Specifically DARPA wants to build what it calls a "miniature Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)" that integrates atomic and solid-state inertial sensors in a single microsystem, with a volume of no more than 20 cubic centimeters and power consumption of no more than 1 Watt (1 W). The IMU, or Chip-Scale Combinatorial Atomic Navigator (C-SCAN) is actually expected to be part of a group of sensors that communicate using sophisticated algorithms to do their job.
In other news: 14 cool, but off-beat inventions
" Today, almost all of missions are critically dependent on GPS for achieving the required level of delivery accuracy. When GPS is inaccessible, whether as a result of some type of component or overall system malfunction or as a consequence of deliberate enemy action, critical information with respect to the object's position (latitude/longitude, altitude), bearing/direction, altitude, speed, and timing can only be gathered through self-contained on-board instruments, including gyroscopes for orientation, accelerometers for position, and oscillators for time.
"A preferable solution, however, is to completely eliminate the dependence on GPS or any other external signals during the mission, and rely solely on self-contained solutions such as inertial navigation, which is immune to jamming, spoofing, and other intentional or unintentional modification of information regarding position, orientation, and time. Achieving 20 minutes of free inertial guidance is a major technological challenge faced by small inertial instruments. Solving this problem is of great strategic importance," DARPA stated.
More cool stuff: 11 cool robots you may not have heard of
DARAPA says it expects the program will lead to a new breed of atomic inertial microsystems, with a wider range of operating conditions and greater immunity to the environment, reduced start-up time, increased sensitivity, and improved bias and scale factor stability.
Follow Michael Cooney on Twitter: nwwlayer8 and on Facebook
Layer 8 Extra
Check out these other hot stories:
Intellectual property worth over 27 million jobs, $5.6 trillion to US economy
Creepy: FBI wants to advance the science of interrogation
Expect a flood of competitions as US tries to spur public inventions
FBI: Child porn "computer expert" added to Top Ten Fugitive list
US grabs more domain names, $896,000 in fake goods
NASA Shuttle Discovery set to buzz Washington, DC
US offers $12M to develop wireless charging stations for electric vehicles
Will "big data" create new IT jobs or incite massive retraining?
Free apps like Angry Birds suck the life out of your smartphone
High-tech laser guns will zap targets in Olympic pentathlon event
So, what is on a US Service mainframe anyway?
What do you want mobile phones to do in the next 40 years?
NASA wants game-changing space toilet, waste systems