This Chinese satellite network for navigation cannot be jammed
What's the story
Chinese researchers have developed an 11-satellite network for a high-accuracy and jam-resistant optical navigation system. The innovative system is designed to provide positioning services in areas where GPS signals are unavailable or disrupted. The technology could be used for self-driving cars, drones, and even deep-space missions. Xing Fei, a professor at Tsinghua University and project leader, compared their work to putting "lighthouses in space."
Technological advancement
The technology has already been used in warfare
The optical navigation system works by using coded light signals from "beacon" satellites, unlike traditional systems like GPS and BeiDou that depend on radio waves. The technology has already been used in the ongoing US-Israeli war with Iran, helping drones from companies such as Asio Technologies and General Atomics operate in GPS-jammed environments.
Operation
How the system works
The optical navigation system operates by placing powerful light sources on satellites to send coded signals to Earth. Receivers on the ground then detect these lights and calculate their position using the direction of light and the known positions of satellites. This method is more accurate than star-based navigation, that relies on faint fixed stars and offers limited accuracy.