News
Quantum ‘compass’ technology aids in navigation without use of GPS satellites
Scientists from Imperial College London and M Squared, a photonics and quantum technology company, have created a portable quantum accelerometer which enables location tracking without the aid of GPS satellites. As demonstrated at the National Quantum Technologies Showcase 2018 in London, the device utilizes ultra-cooled atoms and lasers to measure position with precision made possible by quantum mechanics. The system is currently designed to be used for navigating large vehicles such as ships and trains, but smaller-scale devices will be available as the technology develops.
Quantum accelerator in the lab. | Credit: Imperial College London
The reliance on global navigation satellite systems such as GPS has a few significant shortcomings that the quantum accelerometer would overcome. Satellite signals can be blocked or jammed, interfering with the systems that rely on the data being provided. Threats such as electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attacks on a massive scale, now closer to reality with nuclear capability developments around the world, would cripple any technology relying on satellite systems.
The financial burden of GPS failure is also a serious consideration driving the innovation behind this device. In M Squared’s press release announcement, it was estimated that each day without GPS services in the United Kingdom would cost the country 1 billion pounds. Since it’s a self-contained system not reliant on external signals, a quantum accelerometer would not be at risk for these types of security or financial fallouts.
A close up of the quantum accelerator. | Credit: Imperial College London
Even without the consideration of electronic attacks and satellite failures, a much smaller version of this technology could overcome day-to-day problems with regular GPS use. Anyone who has ever used a map application in a city environment has likely experienced blockages from the buildings disrupting satellite signals. A quantum accelerator would calculate its position based on its high precision velocity measurements rather than GPS information, thus eliminating never-ending “recalculating” type errors that current mapping devices are prone to receive.
General accelerometers are already found in common devices like cell phones and video game controllers. Overall, they function by calculating changes in the velocity of an object (phone, controller, etc.) and that data is used for whatever its intended purpose. For location-driven applications, however, the measured position loses accuracy without feedback from external sources such as GPS. For example, after a few street turns (or less), a mapping application would need to confer with a satellite to recalculate the new position of the car in motion. The high precision of a quantum accelerometer does not have this limitation, thus eliminating the need for a GPS signal.
When atoms are cooled to ultra-cold levels, their quantum behavior emerges and can then be measured by a laser beam acting as a ruler. The team behind the quantum accelerometer device had already been developing other commercial quantum technologies prior to the current one, so when the need for arose for measuring and cooling atoms, a solution was already in place via the team’s universal laser system developed for gravity measurements. This laser both cools and measures the atoms involved in the accelerometer’s device’s movement calculations.
This quantum device is representative of the transition of quantum mechanics from the science laboratory to real-world applications. Besides navigational solutions, Professor Ed Hinds, Director of the Centre for Cold Matter at Imperial College London, described gravity measurements, mapping gravitational forces to look for minerals, and looking inside vehicles to diagnose problems as a few suggestions for other applications. “[The potential applications] …all come from the fantastic sensitivity and reliability that you can only get from these quantum systems.”
Watch the video below to see the quantum team tell more about the device.
Featured
Tesla Cybercab is coming to Asia this month as US service officially begins
Tesla Asia says Cybercab will be on display in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai this month.
Tesla’s Cybercab is heading to Asia. The official Tesla Asia account posted on X Thursday, inviting Cybercab fans to “Come experience the future of autonomy in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing & Shanghai.” The post went up within hours of Tesla’s own Cybercab milestone in Texas, where the company said Thursday it had begun offering rides in across Austin.
Exact dates and venues for the Asia tour haven’t been released yet, though Tesla Hong Kong replied to the announcement with “Cybercab will be on display in Hong Kong soon,” while Tesla Japan’s response pointed fans to a sign up page for updates. Neither post mentions test rides or a service area, and nothing so far suggests Tesla is launching Robotaxi operations in any of the four cities. Based on how Tesla has run past Cybercab tours, in Europe in late 2024 and at US shopping centers that same December, the Asia stops are almost certainly static displays at Tesla stores or public venues as a means to stimulate buzz for its future driverless ride-hailing service in the big cities.
Cybercab will be on display in Asia this month!
Come experience the future of autonomy in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing & Shanghai. pic.twitter.com/wGmmEastfX— Tesla Asia (@Tesla_Asia) September 4, 2026
The timing lines up with Tesla’s only prior Cybercab appearance in the region, a booth at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai last November, which Teslarati covered at the time. At that event, Tesla’s regional general manager for Shanghai framed the car as evidence of the company’s broader mission, a message Tesla has since formalized in its Master Plan Part IV, which states that “autonomous vehicles have the capacity to dramatically improve the affordability, availability and safety of transportation while reducing pollution, particularly in our increasingly dense global cities.” The same document is where Tesla lays out its “sustainable abundance” framing for Cybercab and Optimus alike, describing the two as the hardware behind an AI driven push to cut the cost of transportation and labor at scale.
