BAE-University of Birmingham to Develop Navigation System That Doesn’t Use GPS

BAE Systems and University of Birmingham have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to form an Advanced Sensing Technologies Consortium.

This forms part of the Government-funded National Quantum Technologies programme to drive four UK-based hubs which includes a Sensors and Timing hub led by the University of Birmingham. The consortium will accelerate the development and application of advanced sensing technology, as well as develop disruptive technologies.

The MoU covers developing novel navigation systems that do not rely on GPS, sensing technologies that can measure mental workload, enhanced situational awareness sensors and sensors that have the ability to detect buried infrastructure.

Julia Sutcliffe, Chief Technologist for BAE Systems Air Sector, said: “This initiative is aimed at accelerating the pace of exploitation of these developing capabilities, enabling us to take technology from a lab environment and apply it quickly in real-world scenarios. For example, our test pilots are trialing novel technologies to measure cognitive workload both on the ground and in the air, meaning we can test how intuitive and effective it really is and ensure any learning is fed back into our research and development at an early stage.”