RMIT University is partnering with Australian air traffic management company Skykraft and microchip manufacturers in India to explore a regional alternative to the US-owned GPS, thanks to a $3.7 million Australian Government grant.
The effort hinges upon a technology called microcombs, which are based on photonic microchips and can be rapidly adapted to many applications, such as positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) capabilities.
The collaboration aims to accelerate the development of these chips for PNT applications and develop a supply chain between the nations to support deployment of this technology into low-Earth orbit.
RMIT Professor Suelynn Choy said developing alternative, sovereign navigation systems ensured that countries such as Australia and India had back-up systems and were not solely reliant on external providers in the United States and Europe for critical PNT infrastructure.
“The global reliance on GPS makes entire regions vulnerable to losing positioning, navigation and timing data if the system fails,” said Choy, Professor of Satellite Navigation at RMIT’s School of Science.
“Australia and India have some very specific challenges and opportunities — particularly our large land mass, vast borders and primary industries relying on positioning, navigation and timing data — GPS may not be the right technology for all of these needs.
“These satellites are easier and less expensive to launch, and they allow for more flexibility by being deployed where coverage is needed most, providing a backup to other global navigation satellite systems.”
Choy said while GPS and other existing satellite navigation systems are accurate, these systems can lack resilience can struggle to function in built up environments and are vulnerable to interference.
“Low-Earth orbit PNT technology could deliver stronger signals that are less vulnerable to interference,” she said.
Distinguished Professor Arnan Mitchell, Director of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Optical Microcombs for Breakthrough Science (COMBS) at RMIT, said his team’s microcombs photonic chips provided a portable, affordable alternative for time synchronisation on smaller satellites.
“This portability opens up opportunities for more accessible and deployable satellite networks,” he said.
The grant has been made available through the Australian Space Agency’s International Space Investment India Projects, which supports strategic space projects that build valuable commercial links with the Indian Space Research Organisation and the broader Indian space sector.
