Scientists have uncovered a surprising weakness in self-driving cars: the Sun. A powerful solar storm sent GPS signals veering more than 33 feet off course, creating errors large enough to disrupt autonomous transportation and potentially put vehicles in danger. But how can a storm millions of miles away interfere with cars on the road — and what could happen if an even stronger solar event strikes? Here’s what the latest research reveals about the hidden threat from space.
A solar storm throws GPS systems off course
The danger from solar storms extends far beyond dazzling auroras in the night sky. When the Sun becomes highly active, it can release huge bursts of charged particles that travel toward Earth. Once these particles interact with the planet’s magnetosphere, they can interfere with satellites, radio communications and other technologies that rely on signals traveling through the atmosphere.
That threat became especially clear during a powerful solar storm last November. The event was strong enough to disrupt GPS systems on the ground for hours, revealing a potential problem for technologies that depend on highly precise location data—including self-driving vehicles.
According to a study published in Geophysical Research Letters, researchers found that global navigation satellite systems experienced “significant positioning errors” of more than 33 feet during the storm. The researchers warned that the inaccuracies were “large enough to disrupt precision agriculture and autonomous transportation industries” across the continental United States.
For an autonomous vehicle, where precise positioning can be critical to navigating roads safely, an error of that size could be far more than a minor inconvenience.
What caused the GPS disruption?
To understand what went wrong, researchers examined observations collected by several scientific instruments positioned across the United States as the solar storm unfolded.
One of the most important changes occurred in the auroral region surrounding Earth’s geomagnetic north pole. Known as the Aurora Oval, this ring-shaped zone is where auroras typically appear during periods of heightened solar activity.
During the November storm, the Aurora Oval expanded dramatically southward toward the equator. That shift created a “horizontally extended band of intense density gradients” in the upper atmosphere.
Those atmospheric changes affected the way radio signals traveled between satellites and receivers on the ground. Because GPS systems calculate location using signal timing, even small changes in travel time can translate into inaccurate positioning.
The researchers consequently recorded “significant positioning errors at mid-latitudes.”
The problem also appeared to worsen as the auroras became brighter. Researchers found that stronger auroral activity was accompanied by more intense irregularities in the upper atmosphere, which further degraded GPS accuracy.
A bigger problem for autonomous vehicles
The findings raise an uncomfortable question for the rapidly developing autonomous transportation industry: What happens when a vehicle’s positioning system suddenly becomes unreliable?
Self-driving technology uses a combination of sensors and systems to understand its surroundings, but GPS and other satellite navigation systems can play an important role in determining a vehicle’s location. A major positioning error during a severe space weather event could therefore create additional challenges for autonomous vehicles.
The November storm offered a real-world example of just how significant those errors can become.
Fortunately, one industry that could have been particularly vulnerable had already largely finished its busiest season. GPS-guided tractors and other precision farming equipment would likely have experienced problems during the storm, but the event occurred well after the main farming season had ended.
The timing may have prevented a much larger economic impact.
Farmers have already seen the cost of space weather
A similar threat became apparent during another major solar storm in May 2024. Scientists estimate that the event caused roughly half a billion dollars in damage to farmers, demonstrating that disruptions from space weather can have very real consequences on Earth.
The November storm could have produced a similar financial hit if it had arrived at a more critical point in the agricultural calendar.
“Had the November superstorm occurred during the farming season in the American sector, it could have caused significant economic losses for the American farming industry, in addition to affecting the autonomous transportation industry,” the paper reads.
That possibility highlights why researchers are increasingly focused on understanding and predicting space weather before the next major solar storm arrives.
Preparing for the next solar storm
The researchers say the findings demonstrate the need for better monitoring and forecasting of space weather events. Improving those capabilities could give industries more warning when solar activity threatens technologies that depend on radio-frequency signals.
“The results underscore the importance of accurate understanding of various space weather phenomena to enhance our predictive capabilities through coordinated observations and physics‐based modeling and ultimately reducing disruptions to RF applications during space weather events,” the paper reads.
The November event was a reminder that technological systems on Earth can be vulnerable to disturbances originating from the Sun. And as autonomous vehicles become more common, understanding that vulnerability could become increasingly important—not only for farmers and satellite operators, but potentially for drivers who never expected their cars to be affected by a storm in space.
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