What if the limits of what we can measure go beyond what the eyes can see? Quantum sensing does exactly that by detecting extremely subtle changes with subatomic particles. It may sound like futuristic sci-fi, but you’ve likely used it without realizing it: atomic clocks power GPS navigation, while quantum spin makes life-saving MRI possible.
The next generation of quantum sensors goes even further: navigation that works without GPS signals and therefore can’t be jammed, subsurface gravity mapping to detect underground voids, water resources and mineral deposits, and, further out, research-stage applications such as chemical and biological sensing. But as this technology steps out of controlled laboratories, how close are we to seeing quantum sensors transform our everyday world?
The physics behind quantum sensing
Traditional sensors measure macro-level mechanical or electrical changes, and engineers invest substantial resources in shielding these instruments from external ‘noise’, such as temperature fluctuations, vibration or electromagnetic signals.
But quantum sensors take a different approach. They use quantum elements like neutral atoms, electron spins, and photons to measure tiny environmental changes. Since a quantum state is highly sensitive to its surroundings, the very disturbance you want to measure appears clearly in the signal. And because these particles are identical everywhere and fixed by nature, quantum sensors don’t drift the way classical sensors do and need far less recalibration.
The basic process is surprisingly simple: initialize the quantum state, let it interact with what you want to measure, then read out the change.
Why it’s interesting now
Three things are converging.
First, the tech components needed to build quantum sensors are becoming smaller, cheaper and more accessible. Advances in silicon, optics, lasers, materials and computing are turning technologies that once belonged almost exclusively in laboratories into engineering platforms.
Second, demand is growing for measurements conventional sensors can’t provide. GPS, for example, is vulnerable to jamming and spoofing. Quantum gravimeters, magnetometers and inertial sensors offer potential alternatives for positioning and navigation without relying entirely on satellite signals.
Third, governments are investing heavily in the technology. The EU Quantum Technologies Flagship has committed an expected €1 billion over ten years across quantum computing, communication, simulation, sensing and metrology.
The result: quantum sensing is shifting from academic research towards commercially relevant products and protected IP.
Four sectors, four live opportunities
As quantum sensing matures from laboratory breakthroughs into market-ready hardware, four key industries are uniquely positioned to capture immediate, high-value opportunities:
1. Defense & aerospace
GPS-denied navigation: Quantum accelerometers and gyroscopes could let submarines, aircraft and defense systems navigate without satellite signals. With no external signal, there is nothing to jam. Long-term accuracy is still being proven and these systems are in field trials, but programs such as Lockheed Martin’s DARPA contract with AOSense and Q-CTRL are working towards deployment.
Secure, ultra-precise timing: Chip-scale atomic clocks are no longer theoretical. They are actively deployed in the field within military GPS receivers, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and secure communication arrays to maintain mission-critical synchronization in electronic warfare environments.
2. Medical imaging
Wearable, next-gen scanners: Optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs) enable high-resolution brain and fetal heart imaging without the cryogenic cooling required by traditional SQUID systems. Magnetic shielding is still typically needed, so this is a step towards point-of-care diagnostics, not a full replacement of hospital systems.
3. Civil engineering & geophysics
Subsurface gravity mapping: Quantum gravimeters map microscopic density changes beneath Earth’s surface that traditional seismic imaging fails to detect. Commercial pioneers such as Muquans (Exail) and AOSense are conducting field trials with major energy companies for deep-reservoir monitoring, sinkhole prevention and mineral exploration.
4. Automotive
Battery current mapping: Quantum sensors can track current inside EV battery packs, from milliamps to kiloamps, without drift or recalibration. This has been demonstrated and could provide an estimated 10% increase in range, but it is still moving from demonstration to product.
From physics lab to commercial reality
If there’s so much potential, why aren’t quantum sensors everywhere yet?
Proving something in a lab is different from making a product, and the hurdles don’t hit every sensor equally.
Some are already practical. Atomic clocks, gravimeters and the SQUID magnetometers used in hospitals are mature products you can buy today, with chip-scale atomic clocks starting around $2,000. Room-temperature magnetometers are close behind, held back mainly by manufacturing scale. Navigation sensors are in field trials, while chemical sensing remains a research goal.
For that second group, three challenges stand out:
- Complete systems, not single parts. Quantum sensors need lasers, vacuum chambers, cooling and electronics working together. That doesn’t fit a normal supply chain and is costly to scale, though chip-scale clocks show miniaturization can help.
- Sensitivity cuts both ways. The same sensitivity that makes them powerful also means that heat, stray magnetic fields and vibration can disrupt the quantum state, a phenomenon known as decoherence. Shielding the sensor and extracting a clean signal is a large part of the engineering effort.
- Cost. Defense-grade systems cost $50,000 to $500,000, while classical sensors continue to improve and maintain a 10x to 100x cost advantage. If quantum sensors don’t approach cost parity by around 2030, adoption may stay limited to cases where no classical option exists.
Are you ready for the quantum shift?
Quantum sensing is not a single technology on a single timeline. Some of it is already here, some is a few years out, and some is still in the lab. Just as early computers evolved from room-sized machines into handheld devices, engineers are working through the remaining hurdles, and the most promising uses are those where no classical sensor can do the job at all.
At Verhaert, we help forward-thinking businesses prepare for this shift. By combining feasibility evaluations, system integration concepts and physics lab prototyping, we bridge the gap between emerging science and realistic product roadmaps, paving the way towards the quantum future.