Veteran-Built Navigation System Keeps Working When GPS Fails

Modern navigation systems assume satellites will always be available. TERN, an Austin-based technology company, believes that assumption is becoming increasingly dangerous.

In an interview, TERN co-founders Brett Harrison and Shaun Moore described how the company developed its Independently Derived Positioning System (IDPS™), a navigation platform designed to continue functioning even when GPS, cellular service, and connectivity fail.

The technology recently expanded into off-road navigation, allowing vehicles to maintain turn-by-turn guidance in remote terrain and GPS-denied environments. The expansion, which TERN formally announced on May 12, 2026, brings continuous positioning and waypoint-based routing to trails, unpaved roads, and other off-road environments where traditional navigation systems often fail entirely.

According to the company, the platform can continue functioning without GPS, cameras, or cellular connectivity while recalibrating itself in real time as terrain and driving conditions change.

A Company Built Around a Military Problem

The idea for the company originated during Harrison’s time serving in a special operations task force in Afghanistan alongside co-founder and Chief Product Officer Phil Reason. Harrison explained that GPS disruptions repeatedly interfered with military operations overseas, whether from jamming, spoofing, terrain interference, or weak signals.

“It was often the case that while we were out conducting missions, we would lose GPS for one reason or another,” Harrison said in the interview. “Sometimes it was terrain-related, like being in valleys or mountainous areas. Other times, it was jamming or spoofing. But the common denominator was always the signal itself. That disruption created real operational problems and affected our ability to do our jobs effectively over there.”

Given their experience serving, Harrison and Reason began designing the technology related to resilient navigation systems before partnering with Moore, whose previous work involved facial recognition technology. Together, they built TERN around the idea that vehicles should be able to determine their own position independently instead of relying entirely on satellites.

IDPS™ works by using existing onboard vehicle sensors and artificial intelligence to determine precise positioning without GPS. Rather than consuming positioning data from satellites, the vehicle continuously derives its own location based on motion and environmental interaction.

How IDPS™ Works Without Satellites

TERN’s approach differs sharply from traditional navigation systems because it does not rely on external positioning signals. Moore explained during the interview that the software interprets information already generated by vehicles, including wheel speed, vehicle telemetry, and other diagnostic data. “We’re measuring how the vehicle sensors interact with the Earth as it traverses the land,” Moore said.

The result is a navigation system that still produces latitude and longitude coordinates even when GPS disappears. Moore compared the user experience to the “blue dot” seen on applications like Google Maps, except IDPS™ does not require satellites to keep functioning.

Moore said the company’s newest release effectively extends that familiar turn-by-turn experience beyond paved roads. The system now supports routing through trails, remote terrain, and unstructured environments while maintaining what TERN describes as “resilient route visibility” even when vehicles lose signal or leave established road networks.

TERN also describes the system as “self-healing,” meaning the software continuously recalibrates itself during operation. Moore said the platform constantly evaluates environmental conditions, driving patterns, and vehicle movement in real time to refine accuracy over long distances. He pointed to a recent 800-mile drive from Chicago to Austin completed without connectivity, where the system maintained accurate positioning through the entire trip.

Why GPS Disruption Has Become a Growing Concern

TERN’s technology arrives as concerns over GPS vulnerabilities continue to expand worldwide. Electronic warfare systems capable of jamming or spoofing GPS signals have become cheaper and more accessible in recent years.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly warned that GPS disruptions could affect transportation systems, emergency services, communications infrastructure, and supply chains. Harrison said the problem is no longer confined to active war zones. During the interview, he referenced reports of Russian jamming activity affecting areas of Europe because of spillover from the war in Ukraine. “The cost of acquiring that technology to disrupt the signals has come down tremendously,” Harrison said. “It’s much more widespread than I think we recognize.”

TERN argues that resilient positioning systems could become essential for both military and civilian transportation systems, particularly as autonomous vehicle technology advances.

Moore said autonomous vehicles still need precise positional awareness even when onboard sensors can identify surrounding objects. If GPS becomes unavailable, vehicles may still avoid collisions while simultaneously losing awareness of their exact location on the road.

Military Testing and Commercial Expansion

TERN has already received significant attention from defense organizations. The company participated in and was named a winner of the U.S. Army’s xTechOverwatch competition, which focused on ground autonomy technologies. Harrison said more than 600 companies applied before the field narrowed to 20 winners following live operational testing in Texas.

According to Harrison, soldiers tested the system in realistic operational scenarios rather than laboratory demonstrations. “What we did there is that we had designed the product that we wish we had when we were over there,” Harrison said.

The Army later awarded TERN a Phase II contract following the competition.

TERN has also been selected for NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) program, which supports emerging dual-use defense technologies.

The company’s technology received broader recognition when TIME included IDPS™ on its Best Inventions of 2025 special mentions list.

TERN says the new off-road expansion was designed not only for military use, but also for automotive manufacturers, commercial fleets, mining, forestry, construction, logistics, and recreational drivers operating in remote areas.

Harrison described the technology as “dual-use by design,” arguing that continuity of navigation is becoming a requirement rather than a luxury as reliance on positioning systems grows across industries.

Moore said integration into existing vehicles primarily involves software rather than expensive hardware modifications because the platform uses systems already present inside modern vehicles.

As GPS disruption becomes increasingly common, TERN is positioning itself around a simple argument: navigation systems dependent on satellites alone may no longer be reliable enough for the future.