From Academia into a Deep-Tech Startup Launching Quantum Sensors into Space

Curiositas Seminar

Datum: 07.05.2026
Uhrzeit: 13:00
Vortragende(r): Dr. Lara Torralbo-Campo
Arda Atomics GmbH
Ort: MPI CPfS
Raum: Seminar rooms 1-2

In a world where global communications are critical, extending high-speed internet to the most remote regions is essential. This capability has been proven through worldwide, infrastructure-independent networks by a constellation of CubeSat satellites. To function effectively, these communication satellites rely on high-precision attitude sensors that ensure exact alignment with terrestrial receivers and with other satellites in the satellite network.

In this talk I would like to share some highlights from my journey so far going from doing science in academia to the world of industry via startup and how we can bring innovation from the laboratory to real-life applications. I would like to share some highlights from the BMFTR-funded project QYRO where we aim to develop a space-qualified, high-precision angular rate sensor based on nuclear magnetic resonance, which can be used to precisely control the orientation of a CubeSat satellite with the aim to improve the optical link communication in the future.

Dr. Lara Torralbo-Campo completed her PhD in ultracold atoms in St Andrews University (2012) and after two postdocs in Netherlands and Germany, she worked as the lead researcher on Terahertz sensing using Rydberg atoms in vapor cells at the University of Tübingen for several years. Since September 2022, Lara leads a multidisciplinary team of engineers and physicists at Arda Atomics GmbH, a new spin-off from Trumpf, located in Stuttgart that specializes in NMR gyroscopes for inertial navigation needs. This team is part of a consortium, led by Arda Atomics and coordinated by Lara, and involves Trumpf, FBH, BOSCH, and DLR to develop an NMR-based atomic gyroscope under the BMFTR-funded space project “QYRO".