Hybrid quantum/classical Inertial Navigation System – HYBRIDQUANTA

Over the past few decades, research in laboratories have demonstrated the astounding potential of interferometry with matter waves to build measuring systems which are ultrasensitive to inertial effects. These devices can be a technological breakthrough for many applications, from fundamental physics to autonomous navigation, by way of geophysics.
In terms of autonomous navigation the ultimate goal is to design inertial navigation systems using cold atoms technology and allowing to determine the trajectory of mobile units with very high long term accuracy but with no help from GPS. Today, despite of the improvement in the achievement of matter waves interferometers, several important steps still need to be passed to consider the production of such inertial sensors. Apart from the size, the cost and the power consumption, questions about onboard applications still need to be addressed, concerning functioning during a movement of rotation, robustness regarding vibrations and measurement continuity.
iXBlue and the LP2N (Institut d’Optique Graduate School) created together the joint laboratory iXAtom which focuses on inertial navigation with cold atoms especially to address these issues.
The HYBRIDQUANTA project is incorporated within the framework of this research activity. The goal is to develop a new type of inertial sensors arise from a hybridization between a matter waves interferometer and an inertial navigation system based on fiber optical gyroscopes and quartz accelerometers. More precisely the project aims at achieve an experiment corresponding to an inertial navigation system whose classical acceleration measuring axes are replaced by hybrid axes combining quantum and classical measurements. To reach this goal measurement continuity and the increase of measurement dynamics are essential for inertial navigation and will be especially studied. In a more general way, the compliance of such a device for onboard applications will be at the heart of the project, with the study of the vibrations and rotations issues.