In a notable development for quantum technology and global navigation resilience, Australian company Q-CTRL has announced successful field trials of its quantum-assured navigation system, Ironstone Opal. The company claims this system significantly outperforms conventional GPS backup alternatives, marking what it describes as the first real-world demonstration of commercial quantum advantage in navigation.
The trials revealed that Q-CTRL’s system could outperform high-end inertial navigation systems (INS)—a widely used fallback when GPS signals are unavailable—by up to 50 times in terms of positioning accuracy. The technology was successfully tested in both airborne and ground-based scenarios, showcasing its ability to function in varied and demanding conditions.
Addressing vulnerabilities in GPS-reliant systems
Today, almost all modern vehicles—from commercial airliners to passenger cars and autonomous delivery platforms—rely on the Global Positioning System (GPS) for navigation. However, with increasing global geopolitical tension, GPS denial has become a tool for electronic warfare and economic disruption. A single day of GPS outage is estimated to cost around $1 billion, and more than 1,000 flights a day are reportedly impacted by GPS jamming incidents.
Backup systems like inertial navigation units, though useful, are prone to increasing drift and uncertainty the longer they are used without GPS correction. In this context, Q-CTRL’s quantum navigation system offers an alternative that is passive, stealthy, and not susceptible to jamming or spoofing—making it particularly useful in defense and autonomous sectors.
How the quantum-assured navigation system works
Q-CTRL’s system leverages quantum sensors—specifically magnetometers with extremely high sensitivity—to detect minute variations in the Earth’s magnetic field. These magnetic signatures, often imperceptible through conventional means, act as “landmarks” that a vehicle can use to determine its position. The sensor data is then compared against existing magnetic maps from public or commercial databases to infer location.
According to Q-CTRL, these sensors are unique in their ability to detect and interpret this environmental data with the stability required for consistent and accurate navigation from a moving vehicle.
As Q-CTRL CEO and Founder Michael J. Biercuk explained, “We achieved an accuracy in some trials comparable to a sharpshooter hitting a bullseye from 1,000 yards away. But because our quantum-assured navigation system allows a vehicle to position itself accurately irrespective of how far it’s travelled, by analogy that sharpshooter can hit the same bullseye no matter how far away they move from the target.”
The principle of “software ruggedized hardware”
At the heart of Q-CTRL’s success is the concept of “software ruggedized hardware.” This approach uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to shield the delicate quantum sensors from real-world disruptions like vibration and electromagnetic interference. It also enables the miniaturization of the system, making it compact enough to be deployed on drones, autonomous vehicles, and even commercial aircraft.
In a head-to-head comparison with competitor systems using open-source magnetic flight data, Q-CTRL’s software achieved three times better positioning accuracy and 15 times faster learning speed. Unlike some systems that require hours of calibration or specially designed vehicle maneuvers, Q-CTRL’s system learns “on the fly” and adapts to new environments without prior training.
This adaptability offers practical advantages for real-world deployment, especially in situations where time, calibration infrastructure, or operator expertise are limited.
Field trials: performance across land and air
Q-CTRL’s technology underwent a series of trials in both airborne and ground-based platforms. These trials demonstrated the system’s ability to provide accurate positioning even in environments heavily impacted by magnetic interference.
In airborne tests conducted over roughly 500 kilometers, the system achieved a 99.97% uptime and operated effectively under various conditions—altitude changes, different temperatures, and multiple flight maneuvers. During these tests, the system demonstrated a positioning uncertainty as low as 0.01% of the total distance traveled, with one of the best trial results yielding an error margin of just ~50 meters over the full flight distance.
The company also tested a full-stack system completely installed inside an aircraft, where interference from avionics equipment is significantly higher. Even in this constrained setting, the quantum system outperformed INS by a factor of 11, showcasing the effectiveness of its noise-canceling algorithms.
In ground trials, Q-CTRL placed its system inside the cargo bay of a van and repeated its mapping exercise using only public-domain magnetic data. In these tests, the quantum navigation solution outperformed INS by over 6 times—marking what is described as the first successful demonstration of magnetic navigation in a ground vehicle.
Applications in defense and commercial sectors
Q-CTRL has already secured collaborations with various defense bodies and commercial partners. The company is working with the Australian Department of Defence to implement quantum navigation in military platforms. It also has partnerships with the UK’s Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) and Royal Navy for maritime trials, including applications in quantum-assisted gravimetry.
In the United States, Q-CTRL has been selected by the Department of Defense to trial its navigation system under the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) program.
Commercially, Q-CTRL has partnered with Airbus to explore applications in passenger aircraft navigation, highlighting the broad range of uses beyond defense—especially as the demand for autonomous systems continues to rise.
Jean-Francois Bobier, Partner and Vice President of Deep Tech at the Boston Consulting Group, noted: “Unlike quantum supremacy [in quantum computing], the technology is truly innovative and meets a growing market need in aerospace, defense, and autonomous cars.” He added that quantum sensing is projected to become a $3 billion industry by 2030, stating, “Q-CTRL is paving the way to unlocking this potential with a proven quantum advantage.”
Reaching commercial quantum advantage
The term “quantum advantage” is used to describe situations where quantum technology performs better than classical alternatives in practical, real-world settings. While atomic clocks have been considered early examples since 1955, more recent efforts—especially in quantum computing—have struggled to clearly demonstrate superiority under commercial conditions.
Q-CTRL’s successful navigation trials represent a rare and tangible realization of this concept, with quantifiable improvements in accuracy, reliability, and operational flexibility.
The company’s approach of combining high-performance quantum sensors with real-time machine learning algorithms allowed it to deliver consistent results in dynamic, interference-rich environments where other systems would struggle. This not only addresses a long-standing challenge in navigation but also offers a scalable model for deploying quantum systems across different vehicle types and industries.
About Q-CTRL
Founded in 2017 by Michael J. Biercuk, Q-CTRL is known for its work in quantum infrastructure software. Its core offerings include quantum error suppression and performance management tools for researchers and industry users. The company is also behind Black Opal, an educational platform designed to teach users quantum computing fundamentals interactively.
Q-CTRL is headquartered in Sydney, with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berlin, and Oxford. It has been a part of the IBM Quantum Network startup program since 2018, and its software runs natively on IBM quantum computers.
Source: Q-CTRL
