The most critical systems in our modern world depend on GPS, from aviation and road networks to emergency and disaster response, from precision agriculture and power grids to weather forecasting and military defense. That dependency is becoming a problem.
“We have a growing threat from foreign adversaries who have demonstrated capabilities to jam, destroy and spoof GPS signals, which is scary,” Shaun Moore, CEO and co-founder of ai/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Boring ai, a startup that wants to offer an alternative to GPS told TechCrunch. “The economic impact on the United States, if that were to happen, would be catastrophic.”
Moore, who sold his last company, Trueface, to Pangiam in 2021, said Tern ai's goal is to “eliminate the bullseye that's on the back of GPS right now.”
Tern ai came out of stealth in February and just raised a $4.4 million seed round from Scout Ventures, Shadow Capital, Bravo Victor VC, and Veteran Fund. The startup has created the so-called Independently Derived Positioning System (IDPS) that can recognize the position of a vehicle or a person without depending on the satellite signal. This means there are no threats of traffic jams, roadworks or dead zones to prevent accurate positioning.
“We can do GPS work without having to call into space and say, 'Where am I?'” Moore said.
The current system works by having GPS receivers in cars or phones pick up signals from satellites orbiting the Earth. The signals contain information about the satellite and the precise time the signals are sent. GPS receivers then use the time it took each signal to travel to calculate the distance to each satellite. By triangulating distances, the receiver can determine its exact position, which is then displayed in applications such as Google Maps or Waze.
This approach (shared by newer constellations such as Europe's Galileo) creates a positioning technology that is global and standardized, but also susceptible to local perturbations. For example, GPS spoofing has been used to direct commercial ships in the sea lanes of the US Navy, and some shipping companies have experienced stuck signals that completely disrupt operations. While it is not likely that your car's GPS system will be attacked by agents of adversary states, there are many military and civilian assets that are at risk and would welcome a more secure solution.
Tern ai's IDPS is powered by an ai model that ingests real-time vehicle and phone sensor data, as well as third-party map data, to provide consistent and accurate positioning. This model can be downloaded as a software package to a compatible vehicle's infotainment system. If the vehicle is not compatible, the system can be downloaded to a smartphone. Tern's model can use sensor data from the phone to help determine a position, but in some cases, the smartphone will need to pull sensor data from the car from the vehicle's onboard diagnostic port.
Moore said the goal is for major mapping products like Apple Maps, Google Maps or Waze to get positioning information from Tern's ai model, rather than GPS. The startup is still in talks with those vendors to integrate directly with them.
Tern ai's biggest selling point is that it uses ai to analyze data from sensors, such as speed and motion sensors, which are already available in smartphones and vehicles. Moore noted that Tern doesn't rely on computer vision or cameras to help determine positioning.
Using existing sensors is what prompted Diana Furchtgott-Roth, former DOT deputy assistant secretary for Research and technology, to call Tern ai technology a “low-cost response to a problem (DOT) has been working on for decades.”
Other alternatives to GPS satellites, such as low-Earth orbit satellites and ground beacons, are, while impressive, very expensive to install and maintain.
“GPS technology has not changed significantly in 50 years, and what we are seeing as solutions to resolve or mitigate risk are only marginal improvements. “It’s not true innovation,” Moore said.
He noted that while there have been improvements to GPS, the fundamental nature of the technology has not changed, nor have there been enough advances to prevent GPS from becoming a target.
“One of our founding principles was 'No Signal,' meaning we're not going to look externally to help us determine where we are. Everything you have available you can do now if you add intelligence to it.”
Tern has primarily validated its technology through internal testing based on the U.S. Department of Transportation framework. Moore says Tern's IDPS can position vehicles with an accuracy of four meters, which he says is in line with the current DOT guidance for emergency services.
The startup is preparing to begin testing in July with its go-to-market partner, a giant in the logistics, shipping and delivery space that Moore couldn't name. Tern is scheduled for commercial launch in September.
The startup is also talking to emergency services and autonomous last-mile delivery companies, industries that “rely on good position information to perform their task or complete a job.” In the future, Moore said he also hopes the Department of Defense and DOT will be partners one day.
“When we first met Tern ai, what stood out most was how differentiated and scalable their approach was to solving a critical problem in national security,” said Stephen DiBartolomeo, principal at Scout Ventures. “As we came to understand the practical commercial applications and compatibility with on-road autonomy, their vision of redefining positioning resonated with us.”
