Wireless Cosmic Ray Navigation System Tested for Underground Movement Detection

Japanese researchers have developed a wireless navigation system that relies on cosmic rays, or muons, instead of radio waves, which could be used to guide underwater robots or underground autonomous vehicles. The Muographic positioning system (muPS) works underground, indoors, and underwater, and relies on four muon-detecting reference stations above ground serving as coordinates for the muon-detecting receivers, which are deployed either underground or underwater. The system has been successfully tested, but further development is needed to improve accuracy and time synchronization.