One Silicon Chip Photonics (OSCP), a Montreal-based company, has created an inertial optical system that is substantially less expensive than navigational sensors used in the aircraft sector while still providing the same level of precision.
OSCP’s recently built circuits offer extremely accurate navigation without using GPS. Compared to Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems Inertial Measurement Units (MEMS IMUs), which are frequently utilized in commercial applications, these mechanical circuits have ten times greater precision. According to the company, this technology will speed up the widespread use of autonomous systems in various industries, such as drones and autonomous vehicles.
Electronics have improved in size, speed, and efficiency over time. Nevertheless, heat dissipation in copper wiring poses a barrier to further miniaturization. These issues are handled by swapping out copper for optical fibers and electrons for photons.
In the past, photonics technology needed bulky, costly converters to switch from wires to fibers. These days, electronic and micro-photonic components can be combined at the chip level, allowing all the information to be carried by a single fiber. With electronics’ limitations removed, optical MEMS (MOEMS) technology offers higher bandwidth and faster data transmission. Silicon Photonics, which combines Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) and MEMS technology, is used by OSCP’s high-performance motion sensors to quantify rotation and acceleration.
OSCP aims to fully integrate optical components into PIC chips, reducing size, weight, and power consumption while eliminating assembly costs. This integration improves system reliability, reduces optical loss, and increases device sensitivity.
The French multinational company Thales, which is creating autonomous rail systems, is a partner of OSCP. According to Thales, who has been field-testing OSCP’s most recent technology, these sensors can increase rail capacity and vehicle autonomy by up to 50% while using 15% less energy.
“The road to full autonomy requires fundamental innovation in navigation, not more sensors and workarounds. OSCP delivers precision, reliability, and cost-effectiveness in an integrated photonic chip,” said Cornel Chiriac, Founding Partner of 2050 Capital.
Sensor technology is critical to the navigation of drones and autonomous vehicles. The combination of cameras, radar, and lidar sensors has been the mainstay of traditional AV navigation technology, yet each has considerable drawbacks. These sensors can be blocked by environmental factors like fog or dirt, which calls for a high degree of redundancy.
According to OSCP, extreme accuracy is necessary since many drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (AVs) must operate in challenging situations without GPS. In these circumstances, OSCP’s optical sensors offer highly accurate navigation.
To lower greenhouse gas emissions in autonomous transportation compared to conventional technologies, OSCP recently obtained $1.2 million in seed funding from 7percent Ventures and 2050 Capital to advance its technology.
“We believe that the technology that Kazem and OSCP have developed will be vital in facilitating and accelerating the rate at which autonomous systems, across transport and mobility, can realize their potential,” said Harry Morgan of seven percent Ventures.