4 ms·
Basically it uses dead reckoning then. Cool stuff! There are other velocimeters, accelerometers, etc. that do that as well, the important part is the amount o
by Ninjaneered 8y ago
Basically it uses dead reckoning then. Cool stuff! There are other velocimeters, accelerometers, etc. that do that as well, the important part is the amount of error that builds over time. I wonder what this "quantum compass" has for error?
- craftyguy 8y ago> The quantum device measures the movement of supercooled atoms at extremely low temperatures — close to absolute zero Well, quite an improvment over traditional 'dead reckoning'. This is basically a more accurate inertial navigation system.
- Ninjaneered 8y agoUnless corrected by additional positional information (GPS, landmarks, etc.) inertial navigation is completely reliant on dead reckoning. Any system that uses this has cumulative error. I'm guessing (like you) that these "quantum compasses" provide a much lower error, just now sure how much. The cumulative error always exists because any sensor introduces error (I'm ignorant of anything "quantum" though). This means if you have several inputs (velocimeter, accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, etc.), you are introducing multiple forms of error, each with it's own error band. Interestingly, there is an algorithm called a Kalman filter that takes in all these inputs and can spit out a best estimate for navigation, it's pretty amazing.