Whether Cybercab actually operates as a robotaxi anywhere in Asia remains an open question, considering China has already pushed an autonomous ride-hailing market that’s run on homegrown players like Baidu’s Apollo Go and Pony AI. For now, the four city tour reads as a marketing push timed to Austin’s momentum.
Lifestyle
Tesla Cybertruck targets job site crews with new Tailgate Utility Track and Bed Gear Box accessory
Tesla launched a $350 tailgate track and a $985 lockable Bed Gear Box for Cybertruck.
Tesla’s Cybertruck team added two more items to the Tesla Shop, targeting job site crews and owners who use the truck bed for actual work rather than just showing it off. The official Cybertruck X account posted the Tailgate Utility Track and the Bed Gear Box within minutes of each other, part of a five item batch that also included a reflective jacket, a spray paint hat and an updated reflective tee.
The Tailgate Utility Track runs $350 and turns the folded down tailgate into another mounting surface. It’s a single aluminum track with a T-slot for sliding accessories and two L-track attachment points, plus two load stops included in the box. The pitch is straightforward: strap down oversized cargo, like lumber or a cooler, that hangs off the back of the bed without it sliding out mid-drive. It bolts onto the existing tailgate and works on every Cybertruck trim.
Tailgate Utility Trackhttps://t.co/PCAYXlFBvS pic.twitter.com/sCV2NVxf1W
— Cybertruck (@cybertruck) September 3, 2026
The Bed Gear Box costs $985 and is a different kind of accessory. It’s a lockable aluminum storage box, 55.78 inches long, 19.8 inches wide and 7.79 inches tall, that mounts to the bed’s L-track rails and comes with two internal bins for smaller items. According to Tesla, at just over 57 pounds empty, it’s meant to stay in place rather than come in and out with each trip, giving owners a factory-fit alternative to loose totes for tools, recovery gear or emergency supplies. Tesla’s listing notes that Long Range and Dual Motor AWD Cybertrucks need the L-Tracks accessory installed separately before the Gear Box will mount, since L-tracks come standard only on certain configurations.
Tesla Cybertruck bed gear box accessory
Both accessories lean on the idea Tesla has been building toward since Elon Musk first described the Cybertruck’s third-party attachment strategy at the 2023 shareholder meeting, when he said the truck would ship with mounting points so outside companies, and Tesla itself, could keep adding gear without redesigning the bed. That’s the same L-track backbone underneath the tailgate shield and jumpseats Tesla launched last year, and the off-road armor package that arrived through the same X account in 2025.
Owners looking to round out the rest of the L-track ecosystem, cargo dividers, MOLLE panels, bed racks and similar gear, can find a wider range of options through our Cybertruck accessories collection.
Tesla Cybercab rides are officially open to the public in Austin, Texas, as the company confirmed on Thursday following its launch event that the two-seater would be available in the company’s Robotaxi fleet.
Cybercab is Tesla’s first vehicle completely void of any manual controls. It has no steering wheel and no pedals, and it will utilize Tesla’s Full Self-Driving fleet to operate. The first rides have already happened, as those at the event were able to hail a Cybercab to any location within the company’s geofence in Austin.
Tesla’s $25K car is the Cybercab with no steering wheel or pedals
The addition of Cybercab to the public Robotaxi fleet is a major statement in Tesla’s trek to launch fully autonomous driving. For years, critics have complained about the need for drivers to continuously supervise the vehicle.
With Cybercab, there are no manual controls in the cockpit other than to control the seat, the center screen, and the climate. The vehicle is fully geared toward being a living room on wheels in a sense: equipped with Starlink V5 satellites, CEO Elon Musk said the vehicle would enable 4K live video, gaming, and other entertainment options during travel.
Cybercab is basically a super comfortable lounge on wheels with a great TV and epic sound https://t.co/X1aWKoJdJV
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 3, 2026
Musk noted that Cybercab is “designed and built for maximally efficient autonomous operation.”
Tesla continues to push the envelope on autonomy, and over the next several months, the company could start selling Cybercab units to the public.
The company opened up a public interest form on its website to gauge demand, and many have already submitted requests to purchase a fleet of Cybercab units for their own personal ride-hailing side hustle.
The launch of Cybercab in this area marks a major accomplishment for Tesla, as it also announced that it has reached 1 million unsupervised autonomous miles since launching driverless rides on the Robotaxi fleet.
Things are moving along at a fine pace, and although we have waited for this for some time, the day has finally come when Tesla is offering self-driving rides of some kind to the public.
Tesla Cybercab is coming to Asia this month as US service officially begins
Tesla Cybertruck targets job site crews with new Tailgate Utility Track and Bed Gear Box accessory
