Micro-PNT (Positioning, Navigation & Timing)

Micro-PNT (Micro Positioning, Navigation, and Timing) refers to miniaturized navigation system architectures that provide full 6-DOF autonomous positioning capability in form factors measuring less than 10 cm³ with power consumption under 2 Watts.

The concept originated from DARPA's Micro-PNT program (circa 2010-2018), which aimed to develop chip-scale atomic clocks, micro-gyroscopes, and micro-accelerometers small enough to fit inside handheld devices while providing GPS-grade timing and inertial sensing. However, traditional Micro-PNT approaches focused on improving individual inertial sensor components rather than solving the fundamental algorithmic problem of autonomous positioning without GPS.

Kepler Nav's Kalam Gen 1 Micro-PNT Silicon Engine takes a fundamentally different approach. Instead of building better inertial sensors, the Kalam architecture implements the complete UNIF-PNT navigation algorithm - including Lie Group manifold estimation, SOOP signal processing, and XNAV timing - directly in radiation-hardened FPGA silicon. The architecture uses Triple Modular Redundancy (TMR) logic cells for Single Event Upset (SEU) immunity, SRAM Error-Correcting Code (ECC) controllers for Total Ionizing Dose (TID) protection up to 100 krad(Si), and achieves sub-millisecond filter update rates with power consumption under 1.5 Watts.

The Kalam Gen 1 is designed for deployment aboard CubeSats (1U-6U), small LEO satellites, high-altitude UAVs, and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) - platforms where traditional navigation avionics are too heavy, too power-hungry, or too dependent on GPS availability.