Quantum geo-magnetometers – a UK sovereign commercial OPM for enhanced GNSS-denied navigation

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This project will mature sensors that can accurately detect changes in geophysical magnetic fields. These will then be flown on a small unmanned air vehicle. The sensors will detect local variations, or anomalies, in the Earth's magnetic field and compare it to a known "map" of these variances. This is an important enabling step in allowing platform navigation when satellite navigation is not possible or compromised, and is applicable to numerous other types of platforms. The sensors will use optical preparation and interrogation of polarised caesium atoms, housed in a compact mass-produced cell, to detect changes in the quantum state of those atoms caused by changes of the geophysical magnetic field. These sensors also have important applications in maritime defence, national security and low-frequency communications. The project will establish a UK sovereign commercialisation route for these sensors which will are significantly more sensitive than competing classical devices for measurement of geophysical magnetic fields.