Miles Jamison 
SandboxAQ has entered into an agreement with the Defense Innovation Unit to participate in its Transition of Quantum Sensing program to advance the development of magnetic navigation systems.
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What Is the Function of SandboxAQ’s AQNav Software?
The collaboration will focus on developing and testing advanced magnetic anomaly navigation, or MagNav, technologies for autonomous U.S. military platforms, SandboxAQ said Tuesday. The company will deploy its AQNav software to provide navigation capabilities without relying on external signals. Its work will include real-world demonstrations of AQNav’s utility and the creation of a dataset to benchmark performance against key Department of Defense use-cases.
“AQNav represents a vital, non-GPS-reliant path for PNT, and has proven its readiness for expanded military demonstrations and evaluation across mission-critical platforms,” said Luca Ferrara, general manager of AQNav at SandboxAQ.
What Is the Transition of Quantum Sensing Program?
Managed under DIU’s Emerging Technologies portfolio, the TQS program promotes rapid adoption of commercial quantum sensing technologies to enhance positioning, navigation and timing, or PNT, functions where Global Navigation Satellite Systems, or GNSS, signals are unreliable. The initiative bridges the gap between advanced quantum sensing research and real-world military applications.
