FreezeRay 2

Quantum technology is usually seen as an academic science that sits in big experiments such as the Large

Hadron Collider, but it is now coming much closer to home and within a couple of years will affect the life of

man in the street. We all tire of roadworks and get frustrated when they cut through our phone lines or water

supply. Quantum technology can provide an answer by enabling surveyors to see through the ground and map

the hidden structure beneath our feet using gravimeters that precisely measure the small variations in gravity

caused by pipes and voids under the ground. This project is focused on developing practical technology that

can enable the large complex experiments in University laboratories to be package into portable instruments

that can be carried out into the street. Two of the UK’s leading technology manufacturing companies, G&H

and e2v Technologies are teaming up with the University of Birmingham, which heads up the UK quantum

sensing hub, to develop lasers, vacuum systems and control electronics for these quantum based sensors.