After millions of pounds of funding from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) under the UK National Quantum Technologies Programme, British scientists have constructed what they claim to be humanity’s first quantum ‘compass,’ a navigational device independent of the satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS).

Axar.az reports citing Foreign media that the instrument, built by scientists at the Imperial College in London, England, is claimed to be able to ascertain the exact location of anything on Earth without relying on satellites, as does the GPS network.

"It's completely self-contained," said Joseph Cotter, a researcher at the Centre for Cold Matter at Imperial College, speaking to Financial Times this week.

"It's particularly useful if you want to navigate a large ship or autonomous vehicles over long periods of time, without having to send or receive any other signals to know where you are," he added.

The MoD has been investing enormous amounts of money into constructing independent navigation devices, particularly for use on its nuclear submarines.