--- title: Q-Ctrl Ironstone Opal: The Best Inventions of 2025 description: Find out why Q-Ctrl Ironstone Opal is on TIME's list of 2025's best inventions. canonical: https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2025/7318480/q-ctrl-ironstone-opal/ article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-10-09T11:00:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T11:54:56.677Z article:section: Business og:title: Q-Ctrl Ironstone Opal: The Best Inventions of 2025 og:description: Find out why Q-Ctrl Ironstone Opal is on TIME's list of 2025's best inventions. og:url: https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2025/7318480/q-ctrl-ironstone-opal/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f9cbb9a10f8ba5d/6998ca6b9fbc7c5805d9a7c1/q-ctrl-ironstone-opal-TIME-best-inventions-2025.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Q-Ctrl Ironstone Opal: The Best Inventions of 2025 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Q-Ctrl Ironstone Opal: The Best Inventions of 2025 twitter:description: Find out why Q-Ctrl Ironstone Opal is on TIME's list of 2025's best inventions. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f9cbb9a10f8ba5d/6998ca6b9fbc7c5805d9a7c1/q-ctrl-ironstone-opal-TIME-best-inventions-2025.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Oct 09, 2025 # Q-Ctrl Ironstone Opal Quantum navigation by [Joe Mullich](https://time.com/author/joe-mullich/) ## Joe Mullich  Courtesy Q-CTRL Every day, over 1,000 commercial flights are disrupted when military forces or bad actors block the satellite-based GPS signals pilots need to navigate. Australian startup Q-Ctrl created a highly accurate backup solution: a quantum navigation system that uses ultra-precise atomic sensors to deliver GPS-like accuracy without satellites. In flight tests this year, [Ironstone Opal](https://q-ctrl.com/ironstone-opal) proved itself 50 times more accurate than conventional GPS backups, such as inertial navigation systems, with positioning accuracy down to four meters. In June, the company was awarded a joint DARPA contract with Lockheed Martin to develop its navigation tech. _Disclosure: Investors in Q-Ctrl include Salesforce, where_ TIME _co-chair and owner Marc Benioff is CEO._ These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2025/7318480/q-ctrl-ironstone-opal/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2025/7318480/q-ctrl-ironstone-opal/"},"headline":"Q-Ctrl Ironstone Opal","datePublished":"2025-10-09T11:00:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T11:54:56.677Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2025/7318480/q-ctrl-ironstone-opal/","keywords":["Tech","E-Commerce","list","franchise","Magazine","best inventions","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades","Best Inventions 2025"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f9cbb9a10f8ba5d/6998ca6b9fbc7c5805d9a7c1/q-ctrl-ironstone-opal-TIME-best-inventions-2025.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joe Mullich","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joe-mullich/"}],"creator":"Joe Mullich","articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f9cbb9a10f8ba5d/6998ca6b9fbc7c5805d9a7c1/q-ctrl-ironstone-opal-TIME-best-inventions-2025.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2025/7318480/q-ctrl-ironstone-opal/","name":"Q-Ctrl Ironstone Opal"}}]}] ```