Engineers at the University of Tokyo have made a breakthrough in navigation technology by developing the world’s first cosmic ray GPS system. Their goal is simple: to revolutionize navigation and exploration in uncharted territory.
Exploration of underground and underwater environments has just made a big step forward. An innovative new system is able to do this using muons, ultrafast subatomic particles Track movement below and below water with great precision. Unlike traditional GPS, which relies on satellite signals that are obstructed by solid objects like rocks and water, muons have the unique ability to negotiate these obstacles with ease.
This technology, known as “muometric” wireless navigation system (MuWNS), has much more precise applications than traditional GPS. For example, it can be used in search and rescue operations, monitoring underwater volcanoes, etc Guide autonomous vehicles through challenging environments where traditional GPS signals are unreliable. The research team successfully tested the MuWNS system in a multi-storey building and demonstrated its effectiveness in underground environments.
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How does MuWNS technology work?
To set an exact location, The MuWNS is based on four surface muon detection stations on Earth and one underground muon detection receiver. By synchronizing the ground stations with the receiver using high-precision quartz clocks, the system calculates the coordinates of the receiver based on the time it takes for the muons to travel.
This timing is critical for accurate results, and the team anticipates that future advances in atomic clock technology, such as chip-scale atomic clocks (CSAC), will further improve the accuracy of the system.
The current accuracy of MuWNS is between 2 and 25 meters. with a range of up to 100 meters. While this accuracy is already comparable to single-point GPS positioning in urban areas, the team recognizes the need to achieve 1-meter accuracy for practical applications. Engineers hope that as CSAC technology becomes more affordable, atomic clocks will be miniaturized, which could eventually lead to the integration of MuWNS into handheld devices.
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MuWNS will help us to make new discoveries
The potential of MuWNS goes beyond navigation. Muons have attracted attention in various scientific fields their ability to penetrate solid materials, which has enabled researchers to explore the interior of pyramidsto study cyclones and probe the depths of volcanoes. The development of MuWNS paves the way for this Advances in underground and underwater explorationand provides valuable insights into previously inaccessible areas.
While the current version of MuWNS tracks movement retrospectively, the researchers plan to develop real-time navigation capabilities in the future. The ability to track and navigate harsh environments with meter-level accuracy could be critical for search and rescue teams in emergency situations such as building collapses or mining accidents.
MuWNS might therefore become accustomed to it one day Control underground driverless vehicles or underwater robots. It remains to be seen if this technology will ever exist built into our mobile phonesHowever, this will largely depend on the ability of engineers to miniaturize atomic clocks. In the meantime, if you need a GPS and don’t know which one to choose, you can consult our guide.