SA research breakthrough set to revolutionise navigation
Researchers at Adelaide University have successfully tested a new type of portable atomic clock they hope will enhance a tech we carry in our pockets.
Researchers at Adelaide University have successfully tested a new type of portable atomic clock at sea in a bid to enhance navigation, communications and scientific systems.
Atomic clock technology is not new and is commonly used for technologies like GPS navigation, telecommunications networks and radio astronomy, researchers say.
However, it is not easy to transport this technology or use it in real-world environments, usually requiring laboratory conditions to function properly.
Researchers from Adelaide University’s Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS) have now created a portable optical atomic clock which uses laser-cooled atoms of the element ytterbium, keeping incredibly precise time.
The idea behind the project was to update this cutting-edge technology to make it usable in the field, rather than just in a laboratory setting.
During testing, the clock was taken from a laboratory and installed on a Royal Australian Navy vessel for a period in 2024. It remained there for several days, and during this time it maintained its usual high level of performance.
The research was supported by the Defence Science and Technology Group, with additional funding received through the Australian Government’s Next Generation Technology Fund.
Professor André Luiten, the project’s lead researcher and IPAS Chief Innovator, said the research had real-world applications that could give Australia’s critical infrastructure a boost in resilience.
“We’re doing something that, sadly, is all too rare in the Australian tertiary sector, which is translating this foundational research into things that can actually go outside, make a real-world difference and hopefully, turn into companies that are flourishing and employing young Australians and generating new technologies to export to the world,” Luiten said.
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According to Luiten, the atomic clock technology is essential for various fields, including a common one used by most Australians.
“There are things that we all use every day on our phones and in our cars, called the GPS, or Global Positioning System, which is the device that allows us to figure out where we are and get pizzas delivered to our house,” he said.
“There’s something like $2 billion a day of global economic activity which is dependent upon access to that. But that same system is also sending time to lots of systems, things like our 5G telecommunications or all these giant data centres that all need to be synchronised.
“However, that system is highly vulnerable to environmental conditions, but also to covert activity that either jams it or sends false signals. And that’s a threat to our entire society. So, these atomic clocks that we are developing allow us to keep all of those distributed systems synchronised, with or without access to those satellite signals.”
Professor Luiten and his team are now working to further refine the technology for field deployments in a variety of situations.
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