bine

Stone conding the coherent state of

matter where all of the atoms are

behaving in the same way you might have

heard of the poorly Exclusion Principle

before the idea that no two firion or

half odd integer spin particles like

electrons can be in the same place at

the same time this however doesn't apply

for bosons which have integer spin when

a collection of bosons such as atoms

like ridium 87 or sodium 23 are called

to temperatures close to absolute zero

their individual Quantum states start to

overlap as the temperature decreases

further the bosons lose their individual

identities and a large fraction of them

condense into the lowest energy State

available effectively behaving as a

single super atom in a Bose Einstein

condensate here Quantum effects become

Apparent at the macroscopic scale these

condensates can exhibit properties such

as super fluidity where they can flow

without any internal viscosity and they

can interfere with themselves like a

wave demonstrating wave particle duality

at the macroscopic level it is this

property that we want to make use of

this is exactly what we want we want to

prepare a Bose Einstein condensate and

then we want to do atom interferometry

with it in order to detect uh motion

with exquisite Precision interferometry

looks at the inter pattern between two

traveling waves it is used in

experiments you might have heard of

before like ligo to detect gravitational

waves as they move through the Earth

usually interferometers interfere waves

of light but here we want to interfere

waves of matter this is kind of wild I

think we're all pretty familiar with

light reflecting off of a material

surface like a mirror but it is

reasonably rare that we see material

reflecting off of a light surface but

that is exactly what is happening here

here we can see the atoms from above uh

so the black wires here are how we're

going to uh we're going to run current

through there and that's going to create

the Trap I'm going to shine a very

powerful laser called a dipole laser

from the side then I'm going to apply a

coherent laser pulse which will split

This Cloud into two the atoms are going

to move in opposite directions inside

the dipole uh then we're going to

coherently flip them back so that they

recombine in the middle and after

completing this uh interferometry

sequence uh the phaser the atoms is

sensitive to the acceleration so we can

take an image of the cloud and read out

the portion of the cloud in each of the

momentus state and that will be a

fingerprint of how the cloud was

accelerating during the measurement that

image is destructive so we will no

longer have a b Einstein condensate the

atoms will be warm and they'll be

dispersed in the vacuum chamber and

therefore we have to start the whole

cycle again so we get one image every

cycle which is about once a second so

what this technique relies on is that if

there are any small changes to

acceleration the ship moving up down

left right forwards or backwards this

will impart a small difference in the

two clouds of atoms such that when they

are brought back together and recombined

you see a small interference signal

correlating to this acceleration don't

get me wrong every single step of this

process is incredibly difficult and it

would be an impressive feat if it was

demonstrated just in the laboratory

alone but this is already far closer to

reality and back in May the team flew

this system on board a research flight

to prove about its capability this is a

video that we took in uh flight here we

are you can see the aircraft banking uh

and on the screen you see a single blob

there and that blob is a Bose Einstein

condensate being produced in this

particular video we're alternating

between taking a BC and then just

Imaging that directly and taking the BC

and doing the first round of splitting

that You' need to do for interferometry

whether you split or whether you just

look at the BC you drop the atoms they

they freefall briefly and you do what's

called absorption Imaging which is uh

very simple it's looking at the shadow

the atoms create and by looking at the

relative um density of these three blobs

you know the relative proportion of

atoms in each of the three superposition

States and then you can back calculate

what phase you would have accumulated

obviously due to an acceleration or

rotation the fact that you can even brag

split a BC in a plane and it stable is

remarkable it's really really amazing

and you can do so while the aircraft

moving around you can see the cloud

moving in the background to add some

context as to why this is so impressive

the enemy of all Quantum engineering is

noise both mechanical and

electromagnetic it's what we are

fighting when we're building a quantum

computer that makes it so hard to get

right and what the team here is having

to overcome you know you come from a

physics lab where everything is bolted

onto FL floating Optical tables and uh

you know the magnetic and the light

environment and everything else is quite

well shielded to taking this on a really

uh dynamically challenging environment

like an aircraft where uh the aircraft

is is shaking violently because of the

engines there is a 6 you know whatever

gigz weather radar at the front of the

thing blasting there's air traffic

control it's a very challenging

environment we are finally getting to

the point where Quantum is becoming

robust the learnings that are here will

map directly to other Quantum

Technologies and open up applications

that we never thought possible the

challenges now is to um show the

performance and the uh capabilities of

the quantum senses in in more of the

deployed trials and Benchmark that

against existing Technologies and try to

rapidly Ascend that uh technology

development curve so lots of the

existing Technologies I mentioned before

are plateauing in their performance

we're not going to get a 10x or 100x

Improvement in fiberoptic Gyros or ring

laser gyros in the next few years

they've been very well engineered by

lots of very smart people but they're

coming to the end of their development

trajectory we're just at the start of

the development trajectory for Quantum

Technologies at the first generation of

our products will be something that's

rack mounted system uh something that

can go into a a data center or or onto a

a ship or an aircraft But ultimately

where we're going longer term uh and

when I say longer term this is Ry over

the next few years is to ruggedize and

miniaturize the systems using for

example photonic integrated circuits so

taking the lasers and the Optics and the

vapor cells that you've seen and

printing these on Silicon uh so that

ultimately these products will be

something that could fit in the palm of

your hand but positioning isn't the only

problem that these systems could tackle

so because the atoms are sensitive to

acceleration they are by the same uh

exact principle uh sensitive to gravity

and and so if we can measure gravity

with exquisite Precision it enables us

to for example understand where there

are mineral deposits under the Earth we

can measure uh tunnels we can measure

geologic formations one day it may have

applications from helping guide

autonomous vehicles around high-rise

cities or helping us to navigate space

But first it will be set to work to

protect flights around the world which

as of 2024 900 flights a day on average

are now encountering GPS spoofing a

technology made possible by some of the

most complicated but fundamental laws of

our universe diving into these sorts of

Technologies is literally the coolest

thing about what it is that I get to do

as a factor of being on YouTube If you

like this video I'm going to leave some

more kind of behind the scenes footage

over on patreon and post it here for

channel members please do consider

supporting us by joining or just by

leaving a like or leaving a comment let

me know what other Technologies you

would like me to do a deep dive on thank

you to inflection and the team for

letting me behind the scenes and letting

me pick up the device before they told

me how much it costs which once I found

out I promptly put it down again and

thank you as always for watching I'll

see you next week goodbye

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