The remarkable technologies developed to detect gravitational waves may soon help make safe driverless cars a reality and improve the reliability of autonomous moon landings.
Gravitational waves were detected almost 100 years after Albert Einstein first predicted them. Decades of work went into building incredibly sensitive equipment prior to that first detection, and it was this technology that finally produced a result in 2015. At the time, it is unlikely that many working on these detectors would have been able to predict how adaptable the technology might be to industry, including automotive and space exploration sectors.
Fortunately, this notion wasn’t lost on Dr Lyle Roberts and James Spollard, formerly from ANU and part of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems (EQUS).
These budding entrepreneurs recognised the potential of gravitational wave technology beyond its original purpose, and adapted core technology for use in a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensor designed for autonomous vehicles. Their work received critical support in the form of research translation seed funding from ANU, OzGrav and EQUS, which helped them bring their idea to life.
Conventional LiDAR technology is already being employed in self-driving vehicles, however it is currently only able to map the distance to surrounding objects. While the LiDAR sensor developed by Roberts and Spollard can tell how far away an object is, crucially it can also detect how fast it is moving. As Roberts explains, this is a potential game-changer for self-driving vehicles, as the ability to prioritise moving objects for analysis mimics the human brain’s technique as it processes information gathered by the eyes.
Objects that move within our field-of-view are more difficult to anticipate and therefore considered a higher priority than stationary objects. When driving, we tend to pay more attention to things that move because they are more likely to be hazardous.
So how does this relate to gravitational waves? Gravitational waves can be described as ripples (or wobbles) in space-time. Created by extremely energetic events – like two black holes colliding in space – gravitational waves are incredibly difficult to measure here on Earth. Detectors built to find these elusive waves have very long ‘arms’ – over 4 kilometres long – like those at LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory). As gravitational waves pass through LIGO detectors, they have an effect on the length of these arms, which are squeezed and contracted almost imperceptibly. The tiny movement is captured via use of lasers, mirrors and incredibly sensitive detection equipment. This technique of detecting changes in light waves is known as photonics, which Roberts and Spollard realised could be adapted to create a new and improved LiDAR sensor technology.
Recognising the broader potential of their technology, Roberts and Spollard created a spin-out company called Vai Photonics to develop and commercialise their IP. Their company grew to a team of seven in less than a year before attracting the attention of Sydney-based company Advanced Navigation, which recognised that this technology could revolutionise autonomous and robotic applications across land, air, sea and space.
Vai Photonics was acquired by Advanced Navigation in 2022 in a deal reportedly worth up to $40 million, marking a major milestone in the journey from the lab to commercial and industrial success.
This technology is now the basis for LUNA (Laser measurement Unit for Navigational Aid), a cutting-edge sensor designed to enable precision navigation, even when Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are unavailable or unreliable. When complete, LUNA will be delivered to US-based space systems company, Intuitive Machines, as part of NASA’s ongoing Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.
Intuitive Machines will mount LUNA onboard its Nova-C lander, which is slated for a mission to the moon within the next couple of years. The LUNA sensor, using core photonics technology for precision sensing developed by Roberts and Spollard, will eventually improve the confidence of autonomously touching down on the lunar surface.
In more detail, LUNA’s light detection system uses lasers to measure several parameters detailing a vehicle’s movement through an environment. Most importantly, it directly measures the vehicle’s 3D body velocity relative to the lunar surface with extreme accuracy and precision. When visual references are unavailable and cameras are blocked by dust and other obscurities, LUNA may provide the primary navigational input for the lander. This technology is critical to performing precise soft-landing procedures and exploring the lunar surface with confidence.
A team of astronomy instrumentation builders from AAO Macquarie, led by A/Prof Lee Spitler, are also involved in this project. In collaboration with Roberts and Spollard, AAO are building an optical component for the LUNA device. See this spin-off story about AAO’s involvement here.
Whether it’s making self-driving cars safer or landing on the moon, the adaptability of gravitational wave technologies seems almost endless.
At OzGrav, we’re really excited to support real-world applications of gravitational wave technology. This is just one of many examples of cutting-edge gravitational wave research creating spinoff benefits to society and industry.
