News

Satellites and satellites around the earth.

The Problem With GPS

Jan. 29, 2021
WNCG professor Todd Humphreys, an expert in GPS spoofing, is featured in a recent New York Times opinion piece on the nation's need for a GPS backup. Although the system is essential, it's also vulnerable. Read the full piece by Kate Murphy in The New York Times. 
Nasa's dragon spacecraft in space.

Todd Humphreys and Peter Iannucci Research to Improve Navigation using SpaceX Satellites

Sept. 29, 2020
WNCG professor Todd Humphreys and postdoctoral fellow Peter Iannucci of the Radionavigation Laboratory have developed a system using the constellation of SpaceX satellites to potentially deliver a low-cost, more accurate, and highly secure alternative to GPS. Their work was recently featured in the MIT Technology Review:
Satellites and satellites around the earth.

How Vulnerable is GPS?

Aug. 13, 2020
The New Yorker feature "How Vulnerable is GPS?" discusses WNCG professor Todd Humphreys' journey uncovering and demonstrating security weaknesses in the Global Positioning System. Humphreys is a pioneer in the the study of Global Navigation Satellite Systems. His research group was the first to demonstrate cm-accurate RTK positioning through a smartphone antenna, and in 2012 they demonstrated the first successful spoofing of UAVs. Since then, Humphreys has examined real-world instances of spoofing and jamming that raise serious concerns about the ubiquitous technology.
An image of a green and red laser.

UT ECE Researchers Invent ‘Meta Mirror’ to Help Advance Nonlinear Optical Systems

July 3, 2014
Image: Erik Zumalt, The University of Texas at Austin Profs. Andrea Alù and Mikhail Belkin in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin have created a new nonlinear metasurface, or meta mirror, that could one day enable the miniaturization of laser systems.