Airlines and governments in the Middle East have been invited to take part in the ongoing testing of a new navigation technology that some experts say is significantly more reliable than Global Positioning Satellite systems.
SandboxAQ, a developer of products involving quantum technology and artificial intelligence, recently heralded the “commercially available prototype” of the technology they're calling AQNav.
This comes as GPS, the standard navigation system around the world, has become a victim of its own success, and is increasingly vulnerable to GPS jamming which can renders the navigation assistance unusable.
GPS jamming − also known as GPS spoofing − became a prominent problem in June during the air war between Israel and Iran.
Smartphone users across the Middle East reported anomalies with their GPS locations, which were wildly inaccurate.
GPS has gained immense popularity thanks to the ease it can be incorporated into technology. But this ubiquity is becoming a growing vulnerability.
SandboxAQ recently announced that Acubed, an Airbus company, completed what they're describing as “rigorous real-world testing” of the touted GPS alternative, AQNav, which uses the magnetic field of the Earth along with quantum sensors that pick up the magnetic signals with the help of special AI software.
Tests lasted five months and involved more than 100 flights that took place across “diverse geographies and conditions”.
According to SandboxAQ and Acubed, the test results show that AQNav “consistently beat” the US Federal Aviation Administration's en route navigation standards.
“Pilots need to be able to trust their navigation systems,” Luca Ferrara, general manager for SandboxAQ's navigation business unit, told The National.
“When they can trust it, they're less stressed, they have less of a cognitive workload and they don't have worry about dealing with GPS loss,” he explained.
SandboxAQ says that AQNav is rooted in and inspired by nature, and utilises the Earth's magnetic field, similar to how birds and other animals use it to navigate.
That approach, combined with Sandbox AQ's proprietary AI software and use of hardware, gives it significantly more resilience and reliability compared to GPS, Mr Ferrara said.
SandboxAQ also points out that unlike GPS, it doesn't connect to the internet, cloud or satellites.
In the recent tests from Acubed, AQNav logged more than 44,000km, “surpassing the Earth’s circumference, without relying on GPS”.
Mr Ferrara said more testing will now take place with hopes of eventually readying the system to be used on commercial airlines.
SandboxAQ hopes to gain more insight into how to best position the magnetic censors used by the system on various aircraft, along with other details.
Testing will help establish whether users would transfer navigation data to an existing computer on the plane, or a separate computer not connected to the internet or any network on board. This system is known as air-gapping, which is broadly viewed as more secure.
“Do we want it to pipe the data into the flight management computer or do we want it to go in an air-gapped way?” asked Mr Ferrara.
He said Sandbox AQ currently has contracts with the US Air Force, and he expects the new navigation technology to first be adopted by defence and national security agencies, and then commercial entities.
Through more testing, followed by a “constructive dialogue” with aviation regulators around the world, Mr Ferrara said there's hope that commercial airlines will also be able to implement the system.
Given the Middle East's increasingly strong presence in commercial aviation, with countries like the UAE playing a crucial role with international travel, it makes sense to push for testing among the region's airlines.
“We're looking for forward-leaning partners in the aerospace sector within the Gulf region to collaborate with,” Mr Ferrara said.
He said the company is in discussions with several companies, and hopes to continue with those efforts given the Middle East's tourism footprint and globally recognised airline brands.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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THE BIO
BIO:
Born in RAK on December 9, 1983
Lives in Abu Dhabi with her family
She graduated from Emirates University in 2007 with a BA in architectural engineering
Her motto in life is her grandmother’s saying “That who created you will not have you get lost”
Her ambition is to spread UAE’s culture of love and acceptance through serving coffee, the country’s traditional coffee in particular.
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9.50pm: Meydan Classic – Conditions (TB) $$50,000 (T) 1,400m
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
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'Munich: The Edge of War'
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
