EU-Funded Consortium Creates Sensors for Better Satellite Navigation
On Thursday, a European Union-funded consortium announced that it was creating sensors to let satellites navigate more accurately and drones fly longer distances.
The INPHOMIR project plans to create two new ultra-low-power sensors, an optical gyroscope and a specialized lidar sensor to make space missions more efficient and affordable.
The project costs about 5 million euros ($5.38 million) and is financed by Horizon Europe, a funding program of the European Union for research and innovation.
Satellite navigation sensors can struggle in harsh conditions such as low visibility, fog and dust. Even small measurement errors can cause major trajectory and positioning anomalies, potentially costing operators millions of dollars.
The INPHOMIR project is building its sensors onto indium phosphide, a material proven to improve efficiency and reduce weight and size for photonic integrated circuits and microchips that use light to transmit and process information.
The technology could also help power sensors used in drones and self-driving cars eventually, according to the consortium.
REUTERS
