SIGMA - Study of Industrial Gravity Measurement Applications

The SIGMA - 'Study of Industrial Gravity Measurement Applications' project is a collaboration between RSK and the
University of Birmingham (UoB) to carry out a feasibility study identifying the potential of Quantum Technology (QT) gravity
sensors in geophysical surveys for environmental and engineering applications such as locating buried objects and finding
voids. These QT sensors currently do not exist, but are the focus of many research activities in UK universities such as the
GG-TOP project at the UoB developing a gravity gradient sensors with many more sensor developments planned as part of
the UoB led QT Hub, if funded. For the QT sensors to achieve an accelerated commercialization, it is vital to ensure that
they meet user needs. Therefore, this project will assess the current geophysical sensing technologies, establish their
limitations and also operational parameters. This will allow provide a quantitative assessment matrix against which the QT
sensors can be judged. It will further provide those developing the QT sensors with a specification of capability to strive for.
In a second step, this project will assess environmental and instrument noise and incorporate these into a forward model.
This will provide information on the necessary sensitivity and tolerable noise levels for the QT sensors. Ultimately, it will be
necessary to develop inversion models, which relate the measured signals to buried features in the ground. It is not within
the scope of this project to seek to create new inversion tools, however it is possible to use the output from the forward
models to evaluate the capability of existing inversion tools available in the commercial market, and to prescribe the
additional requirements of a

The beneficiaries from this research are diverse and include:
1. RSK's clients (e.g. civil engineering consultants, town planners, utility companies, councils, Highways Agency)
2. surveying practitioners (e.g. RSK and others)
3. civil engineers who can use the underground space more sustainably in their infrastructure designs
4. UK-based and international academics.
5. the general public who will benefit from a reduction in streetworks due to the use of trenchless technologies and fewer
surprised, undetected mine shafts
6. the environment as more infrastructure such as parking and shops can be moved underground freeing up surface space
for an increase in green infrastructure
The short-term impact of this feasibility will be that it will develop a capability and operational matrix detailing the
requirements for the novel QT sensors feeding directly into the current sensor developments thereby ensuring that these
sensors are fit for purpose for geophysical surveying. In addition, the end-users are being engaged early on in the sensor
development process opening a channel of communication between the physics researchers and the practitioners.
Furthermore, the practitioners' clients will be able to see the potential of the new QT sensors based on the developed
inversion models thereby ensuring a demand for these sensors once they become market ready and also providing
confidence in their capabilities. The bigger impact may be achieved once the QT sensors become available, but this
feasibility project will clearly pave the way. The engineering driven research takes into account user needs, promoting
industrial adoption and generating social and economic impact, e.g. by reducing urban traffic congestion with better
underground intelligence. The essential step is to build sufficient commercial confidence in a "spooky" and potentially
disruptive quantum technology to unlock further industrial investment.
On a 10-50 year timescale, the QT sensors could revolutionise a wide range of industrial processes, as diverse as resilient
communication networks; structural analysis (e.g. in aerospace); functional analysis (e.g. electronic components); improved
oil and gas recovery; CO2 sequestration supervision; construction work using underground space; assessment of water
infrastructure; detection of sinkholes; assessment of the condition of dams in flood prevention. In addition, novel magnetic
sensors for medical diagnosis on the cellular level and real-time imaging of brain activity could enable novel treatments of
dementia and cancer. Such sensors are also needed to develop functional biological systems in synthetic biology, and to enable novel human-machine interfaces with applications in, for example, the gaming market or in analysing skin types to
match them with the most appropriate medications or cosmetics.
The researchers working on the project will gain enormously by working on a multi-disciplinary project that has a clear,
practical application and requires active interaction with the partner company on the project on a professional level. This
will undoubtedly make the researchers much more marketable and employable in the future. The academics will benefit by
being involved in such a prestigious, multi-disciplinary project which has the potential to make a tangible difference in the
future. This will help to raise their profiles in the academic community and through the industrial collaboration, connections
will be developed which will be beneficial for future projects.