Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a wireless navigation innovation based upon muons that can be utilized anywhere on the Earth including inside and underground. They claim that, unlike GPS, this innovation can permeate obstacles like water, soil, and rocks, making it possible for navigation in hard locations.
Image credits: Mike Petrucci/Unsplash
When protons and nuclei from cosmic radiation hit particles in Earths environment, muons are formed and launched. They are over 200 times heavier than electrons and can penetrate more than a mile into Earths surface, a task that a GPS signal can never attain.
Hiroyuki Tanaka, among the researchers and a professor at the University of Tokyo told ZME Science, “GPS utilizes radio waves that are weak and easily obstructed by small challenges, thus, you can not browse indoor and underground environments with GPS. On the other hand, muon can permeate through big objects such as mountains and pyramids.”.
He even more added, “This new technology could be used in future search and rescue efforts, to monitor undersea volcanoes, and guide robotics and self-governing automobiles both underwater and underground.”.
The proposed innovation is called a muometric wireless navigation system (MuWNS). It uses muons, fast-moving subatomic particles, in some cases referred to as “one of the most basic foundation of the universe.” The majority of the cosmic rays that hit Earth consist of muons..
How does MuWNS work?
The red line in this image represents the path the “navigatee” strolled, while the white line with dots shows the path tape-recorded by MuWNS. Credit: Hiroyuki K.M. Tanaka.
The research study is published in the journal iScience.
This innovation is not indicated for daily navigation utilized by you or me. There are specific niche applications where MuWNS can be extremely important in spite of some of its practical drawbacks.
Every minute, about 10,000 muons strike each square meter area of Earth. Their existence is extremely fleeting, only lasting for a couple of split seconds before they decay into lighter sub-atomic particles such as neutrinos and electrons.
Existing technologies like LiDAR (light detection and ranging) and INS (inertial navigation system) are also beneficial to some extent for such purposes, though they have important shortcomings. The former can be quickly obstructed by barriers, while the latter drifts within a brief time period. MuPS is not affected by either of these challenges.
” The next obstacle is to develop a self-governing drone or robot equipped with Vector muPS, and carry out an autonomous operation in the underground tunnel, which has actually never been possible with standard technology,” said Tanaka.
Throughout one experiment, the Japanese scientists successfully utilized MuWNS to find the route to a receivers location positioned in the basement of a structure all the method from a station on the 6th floor. The researchers first noted the measurements and after that carried out estimations that eventually confirmed the path..
Tanaka believes that MuWNS is a substantial step in achieving accurate indoor and underground navigation. Once fully established, navigation systems like MuWNS might increase the success rate of even the most complicated search and rescue operations..
Although there is a way to make MuWNS also work in real-time, it will need chip-scale atomic clocks (CSACs) which are very costly compared to quartz clocks. A little CSAC costs over $1,000..
It likewise has its own significant limitation. Unlike GPS, which operates in a wireless mode, muPS needs a network of wires to establish a connection between four aboveground muon-detecting reference stations and an underground muon signal receiver..
Nevertheless, it will take at least 5 years for this innovation to totally establish and end up being widely readily available. The researchers have actually currently started dealing with an innovative variation of MuWNS called Vector muPS that will not require CSAC to operate in real-time.
This type of navigation system will not work if there is no wired connection. To conquer this challenge, the scientists customized muPS and employed high-precision quartz clocks to wirelessly sync the detectors and receivers..
” The 4 parameters supplied by the reference stations plus the synchronized clocks used to determine the muons “time-of-flight” makes it possible for the receivers collaborates to be determined. This brand-new system is called the muometric wireless navigation system (MuWNS),” the scientists keep in mind.
Tanaka and his group found out a method to harness muons. Previously, they developed a muometric positioning system (muPS) that can providing X-ray images of tectonic plate movements, underground rocks and volcanoes, and indoor spaces..
Limitations and future of MuWNS.
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The proposed technology is called a muometric wireless navigation system (MuWNS). Existing technologies like LiDAR (light detection and ranging) and INS (inertial navigation system) are also useful to some level for such functions, though they have essential shortcomings. This technology is not indicated for daily navigation used by you or me. You might lose the GPS signal down a tunnel or inside a shopping malls underground parking lot, but this is manageable. There are particular specific niche applications where MuWNS can be extremely important in spite of some of its practical shortcomings.